Types of articles in English Grammar

1. Definite and Indefinite Articles
By
Umroh, M.Hum

2. An article is a word that goes before a noun, giving some basic
information about the noun, such as if it is singular or plural, or if
the object is specific or general.
Definition

3. The kinds of Articles
Indefinite
It’s used when we don't specify the things or people we are talking about.
The indefinite article indicates that a noun refers to a general idea rather than a
particular thing.
The indefinite articles in English are a, an.

4. THE INDEFINITE ARTICLES A/AN
It’s used before a singular
and countable nouns
beginning with a vowel
sound.(A,I,U,E,O)
An
It’s used before a singular
and countable nouns
beginning with a consonant
sound (all other alphabets
except vowels).
A
Examples:
- I eat a banana
- A bird has wings
Examples:
- I eat an apple
- An Animal needs
supply of food

5. Exceptions: Choosing A or An
 The general rule of using a before words that start with consonants and an before
words that begin with vowels.
The first letter of the word honor, hour, heirloom for examples, is a consonant, but it’s
unpronounced. Despite its spelling, the word honor begins with a vowel sound. Therefore,
we use an. Consider the example sentence below for an illustration of this concept.
● My mother is an honest woman.
 Similarly, when the first letter of a word is a vowel but is pronounced with a
consonant sound for examples: university, one-eyed pirate use an, as in the sample
sentence below:
● She is a United States senator.
 This holds true with acronyms, abbreviation and initializes: However, this is based on
how to read the first letter in the abbreviation.an LCD display, a UK-based
company, an HR department, a URL. (A Liquid Crystal Display)

6. It's used when the speaker talks about a specific object that
both the person speaking and the listener know. The definite
article in English is ‘the
Definite
The definite article can be used with singular, plural, countable
or uncountable nouns
Examples:
 Thank you for the banana
 Thank you for the bananas

7. Zero Article
Zero article refers to an occasion in
speech or writing where a noun or noun
phrase is not preceded by an article (a,
an, or the)

8. The ZERO article usually occurs in the following cases:
● Plural, Uncountable, Abstract, proper nouns (names of place,
person, street, country), after preposition, Languages,
Academic subjects, days, month.
Examples:
Plural: I eat three apples every day.
Uncountable: My dad just bought new furniture.
Abstract: We seldom see courage like that
Place: My sister is living in Beverly Hills.
Person: I gave it to Mary
Country: I’m from Indonesia.
After preposition: I go to school by bus.
Day: We usually meet on Monday
Languages Do you speak English?

9. Thanks