Articles
Articles are words that you use with nouns. An article determines the noun.
The articles in the English language are the, a, an:
- the car down the street, the man next to you
- a book, an apple, a bottle
An article belongs to a noun, but it can also be placed before a number or an adjective:
the man, the tall man, the two men, the two tall men.
As you can see, there are two different kinds of articles:
- the definite article the:
You use it before a singular or a plural noun when you talk about one or more specific member(s) of a group (things, places or people) that is known to you:
the tall man, the big house, the man next to me;
- the indefinite articles a/an:
You use them before a singular noun when you talk about any general thing:
a line, a house, a kitchen, a person, an apple, an airport, an idea, an umbrella.
Note:
- You use the article a before nouns/adjectives or numbers that start with a consonant:
a line, a kitchen, a person, a dog, a book, a tall man, a five-year-old boy, a job interview. - You use the article an before nouns that start with a vowel:
an apple, an idea, an umbrella, an egg, an hour, an eight-year-old girl, an interview.
Choose between the article a and an.
Write a, an or the into the gap.
Do the words need the article a or an?
Write the correct definite article the or indefinite article a into the gaps.