Have you ever stopped to think about why we say “a pen” but “the moon”? Or why do we use “an apple” instead of “a apple”? These may seem like small details, but they actually make a big difference in how natural and correct your English sounds. These small but powerful words are called articles in English.

Articles are used before nouns to tell us whether we are talking about something specific or something general. For example, when you say “I saw a dog in the park,” you could mean any dog, but if you say “I saw the dog in the park,” you are referring to one particular dog that the listener may already know about. This tiny change completely changes the meaning of the sentence.

In this guide, we will learn what articles in English are, their types, and how to use them correctly in both writing and speaking. You will also see plenty of examples that will make the concept clearer and easier to remember.

What Is an Article?
Why Do We Use Articles in English Grammar?
What Are the Types of Articles in English Grammar?
Rules For Articles with Examples
Points to Be Remembered When Using Articles
Wrapping Up
Frequently Asked Questions on Articles in English

What Is an Article?

Article is a word that combines with noun and defines whether a noun in any sentence or phrase is specific or general.

Example: After the long tiring day, the cup of tea refreshed mind and body.

In this sentence, the use of article ‘the’ specifies the one day that was tiring and that one specific cup of tea refreshed body and mind.

What Are the Types of Articles in English Grammar?

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 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?
She has a pet dog.
My father is a doctor.
My brother gave me a calculator.
She wore a pretty pink dress
I saw tigers in a zoo.
He is not good as an actor
An apple a day builds immunity.

Lets get ahead with the important rules of articles to use them correctly in english language section of the exams or even while speaking in daily lives.

Why Do We Use Articles in English Grammar?

To put it simply, it is pivotal to understand how articles benefit us. Why do we use articles in our English language? So, let's see:

To tell us about the number of nouns. (Whether noun is singular or Plural)
It tells us the randomness or particularity of a noun. (Is it the same noun I'm talking about or is it different?)
It also refers to the noun being ‘Positive' or 'Negative'.

Example:

Humans are smart. (Positive but random)
The human is smart. (Positive but Specific)
No human is smart. (Negative but random)

Note: Negative article case doesn't take any nouns to be specific

Rules For Articles with Examples

The rules for articles given below are divided based on the types of articles.

Article Rules for Definite Article ‘The’

1. The very basic rule of the article says that the article ‘the’ is used before singular or plural when the noun is specific. It indicates a particular thing/s or person/s in case of a common noun.

Example:

The teacher she spoke to in the exhibition was very rude.
He lost all the money taken from the lender.

2. Article ‘The’ is used when the listener knows what the speaker is talking about.

Example:

The mangoes you kept in the refrigerator last night do not taste good.
Did you complete all the homework?

3. ‘The’ is used to generalize the whole class or group.

Example:

The honest are respected
The beggars are not always the needy

4. ‘The’ is used for geographical points on the globe.

Example:

The north pole and the south pole can never meet.

5. ‘The’ is used for nouns that cannot be counted

Example:

The water of the Pacific Ocean is freezing.
Two robbers took all the money from the bank.

6. ‘The’ is used with geographical nouns depending on the size and plurality of the noun. The must precede the names of oceans, rivers, group of islands, lakes, mountains, countries with united

states or islands,etc

Example:

The Ganga is a holy river.
The English Channel is the longest river channel.

However, ‘the’ must not precede the following

Name of continents, like Asia, South America, etc
Name of the countries, states or streets like Alaska, Bolivia, New Town Street, etc.
Name of Single lakes, mountains, islands or bays, like Chills Lake, Hudson Bay, etc.
Names of languages like Spanish, French, etc.
Names of Sports such as basketball, cricket, football, etc.
Names of the subjects like Economics, Mathematics, History, etc.

7. ‘The’ is mandatorily used for things that are only one of a kind in the universe.

Example:

The Sun and the Moon shine bright in the sky.
The planet Earth looks beautiful from space.

8. ‘The’ does not mean all.

Example:

The books are my favourite (not all the books, just the book talked about)
Books are my favourite (all the books in general are favourite)

Article Rule for Indefinite Article ‘A’ and ‘An’

1. The article ‘a’ is used before a consonant word or any vowel with a consonant sound.

Indefinite article examples:

A man is sitting on the chair.
She goes to a university in Delhi.

Similarly, the article ‘an’ is used before words beginning with a vowel or the letter of consonant word with a vowel sound.

Indefinite article examples:

She is an innocent girl
He is an honest man.

2. A singular common noun always requires an article ‘a or an’, but a plural common noun does

not require any article or can have ‘the’ to particularise that noun.

