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Definite & Indefinite Articles

Articles in English are very important, as we use them all the time. The three articles in English are a, an, and the. Here are some basic rules for understanding how to use these articles:

The is the definite article. It is used before singular or plural nouns that are specific or particular. Here are some examples:

"The girl who lives next door to me is really cute." This refers to a particular girl: the girl who lives next door. "The president is a busy man." There is only one president, so we are referring to a specific noun here. "I love the books you gave me." Again, we're talking about particular books, the ones you gave me.

A/an are the indefinite articles. We use a/an before general, non-specific nouns or to indicate membership in a group. A/an can only be used with countable, singular nouns. Here are some examples of how to use a/an:

"Let's go see a movie tonight." We aren't talking about a specific movie, as we haven't said which movie we want to see. "Cassie is an actor." Cassie belongs to a group: actors. We use "an" instead of "a" because "actor" begins with a vowel. "I hope I get a car for my birthday." This refers to any car. I don't know which car yet because I haven't gotten the car.

Finally, all articles in English are invariable, meaning that they do not change if the noun is singular or plural, masculine or feminine. There are no other forms of the, an, or a.

Definite & Indefinite Articles Grammar Quiz

  1. forward from Manchester United plays beautiful soccer.

  2. Nothing tastes better than omelette with cheese, peppers and mushrooms.

  3. film "Where the Wild Things Are" is very different from the children's book.

  4. I want to buy Ikea table and chairs that are easy to assemble.

  5. Where can I buy cheap suit to wear to my job interview?

Go Super to see the answers! Go Super!

Definite & Indefinite Articles Lessons:

Houseguests

Red

Owl City

Orchards

Kings of Leon

The Green Hornet

Crowdfunding

Elections

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Comments

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Olaniyan Opeyemi

Nigeria

I know the artist, he is a popular man. I am a student in the university of technology.

06:29 AM Dec 05 2010 |

ramesh.sinha1

India

This lesson is quite useful.

11:51 PM Dec 01 2010 |

foz12

foz12

Saudi Arabia

good lesson

08:59 AM Jul 30 2010 |

weah44

weah44

Sudan

thank you  so much for  such interseting lesson , it's  easy but you  know  while  you talking  it  is  diffcult  to remeber  this  rules so we  need to practice each lesson  individually after  finish it

thanks 

08:49 AM Jun 22 2010 |

Van-Shaw

Van-Shaw

China

Well,it’s useful.
Thanks a lot ,Ebaby.
:-O

03:18 AM Jun 09 2010 |

Little-girl20

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

thanx ebaby!

07:10 AM Jun 06 2010 |

Efri Shan

Efri Shan

Indonesia

Now, I understand the use of a, an, and the.
Thanks Ebaby!

07:15 PM Mar 22 2010 |

luweeh

Philippines

the english subject is very interesting ..i hope i can get a lot lesson.

12:55 PM Feb 17 2010 |

Rosa Chandra

United States

Great lesson! my husband and I are planning to buy a house next year.

08:44 PM Dec 15 2009 |

nellis

nellis

Indonesia

How to pronounce an article"The"  infront of a vowel sound such us The airport. Thank you for the explanation.

01:20 AM Dec 01 2009 |