Articles

This video will discuss some of the ways that we use the, a and an. These words, called ‘articles’, are some of the most commonly used words in English.

Many English language students worry about articles, and articles are one of the most difficult aspects of English. In fact, people may spend years studying English and still make mistakes with the and a. These mistakes are also noticeable by native speakers, such as your lecturers or tutors, so they are likely to pick you up on these in your writing. This video will give you some insight into how articles work.

Firstly, let’s review the articles themselves. There are only three: the, a and an. The definite article the, can be used with either singular, plural or uncountable nouns, while the indefinite articles a and an, can be used only with singular countable nouns. If you aren’t sure what we mean by ‘countable’ and ‘uncountable’ nouns, take a look at our video on that topic first.

When deciding which of these articles to use, look at each noun in your sentence and ask yourself three questions:

1. Is the noun countable or uncountable?
2. If it is countable, is the noun singular or plural?
3. Is the noun definite or indefinite?

Let’s examine a sentence from an article about the organisation Cicada 3301. Take a moment and consider what articles, if any, you would use in each of the blanks.

Let’s look at each of the nouns in turn and answer our first two questions.

1. Is the noun countable or uncountable?
2. If it is countable, is the noun singular or plural?

Firstly, Cicada 3301 is a proper name, like John, Brisbane, or Griffith University, and therefore it takes no article. So we do not need to consider it any further.

The nouns name, organisation, and set are all countable and singular. The nouns puzzles, occasions and cryptanalysts are countable and plural. And the final noun public is uncountable.

We have now answered our first two questions about each of the nouns in this sentence.

For most students, though, the more difficult aspect of articles is whether a noun is definite or indefinite. Let’s consider some general guidelines.

We use the definite article the in front of nouns that we think the listener or reader knows or is aware of because of the context or their own experience. Therefore, we can use the with:

• nouns that have been previously discussed or mentioned
• nouns that are unique or uniquely specified by the context or situation
• with superlatives like the biggest or the worst
• for a system or service like ‘the police’ or ‘the fire brigade’
• with adjectives like the rich, poor, elderly, unemployed when using the word to refer to a group of people
• with country names that include words like ‘kingdom’, ‘state’ or ‘republic’, and with country names that are plural
• for geographical and some natural features like mountain ranges, but not individual mountains
• and for some organisations

So, back to our example. Our third question was: is the noun definite or indefinite?

The nouns organisation, set, puzzles, occasions and cryptanalysts are all indefinite. They have not been previously mentioned, and they are not unique or uniquely specified. Singular, indefinite nouns, organisation and set take the indefinite articles a and an. Plural indefinite nouns, puzzles, occasions and cryptanalysts do not take any article.

There are two definite nouns, name and public. The noun name is unique. It is the single name of this internet group. And public is an adjective that is being used to describe a group of people. These two nouns need ‘the’.

So the answer is:

Did you get them right?

In summary, if the noun is countable, singular and indefinite, you use a or an. If the noun is countable, plural and indefinite or if it is uncountable and indefinite - there is no article.

For all definite nouns, you use the article the.

Remember that the flow chart will help you decide which article to use in your own writing. You can download a copy of this chart from the link below.

Articles take a lot of practice but hopefully this video has provided you with a way to approach nouns in your writing so that you are able to decide when to use an article and which article to use.