Example:

I saw an elephant. (Refers to a random elephant)
I saw elephants in a zoo. (No article is required)
I have seen the elephant again. (Refers to the elephant already seen earlier)
I have seen the elephants again before leaving the zoo. (Refers to the particular elephants of the zoo which was seen earlier.)

3. A/An is used to make a proper noun into a common noun. Proper nouns do not take articles, but to make it a common noun, a/an is used.

Example:

He thinks he is a Michel Jackson. (not referring to an actual person, but someone like him)
She is an Indian. (India is a proper noun, but ‘Indian’ is a common noun)

4. The indefinite article ‘a, or an’ is used to refer to numbers sometimes.

Example:

The baby is playing with a doll (one doll)
I owe him a thousand bucks. (one thousand dollars)
He drove 120 kilometres in an hour (one hour)

5. Indefinite article (a/an) precedes descriptive adjective

Example:

She is an amazing dancer
What a nice Villa!

6. Indefinite article is used with the determiners (few, lot, most)

Example:

There is a little drink in the glass
I have a few guests coming over.

Points to Be Remembered When Using Articles

Now that you are familiar with the three articles in English – a, an, and the – it’s time to look at some important rules that guide their correct usage. Articles may appear simple, but there are situations where their usage changes depending on sound, context, or meaning.

In this section, we will go through the key points you must keep in mind, along with exceptions and examples that will make the concept clearer. By remembering these points, you can avoid common mistakes and use articles more accurately in your writing and speaking.

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
Unique
Uniform
Unit
Eucalyptus
Utensil
Euro
UFO

Words starting with a consonant, but use ‘an’ instead of ‘a’.

Hour
Honest
Hourly
MBA
MBBS
MA
MSc
MMR
MCom
MLA
NCC
Honorary
X-ray
Xmas

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.

To prepare well for exams, practise with our articles exercises, and you can check them out!

Wrapping Up

A term used before a noun to indicate whether it is specialised or general is known as an article. The words "a," "an," and "the" are determining factors or noun indicators that serve to indicate whether a noun is referring to something general or specific. Generally, articles come before nouns, and because they are employed to describe the noun, they can be thought of as adjectives.

Frequently Asked Questions on Articles in English

Q1. What are the 4 articles in English?

Answer: The English language contains three articles: "the," "a, " and "an." "The " is a definite article, referring to a specific noun. "A" and "an" are indefinite articles, referring to non-specific nouns.

Q2. What are 10 examples of articles?

Answer: Ten examples of sentences using English articles are: The dog barked loudly; She bought a book; He ate an apple; I need a pen; The sun is bright; She found a lost earring; The cat is sleeping; A new car was purchased; He saw a strange bird; The children are playing.

Q3. How many articles are there in English?

Answer: There are three articles in the English language: "a," "an," and "the". These are categorised into two types: the definite article ("the"), which refers to a specific noun, and the two indefinite articles ("a" and "an"), which refer to a general or non-specific noun.

Q4. What are the 7 rules of articles?

Answer: The 7 key rules for English articles involve using 'a' or 'an' for singular, non-specific nouns based on the sound (consonant or vowel sound) that follows, using 'the' for specific, unique, or previously mentioned nouns (singular or plural), and omitting articles before general plural nouns, abstract concepts, and most proper names like continents or most countries.

Q5. How to use articles in English grammar?

Answer: Use the indefinite articles a (before consonant sounds) and an (before vowel sounds) for general or unknown nouns. Use the definite article the for specific nouns that are known to the listener or reader.

Q6. How can I learn articles easily?

Answer: An easy way to learn articles is to focus on sound and context rather than complex rules, by actively listening to and repeating phrases from native speakers in podcasts, movies, or music. You can also practice through exercises like filling in blanks or finding errors in sentences, and by learning the basic rules for when to use "a" (before consonant sounds), "an" (before vowel sounds), and "the" (for specific nouns).

Q7. Where should we not use articles?

Answer: You should not use articles before general plural nouns (e.g., Cats are on the mat), uncountable nouns (e.g., Water is wet), proper nouns like names of people or countries (e.g., John is going to Paris), languages, and academic subjects, or when referring to a general concept rather than a specific instance.

Q8. When to use an article in English?

Answer: Use "a" or "an" (indefinite articles) for a general or first-time mention of a singular, countable noun, or when referring to any member of a group. Use "the" (definite article) when the noun is specific, unique, already known to the listener/reader, or when referring to a class of things. Use no article for general statements with plural or uncountable nouns.