Use of articles ( A, An, The )

 Articles

An article is a word that comes before a noun. There are two kinds of articles: definite articles and indefinite articles.

In English there is just one definite article: "the". There are two indefinite articles: "a" and "an". The word "an" is used before a word starting with a vowel sound (not necessarily a vowel letter): we say "a horse", "a child", "a European" (European has a "Y" sound, /j/, which is a consonant sound), "a university", but "an orange", "an elephant".

INDEFINITE ARTICLES: A AND AN

"A" and "an" signal that the noun modified is indefinite, referring to any member of a group. For example:

• "My daughter really wants a dog for Christmas." This refers to any dog. We don't know which dog because we haven't found the dog yet.
• "Somebody call a policeman!" This refers to any policeman. We don't need a specific policeman; we need any policeman who is available.
• "When I was at the zoo, I saw an elephant!" Here, we're talking about a single, non-specific thing, in this case an elephant. There are probably several elephants at the zoo, but there's only one we're talking about here.

REMEMBER, USING A OR AN DEPENDS ON THE SOUND THAT BEGINS THE NEXT WORD. SO...

• a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy; a car; a bike; a zoo; a dog
• an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant; an egg; an apple; an idiot; an orphan
• a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins with a consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used); a university; a unicycle
• an + nouns starting with silent "h": an hour
• a + nouns starting with a pronounced "h": a horse
  
• In some cases where "h" is pronounced, such as "historical," you can use an. However, a is more commonly used and preferred

DEFINITE ARTICLE: THE

The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or particular. The signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular member of a group. For example:

"The dog that bit me ran away." Here, we're talking about a specific dog, the dog that bit me.

"I was happy to see the policeman who saved my cat!" Here, we're talking about a particular policeman. Even if we don't know the policeman's name, it's still a particular policeman because it is the one who saved the cat.

"I saw the elephant at the zoo." Here, we're talking about a specific noun. Probably there is only one elephant at the zoo.

   

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