Definite Article and Indefinite Article
Definite Article and Indefinite Article
a/an, the
The determiners a/an and the are called "articles". They are the most common of all determiners. They come at the very beginning of a noun phrase. We divide them into "indefinite" and "definite" like this:
indefinite articles | definite article | |
---|---|---|
a/an | the | |
use with | singular countable nouns only | all nouns |
use for | a non-specific person or thing (singular) | specific people or things (singular or plural) |
We use indefinite to mean non-specific. Indefinite is general. We use definite to mean specific. Definite is particular. When we are talking about something in general, we use a or an. When we are talking about something in particular, we use the.
See also:
Think of the sky at night. In the sky we see MILLIONS of stars and ONE moon. So normally we would say:
- I saw a star last night.
- I saw the moon last night.
Look at some more examples:
a/an | the |
---|---|
I was born in a town. John had an omelette for lunch. James Bond ordered a drink. We want to buy an umbrella. Have you got a pen? | The capital of France is Paris. I have found the book that I lost. Have you cleaned the car? There are six eggs in the fridge. Please switch off the TV when you finish. |
Of course, often we can use a/an or the for the same word. It depends on the situation, not the word. Look at these examples:
- We want to buy an umbrella. (Any umbrella, not a particular umbrella.)
- It's raining! Where is the umbrella? (We already have an umbrella. We are looking for our umbrella, a particular umbrella.)
This little story should help you understand the difference between a/an and the:
A man and a woman were walking in Oxford Street. The woman saw a dress that she liked in a shop. She asked the man if he could buy the dress for her. He said: "Do you think the shop will accept a cheque? I don't have a credit card."
A man and a woman were walking in Oxford Street. The woman saw a dress that she liked in a shop. She asked the man if he could buy the dress for her. He said: "Do you think the shop will accept a cheque? I don't have a credit card."
Articles with Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Notice that we use the indefinite article a/an ONLY with singular countable nouns: a dog, an egg, a very big man, an extremely delicious meal
By contrast, we can use the definite article the with ALL nouns: the dog, the eggs, the big men, the music, the food, the red wine
It is sometimes also possible to have no article at all—the so-called ZERO article. This can happen with all nouns (but normally not singular countable nouns): dogs, eggs, hot meals, music, red wine
The following table shows how we usually use articles with countable and uncountable nouns, but see EnglishClub Tip below for more about this.
a/an | the | ZERO | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
countable | singular | a dog | the dog | |
plural | the dogs | dogs | ||
uncountable | the music | music |
In English, a singular countable noun usually needs an article (or other determiner) in front of it. We cannot say:
I saw elephant yesterday.
- I saw an elephant.
- I saw a pink elephant.
- I saw the elephant.
- I saw your elephant.
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