The articles are the and a/an. Articles always occur before a noun, and they express the kind of reference that the noun has.
The definite article the is used to express definite reference:
We saw the play in London.
This refers to ‘a particular play’, which must have been previously identified.
Compare:
We saw a play in London.
This refers to ‘some unspecified play’, which may be identified later:
We saw a play in London. It was The Chairs by Ionesco.
The indefinite article is a, and its variant an. The choice between these variants is determined by the initial sound (not the spelling) of the word which follows the article. A is used when the following word begins with
a consonant sound:
a chair a large salary
a film a UFO
a huge increase
An is used when the following word begins with a vowel sound:
an active person an MA course
an eager student an overture
an examination an x-ray
an L-plate
The indefinite article is only used with singular, countable nouns. The definite article the is used with singular and plural nouns:
Singular Plural
Countable a castle *a castles
the castle the castles
Uncountable *a traffic –
the traffic –
The definite article the is used to express definite reference:
We saw the play in London.
This refers to ‘a particular play’, which must have been previously identified.
Compare:
We saw a play in London.
This refers to ‘some unspecified play’, which may be identified later:
We saw a play in London. It was The Chairs by Ionesco.
The indefinite article is a, and its variant an. The choice between these variants is determined by the initial sound (not the spelling) of the word which follows the article. A is used when the following word begins with
a consonant sound:
a chair a large salary
a film a UFO
a huge increase
An is used when the following word begins with a vowel sound:
an active person an MA course
an eager student an overture
an examination an x-ray
an L-plate
The indefinite article is only used with singular, countable nouns. The definite article the is used with singular and plural nouns:
Singular Plural
Countable a castle *a castles
the castle the castles
Uncountable *a traffic –
the traffic –
