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English Articles

What are definite and indefinite articles in English?

By: Erin Kuester Thu Sep 12 2024
English
Articles, Determiners

In English, the definite and indefinite articles are the and a/an. Articles are little words that come before nouns and give information about whether the noun is specific and familiar (definite) or generic or unfamiliar (indefinite).

  • I saw the dog

    a specific and familiar dog
  • I saw a dog

    an unfamiliar or generic dog

Ready to learn more about what an article is, what makes a noun specific or unspecific, and when to use no article at all? Let’s jump in and get started!

Table of Contents

    What is an article in English?

    Articles are words that go before nouns and tell you whether a noun is definite or indefinite. The English indefinite article is a/an, and the definite article is the.

    • A noun is definite when it is specific and familiar to your audience.

      → This means that your audience has enough information to know exactly which noun you are talking about.
    • A noun is indefinite when it is generic or is unfamiliar to your audience.

      → This means that your audience does not have enough information to know exactly which noun you are talking about (sometimes because you are not talking about a specific noun at all)

    In English, we always need to show whether a noun is definite or indefinite, and articles are the most common way to show this.

    • the dog

      definite
    • a dog

      indefinite

    Let’s look at an example to illustrate the difference in meaning:

    I often take my dog to a park to play with other dogs. Some of the dogs are friends with my dog, and we see them very often, but there are also other dogs that we do not know. When I tell my husband about the park, I might say:

    “We saw the corgi again today and we also met a German shepherd!”

    the corgi

    a specific dog
    → familiar to my husband
    A tan and white corgi in a pink harness is outside, walking toward the camera.

    Because I said the corgi, my husband knows that I am talking about a dog that he knows (or knows about). The corgi is one of our dog’s friends.

    a German shepherd

    a specific dog
    unfamiliar to my husband
    A german shepherd lying in winter grass with its tongue out.

    Because I said a German shepherd, my husband knows that I am talking about a dog that he does not know. It is a specific dog (the dog that we met), but my husband does not have enough information to identify it.

    In this post, we’ll talk about when and how to use articles, as well as some cases when you can leave the articles out.

    Where do articles go?

    Articles always go before a noun:

    noun

    I bought a book.

    She drank the coffee.

    If there are any modifiers before a noun, such as an adjective or number, the article goes before the modifiers too.

    modifiernoun

    I saw a fat cat.

    He tried on the three striped sweaters.

    Many nouns in English will have an article. However, there are some places where you cannot use an article. We’ll talk more about those further down, but for now, let’s take a look at when we should use the definite article or the indefinite article!

    When to use a definite article in English?

    In English, we use the definite article the before nouns that are singular or plural, as long as the noun is specific and familiar.

    singular nounplural noun

    My friends and I really enjoyed the movie.

    One specific movie that the person you are speaking to knows about.

    Did you read the articles for class?

    A specific list of articles that the person you are speaking to knows about.

    There are some cases where we always use the definite article:

    • When there is only one in the world (or in a given situation), and so everyone will know which one you mean:

      • The sky looks so beautiful today!

        as long as you are on Earth, there is only one sky.
    • When using an English superlative adjective:

      • superlative adjective

        Jacob is the tallest player on the team.

        We use superlative adjectives to talk about one noun that has a quality more than everyone else, so there can only be one noun.
    • Before an adjective that stands for a group:

      • adjective

        The wealthy can afford luxury vacations.

    • Some proper nouns always have a definite article:

    When to use an indefinite article?

    Indefinite articles are used before a noun that is generic or that is unfamiliar (so it is being introduced for the first time). In English, the indefinite article is a(n), which is only used before singular nouns.

    A and an are the same word. We use a before a word that starts with a consonant sound and an before a word that starts with a vowel sound.

    a cat

    a red apple

    an apple

    an orange cat

    Important

    Use pronunciation, not spelling, to help you decide!

    a useful hint

    yus-ful

    an useful hint

    an honest mistake

    on-est

    a honest mistake

    There are a few common places where we use the indefinite article:

    • When the noun is not specific at all:

      • I want to go to the library and choose a new book.

        I am not imagining a specific book yet, I just need something to read.
      • My friends want to watch a movie tonight.

        They have not chosen the movie yet.
    • When we refer to a noun for the first time. After that you will use the definite article because the noun becomes familiar.

