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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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MASTER

MASTER

Israel

 the serious question is when do we use the zero article …...????

08:07 PM Nov 08 2009 |

303Kevin

303Kevin

China

thanks

11:53 AM Oct 12 2009 |

Mira_Memoir

Egypt

Awesome lesson! Awesome movie! Awesome book! :DDDD

06:35 PM May 21 2009 |

^Farah^

^Farah^

Indonesia

great, i have got one lesson again, keep trying to learn

07:36 AM May 17 2009 |

buramo326

Mongolia

sun is in the sky

 

08:39 AM Apr 22 2009 |

buramo326

Mongolia

sun is the sky

08:39 AM Apr 22 2009 |

Eydo

Eydo

Turkey

The nile is the longest river in the world:)

10:19 AM Mar 18 2009 |

dados

Algeria

                  2

 Where are the other articles ( A & AN ) ?

12:41 AM Mar 02 2009 |

jamal_hda

Morocco

what are the other articles

01:16 AM Feb 22 2009 |

CSI_fan

CSI_fan

Turkey

How to use "the" can be confusing sometimes!

The first episode of CSI is the best!

05:27 PM Feb 09 2009 |