LoginArticles For beginners
In this lesson, master the use of articles "a," "an," and "the" to show specificity or generality in nouns. Clear explanations and practice exercises to help you learn.
What Are Articles?
Articles are small words that come before a noun and define it as specific or general.
English Articles
In English, there are two types of articles: 'the' is called the definite article and 'a'/'an' are called the indefinite articles.
Definite Article | Indefinite Article |
|---|---|
The | A/An |
Indefinite Articles
'A' and 'an' are called indefinite articles. They are used with singular nouns to refer to any general noun of that type.
The difference between 'a' and 'an' is that 'a' is used before a consonant sound and 'an' is used before a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u):
a | an |
|---|---|
a boy | an apple |
a woman | an owl |
a cat | an earring |
a strawberry | an idea |
a monkey | an orange |
Definite Article
'The' is a definite article. It can be used before a singular or plural noun to refer to a specific or particular noun that is known to both the speaker and the listener. Look at the examples:
I ordered a pizza and a salad. The pizza was nice but the salad was disgusting.
That is the school that Mary went to.
Mary has a dog. The dog's name is Rover.
In the second sentence, it is already clear which dog the speaker is talking about. So, the definite article is used.
Quiz:
Which of the following sentences correctly uses an indefinite article?
I saw a apple on the table.
She is eating a orange.
He bought a car.
She gave me a books.
Fill in the table with the correct articles:
| Noun | Article |
|---|---|
umbrella | |
chair | |
egg | |
bottle | |
song | |
bicycle | |
ocean |
Sort the words to make a sentence.
Fill in the blanks with the correct article.
I saw
cat in the garden.
books are on the table.
I want to buy
apple.
pizza we ate was delicious.
We saw
elephant at the zoo.
Choose the correct sentence that uses the definite article "the":
I want to buy a gift for the friend.
She is buying the orange.
The book on the shelf is mine.
There is the park near our house.
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