Have you ever been wondering what part of speech the articles belong to? Do you think they are pronouns, adverbs or adjectives? Well, this article will help you with all that you need to know. Learn what articles are, their definition, types, how to use them, and uses, along with examples. Also, try out the practice questions given to check how far you have understood the same.

Table of Contents

What is an Article?

Definition of an Article

Types of Articles in English

Definite Article

Indefinite Article

Usage and Exceptions – Points to be Remembered When Using Articles

Examples of Articles

Check Your Understanding of Articles

Frequently Asked Questions on Articles in English Grammar

What is an Article?

An article is a short monosyllabic word that is used to define if the noun is specific or not. Articles are normally used before nouns and since they are used to speak about the noun, they can be considered as adjectives.

Look at how various dictionaries define an article to have a much clearer idea of what they are.

Definition of an Article

An article, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is defined as “any of a small set of words or affixes (such as a, an, and the) used with nouns to limit or give definiteness to the application.” According to the Collins Dictionary, “an article is a kind of determiner. In English, ‘a’ and ‘an’ are called the indefinite article, and ‘the’ is called the definite article.” The Macmillan Dictionary defines an article as “a type of determiner (=word used before a noun) that shows whether you are referring to a particular thing or to a general example of something. The indefinite article is ‘a’ or ‘an’ and the definite article is ‘the’.”

Types of Articles

There are three articles in English – ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’. These articles are divided into two types namely:

Definite Article

Indefinite Article

Definite Article

Among the three articles, ‘the’ is said to be the definite article. A definite article is used to determine something that is specific or particular. It is also used before plural nouns and to indicate the superlative degree of comparison. Furthermore, it can be used before collective nouns as well.

For example:

The Sun sets in the west.

In the above sentence, the nouns ‘Sun’ and ‘west’ are proper nouns and are specific and so the definite article has to be used.

The children are playing cricket.

In the above sentence, the definite article is used to determine the plural noun, ‘children’.

This is the world’s longest river.

In the above sentence, the definite article is used to denote the superlative degree of comparison.

The crowd sang along with the band.

In the above sentence, the definite article is used before the collective nouns, ‘crowd’ and ‘band’.

Indefinite Article

The articles ‘an’ and ‘an’ are termed as indefinite articles. An indefinite article, as the name suggests, is used to indicate something that is not definite or specific. It can also be used before singular nouns.

Among the indefinite articles, ‘an’ is used before singular nouns that start with vowel sounds and ‘a’ is used before singular nouns that begin with consonant sounds.

For example:

I had an apple for breakfast.

Do you have an eraser?

I saw an aeroplane.

She has a pet dog.

My father is a doctor.

My brother gave me a calculator.

Usage and Exceptions – Points to be Remembered When Using Articles

Articles are used extensively by English language users, and for this very reason, it is important to know where and where not to use them. In order to have a thorough knowledge of how to use the right articles in the right places, have a look at the following.

A or An?

The article ‘an’ is normally used before words that begin with vowel sounds. However, this is often confused with the idea that it can be used before words that start with a vowel. Look at the examples given below to understand how this works.

I have an umbrella.

This is an orange.

An elephant was crossing the road.

If you see here, the words ‘university’ and ‘unique’ start with a vowel. However, it does not have a vowel sound but a consonant sound ‘yu’ in the beginning. It is because of this reason that the indefinite article, ‘a’ is used instead of ‘an’.

Studying in a university will give you a lot of exposure.

This is a unique way of communicating with birds.

In the examples given below, ‘an’ is used before ‘MBA’ and ‘hour’ though they are words starting with consonants. This is because the word ‘MBA’ starts with ‘m’ which has a vowel sound (em) in the beginning. Likewise, the ‘h’ in the word ‘hour’ is silent, thus having a vowel sound in the beginning.

I have completed an MBA degree.

It took an hour to reach the airport.

Exceptions

Words starting with a vowel, but use ‘a’ instead of ‘an’:

One

University

There are also some cases in which you will have to use the indefinite article ‘the’ before a common noun. Look at the following set of sentences to understand how this works.

Example 1: My brother and I are going for a wedding reception. The reception is held in an open lawn at 7 p.m.

Example 2: I saw a dog at the end of the street. The dog came running to me.

Example 3: Tharun watched a movie yesterday. He felt that the movie was too slow.