Articles
How can you identify an article?
It doesn’t get any easier than this!
Quick tip
There are only three articles in English: the, a and an.
Articles give us information about a noun; they indicate whether or not the noun is a
specific one known to both the speaker and listener. Take a look at these examples to see
what we mean:
1. I bought a red car. (The listener doesn’t know anything about the red car.)
2. The red car was on sale. (The listener knows which car the speaker is talking about.)
The is commonly called the definite article; a and an are called indefinite articles. The definite article may be used with both singular and plural nouns, but the indefinite articles only with singular nouns, as we can see in the following examples:
Answers
What’s the difference between a and an? See if you notice a pattern when you look at these examples:
The articles a and an have the same meaning and use. The only difference between them is that a is used when the next word begins with a consonant sound, while an is used when the next word begins with a vowel sound.
To enhance your understanding
What about a uniform and an hour? Do these contradict what we’ve said about when to use a and an? It certainly looks like a is being used before a vowel, and an is being used before a consonant. But in fact, that’s not the case. These phrases follow the rule perfectly. Remember that a is used when the next word begins with a consonant sound. The first letter of the next word doesn’t matter; only its first sound matters.
So what’s the first sound of the word uniform? Say it out loud and listen carefully. You will hear that the first sound of the word is the sound [y], as in yes. We really say ‘‘y-uniform’’ (and also ‘‘y-unicorn,’’ ‘‘y-usual,’’ etc.). Since ‘‘y,’’ a consonant, is the first sound, we use a before uniform.
What’s the first sound of the word hour? Say the word out loud, and you will notice that in fact we don’t pronounce the letter ‘‘h.’’ Rather, hour begins with a vowel sound, as in the word our, and so we say an hour.
Thus, apparent exceptions, like a uniform and an hour, are not exceptions at all.
Answers
