Articles

Articles are a type of determiner used in English grammar to specify or indicate the noun that goes after the article There are three articles in English: “a,” “an,” and “the.”

Indefinite Articles: “a” and “an”

• “a” is used before words that begin with a consonant sound.
  • Example: “a dog,” “a house”
• “an” is used before words that begin with a vowel sound.
  • Example: “an apple,” “an hour”

Definite Article: “the”

• “the” is used before both singular and plural nouns when the speaker or writer assumes the listener or reader knows what they are referring to or when there is only one of something in a context.
  • Example: “the car,” “the book”

Articles help to clarify whether a noun is specific or nonspecific and are essential for forming correct and clear sentences in English.

Here are three examples demonstrating the use of articles, the ‘before’ sentences do not have an adverb and the ‘After’ sentences have the articles included:

Before: He found book.
After: He found a book.

Before: She saw cat.
After: She saw a cat.

Before: They visited museum.
After: They visited the museum.

Now a longer sentence

Before: She bought dress for party.

After: She bought a beautiful dress for the fancy party at the exclusive venue downtown.