What are Articles?

Before diving deep into the Use of articles with different types of nouns, it is a must to know what actually articles are. 

Articles are the group of adjectives defining the nouns as specific or unspecific. There are three different articles- “A”, “An”, and “The”. These are always mentioned in the front of the nouns. It is the articles that limit or define the use of different types of nouns in the context of English sentences. In simple words, articles are used to impart accuracy and effectiveness to the nouns in English sentences. 

Use of Articles with Examples:

Here is the use of articles with examples:

  1. Please give him the charger.
  2. Can you get me the notes?
  3. My sister got a new dress yesterday.
  4. Would you get me an envelope?

What are the Different Types of Articles?

Articles are categorized into two parts- definite articles and indefinite articles. 

  • Definite Articles: “The” falls in the category of the definite article
  • This particular article always is used to point to a particular person or thing within the group or sentence
  • In other words, the definite article limits the meaning of a noun to one certain thing
  • When it comes to the Use of Article, the definite article can be used before singular, uncountable as well as plural nouns
  • Indefinite Articles: When a word is used before a noun just to specify that the noun can be a part of any class of objects, the particular word is called the indefinite article
  • Both “a” and “an” falls in the category of indefinite articles
  • When it comes to the use of articles, indefinite articles are used with singular countable nouns as well as uncountable nouns

The indefinite article “an” is used before a vowel sound and “a” is used before a consonant sound. It is the usage of “a” and “an” that makes a noun or noun phrase indefinite. 

What are Different Types of Nouns?

To know about the use of articles with nouns you need to know the types of nouns. Here mentioned is different kind of nouns with examples:

  • Countable Nouns: As the name suggests, these refer to the items that are either singular or plural and can be counted

Here are some examples of countable nouns- a mango, three mangoes, an apple, etc.

  • Uncountable nouns: As the name suggests, these refer to the items that are singular and can not be counted

Here are some examples of uncountable nouns- rice, water, air, etc.

Rules of use of Articles with Different Types of Nouns:

Below-mentioned is the rules of use of both definite and indefinite articles with different kind of nouns with examples:

Rule 1: Particular identity is not known:

When it comes to the use of indefinite articles- “a” and “an”, these both are used with the singular noun whose particular identity is not known to the audience. In case a noun is starting with a consonant sound, then ‘A’ is used before it and if a noun is starting with a vowel sound, then ‘An’ is used before it. 

  1. He thinks an animal is in the house.
  2. She is searching for an apartment.
  3. She owns a dog.

Rule 2: Particular identity is known:

One can use a definite noun- “the” with all types of nouns- singular, plural, countable and uncountable in case the particular identity of the noun is known to the audience. 

  1. He ate chocolate yesterday. The chocolate was delicious. 
  2. The girl sitting in front raised her hand. Thank you for the suggestion you gave him.

Rule 3: All nouns are in general:

In the case plural, countable nouns or any uncountable nouns are used to mean in general, there is no use of the indefinite article or definite article in the sentence. 

  1. She was asking for suggestions.
  2. He doesn’t like chocolates. 

Conclusion 

Articles are a group of words that are written before nouns to denote them as specific or unspecific items. Articles are categorized into two parts- definite articles and indefinite articles. The usage of both these articles depends on the different types and sounds of nouns. If you want to frame a grammatically correct and well-framed English sentence then you need to know about the use of an Article. Not only articles, but you should also be aware of different nouns. This guide is framed specifically to help you to learn the concept of articles, different kinds of nouns, and their use with different types of nouns in simple and easy language.