articles
Articles refer to nouns
In English, the articles are a, an, and the. Articles describe and point out nouns. Articles show if a noun is singular or plural, specific or general, and count or noncount.
For example: A man knocked on my door.
A in the above sentence is an article. It introduces one, non-specific noun which in the above sentence is the subject, a man.
Indefinite and Definite Articles
For example
- The delivery is expected to arrive at noon.
The article before “delivery” is singular and specific. It refers to the specific delivery that is expected to arrive at noon.
For example
- An airplane is faster than an automobile.
An is used just like a but before words beginning with a vowel or vowel sound, for example, the word umbrella (the u in umbrella is a vowel sound).
For example
- The woman with the yellow hat is back.
The article points to a specific person, a woman with a yellow hat.
Articles also show if a noun is count or noncount.