Now, let’s talk about articles. English has three articles: a, an, and the. The is the definite article. It is used to refer to specific nouns. A and An are indefinite articles. They refer to non-specific nouns.
So, if I say, let’s eat the cookie, I am referring to a specific cookie. If I say, let’s eat a cookie, I mean any cookie.
A/An refer to any member of a group. So, if I tell you that I want a pony, it could be any pony. I just want one of the group of items known as ponies.
Whether you use a or an depends on the sound of the next word. A is used for words that begin with a consonant sound. An is used for words that begin with a vowel sound. For example, you have an apple, but you have a delicious apple.
This can be a little tricky because sometimes something that is written with an initial vowel actually makes an initial consonant sound. For example, you attend a university, not an university (pronounced yoo-niversity). You can also have a word that begins with an initial consonant, but is pronounced with an initial vowel. This is particularly true with acronyms. For example, you go to school to get an MA, not a MA (pronounced em-a).
The refers to a particular member of a group. So, if I say that I want the pony, you know I mean a specific pony.
One place the use of articles gets tricky is with count and non-count nouns. The is used with non-count nouns and can often be omitted. So, you can have the water or just water. A and an are used with singular count nouns. So you have a duck and an ostrich.
Some common nouns that do not take articles are names of languages and nationalities (English, German, Spanish); names of sports (soccer, tennis, football); and names of academic subjects (art, history, mathematics).
Writing in English can be difficult, especially when English is not your first language. At Alphabetix, we understand the particulars of ESL writing and can make sure that every article in your articles is grammatically correct.
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