Articles

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What are "articles"? 

The articles are a /ə/, an /ən/ (called indefinite article), and the (definite article). See more A or An, The, and Zero Article.

Articles are "Determiners". See Determiner.

1. Using the articles

The can be used before all common nouns including singular and plural, countable or uncountable.

A / an can be used only with singular countable nouns.

countable singular countable plural uncountable (singular)
a man a men a milk
the man the men the milk

A. We do not put a / an in front of plural or uncountable nouns because a / an means "one". When a noun has no article or determiner before it, we call it a zero article.
B. Proper nouns (names) usually do not have articles. See section C below for exceptions.
Example: a London, the London, a Paris, the Paris
C. Usually, names of people and places do not have an article. But there're some exceptions. For more details, see the lessons Names in section 2 and Geographical Names.

2. Singular a / an and plural some / any

Some and any are often used as plural form of a / an.
Examples:
Would you like an apple?
Would you like some /səm/ apples?
Would you like any apples?

We can say some when we are offering. We can say any when we are asking a question for information. Example: Do you have any books?

3. Word order

The article is usually the first word in a noun phrase.
Form: The / a / an + number + adjective + noun
Examples:
a beautiful picture
the second floor
the two smart kids

Only a few words go before a / an or the in a noun phrase. Let's see those words below.

3.1. Words that go before a / an

Half, quite, rather, such, and what go before a / an. Let's see form below:
half / quite / rather / such / what + a / an + (other modifiers) + noun
Examples:
such a pity
what a pity
quite a risk
rather a risk
half a loaf

3.1. Words that go before the

All, both, and half go before the. Let's see form below:
all / both / half + the + (other modifiers) + noun
Examples:
all the boys
both the boys
half the loaf

4. Meanings of the articles

Remember that all the articles can have both particular and general meanings.

4.1. Particular meanings

The examples below refer to particular (specific) cats:
A. zero article: My father keeps cats for breeding.
B. a / an: Sam once had a cat as a pet.
C. the: Did you take the cat for a walk?

Particular cats:

In examples A - C, cats, a cat, and the cat mean something different from one another.
  • Cats (without the article), as in A, means "more than one particular cat - not a specified number".
  • A (indefinite article), means any one of a kind or group: A cat in B means any cat - it is not possible to say which.
  • The (definite article), as in C, means one(s) which the speaker and the hearer know about.

4.2. General meanings

In contrast, the following refer to the whole class of cats in general:
  • Cats do not need a lot of exercise.
  • A cat eats less than a dog.
  • The cat is man's best pet.
Be careful when we use the articles. Errors such as the following are common:
What an awful weather! (weather is an uncountable noun)
My father gave me book. (book is a countable noun so we must use a)

We hope this article help you understand. If you have any question, just leave a comment below.

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