Articles

What are articles?

Articles mark a noun as either specific or unspecific. Consider the following examples:

• After the long day, the cup of tea tasted particularly good.

The article 'the' establishes that one particular day was long and one particular cup of tea tasted good.

• After a long day, a cup of tea tastes particularly good.

The article 'a' produces a general statement, implying that any cup of tea would taste good after any long day.

English has two kinds of article, definite and indefinite. Each is treated in turn below.

The definite article

The definite article is the word 'the'. It restricts the meaning of a noun to one particular thing. If a friend asks, "Are you going to the party this weekend?", the definite article signals a specific party known to you both. It may accompany singular, plural or uncountable nouns. Some examples in context:

• Please give me the hammer.
• Please give me the red hammer; the blue one is too small.
• Please give me the nail.
• Please give me the large nail; it’s the only one strong enough to hold this painting.
• Please give me the hammer and the nail.

The indefinite article

The indefinite article takes two forms: 'a' before a word beginning with a consonant sound, and 'an' before a word beginning with a vowel sound. It marks the noun as a general idea rather than a particular thing. In the question "Should I bring a gift to the party?", no specific gift is meant. The reply "I am going to bring an apple pie" is equally general; the pie in question may not yet exist. The indefinite article occurs only with singular nouns. Some examples in context:

• Please hand me a book; any book will do.
• Please hand me an autobiography; any autobiography will do.

Exceptions: choosing 'a' or 'an'

The rule about consonants and vowels admits a few exceptions, because what governs the choice is sound rather than spelling. The word 'honour' begins with a written consonant, but that consonant is silent, so the word begins with a vowel sound and takes 'an'. The sentence below illustrates the point.

• My mother is a honest woman.
• My mother is an honest woman.

Conversely, a word beginning with a written vowel that is pronounced as a consonant takes 'a', as in the sentence below:

• She is an United States senator.
• She is a United States senator.

Articles before an adjective

An article often modifies a noun that carries an adjective as well. The usual order is article + adjective + noun. With the indefinite article, the choice between 'a' and 'an' is governed by the word immediately following it. Consider the following examples:

• Nadia will bring a small gift to Valeria’s party.
• I heard an interesting story yesterday.

Indefinite articles with uncountable nouns

Uncountable nouns are nouns that are difficult or impossible to count. They include intangible things such as information and air, liquids such as milk and wine, and things too vast or too numerous to count, such as equipment, sand and wood. Since they cannot be counted, they never take 'a' or 'an'; the indefinite article belongs to singular nouns alone. Words such as 'some' may modify them, however. Consider the examples below:

• Please give me a water.

'Water' is an uncountable noun and does not take the indefinite article.

• Please give me some water.

Once the water is described in countable units, such as bottles, the indefinite article becomes possible.

• Please give me a bottle of water.
• Please give me an ice.
• Please give me an ice cube.
• Please give me some ice.

Note that some nouns are countable or uncountable according to context, among them hair, noise and time:

• We need a light in this room.
• We need some light in this room.

Articles with pronouns

Possessive pronouns, like articles, indicate whether a specific item is meant. Using both at once obscures the sense. The possessive pronouns are 'his', 'my', 'our', 'its', 'her' and 'their', and they do not combine with articles. Consider the examples below.

• Why are you reading the my book?

'The' and 'my' cannot stand together, since both modify the same noun. One or the other is chosen according to the meaning intended:

• Why are you reading the book?
• Why are you reading my book?

Omission of articles

Before certain nouns the article is dropped altogether. It is implied rather than expressed, and grammarians refer to this as the zero article. Nouns denoting abstract ideas commonly take it. Consider the following examples:

• Let’s go out for a dinner tonight.
• Let’s go out for dinner tonight.
• The creativity is a valuable quality in children.
• Creativity is a valuable quality in children.

Most languages and nationalities take no article. Consider the example below:

• I studied the French in high school for four years.
• I studied French in high school for four years.

Sports and academic subjects likewise take no article. See the sentences below:

• I like to play the baseball.
• I like to play baseball.
• My sister was always good at the math.
• My sister was always good at math.