      • indefinite articledefinite article

        There’s a new student in class today and the new student is very loud.

        This is the first time the speaker is referring to this student.

        My brother bought a car yesterday. The car is blue.

        This is the first time the speaker is discussing this particular car.
    • When we just mean “one” noun:

      • Emily has two dogs and a cat.

        There is one cat.
      • Can you hand me a brown egg from the carton?

        The speaker needs one brown egg.

    Is there an indefinite article for plural nouns in English?

    There is no indefinite article for plural nouns in English. Here are the two good ways to talk about indefinite plural nouns:

    • Use a quantity adjective instead of an article. Usually, English speakers will use the word some to mark plural indefinite nouns, but you can also use other quantity words too. For example:

      • Some friends are coming to my house tonight.

      • We met several new dogs at the park today.

    • Use a singular collective noun instead of a plural noun. Collective nouns are singular nouns that refer to a group. Because they are singular, we can use the indefinite article:

      • We met a bunch of new dogs at the park today.

      • A group of friends are coming to my house tonight

    You can sometimes just use the plural noun by itself as well, but this has a slightly different meaning, as you’ll see below.

    When to leave out the article?

    English nouns often have an article, but there are several situations where we do not use them. These are some of those situations:

    • We don’t use an article when we are referring to all or any noun that fits a description or to a noun as a general category. Let’s look at a few examples:

      • I like museums.

        We are talking about the general idea of museums, not any one in particular.
      • Flowers are very beautiful.

        We are referring to all flowers.
    • We don’t use articles before proper nouns.

      • Lisa likes to eat jam.

      • I am traveling to New York City.

      • Exception!

        While many proper nouns never have a definite or indefinite article, some proper nouns always have a definite article, because the article is part of a name:

        • I live in the United States.

        • My favorite basketball team is the Miami Heat.

    • We also don’t use articles before indefinite mass nouns (nouns a substance or concept, not an object):

      • I put the milk on the table.

        The milk is specific and known. Probably it is the carton milk that you bought at the store.
      • I put milk in my coffee this morning.

        The milk is not specific and known, so I do not use an article.

      However, it is common to use a quantity word like some with mass nouns instead. We just do not use a(n), because a(n) means “one” and mass nouns cannot be counted with numbers:

      • I put some milk in my coffee this morning.

      • I put a milk in my coffee this morning.

      Tip

      There are some cases where we use mass nouns as count nouns in English. When this happens, you can use a mass noun with an indefinite article, because it is acting as a count noun:

      Can you hand me a milk?

      can you hand me a container of milk
    • In some types of English prepositional phrases (at / in / to /… + noun), the noun does not need an article. Here are some common places where this happens:

      • Before nouns for schools or other sorts of institutions, if you are using that institution for its main purpose:

        • at school, in school, to school…(as a student/teacher)

        • in jail, to jail, from jail… (as a prisoner)

        • to church, at church, from church…(to worship)

        Tip

        If you are not using the institution for its main purpose, use an article:

        I was in the school.

        I was a visitor; maybe I am picking up a child, fixing the plumbing, attending an event, etc.
      • When the noun stands for a period time on a schedule or calendar:

        • after breakfast, before noon, in February

      • After by, when the noun describes a form of transportation:

        • We traveled by train / by bus / by dragon.

    • We don’t use articles if a noun already has one of the following types of words:

      • demonstrative adjectives (this, that, these, those)

        • Did you see the that kitten?

      • possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their, whose) or possessive nouns (Sarah’s, the group’s)

        • I ate the my cookie.

        • I ate the Margot’s cookie.

      • some quantity adjectives (some, all, every…).

        • The every student studied hard.

      Articles, along with the types of words listed above, are part of a group of words called determiners. In English, each noun may have many modifiers, but can only have one determiner! Have a look at our mini-article on determiners in English to learn more!

    Summary

    In this post we’ve looked at:

    • what an article is

    • when we use the definite article

    • when we use the indefinite article

    • when we use no article

    We’ve discussed that the indefinite article should be used when a noun is unspecific, when the noun is a count of one, or when referring to a noun for the first time. We also talked about how the definite article should be used to single out one specific thing that is familiar to both you and the person you’re speaking to.

    Feeling more confident in your knowledge of articles in English? Now’s a great time to take a few minutes and try out our extra practice for using English articles!

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