English has three articles: the definite article the and the indefinite articles a and an. Use the for something your reader already knows about, and a or an for something new. The choice between a and an depends on the sound that follows, not on the spelling.
Articles are one of the word classes, or parts of speech, of English. They are a small and easily forgotten class. This article explains what an article is, what it is used for, and how to tell articles apart from other words.
What are articles?
In English, an article is a word that comes with a noun. Articles belong to a larger group of words called determiners, which also includes words such as this, my, and some. In other languages, a whole phrase or even just an ending can do the job of an article. In Swedish, for example, the definite article is an ending: hus (house) becomes huset (the house).
Articles show how a noun or noun phrase relates to its context. English has only three of them:
the, a, an
Definite and indefinite articles
The three articles fall into two groups: the definite article and the indefinite articles. Here is when and why to use each one, with examples.
English has only one definite article: the. Use it to refer to something or someone that is known in the context. This can be because the thing or person was mentioned before, because it is implied, or because everyone knows it. The goes with singular and plural nouns alike.
I read the book you gave me. The sun is shining.
English has two indefinite articles: a and an. Use them for something that is not yet known in the context. Usually, you can read them as one, but without the emphasis on the exact number. Both go only with singular nouns that you can count.
She fed her dog a treat. He gave the horse an apple.
To learn more about the words that articles go with, read all about nouns in English grammar.
A or an?
The two indefinite articles do the same job, but in different places.
Use an before a word that starts with a vowel sound. This has nothing to do with spelling. University is spelled with a u, but it starts with a "y" sound, so it takes a: a university. Likewise, hour and honest are spelled with an h, but the h is silent, so they take an: an hour, an honest answer.
In all other cases, use a. Note that the article goes with the word that follows it, which is not always the noun: an apple, but a red apple.
Articles with gender in other languages
This does not affect English, but in some languages the articles show the gender of the noun. French and German, for example, have different definite articles depending on the gender of the noun they go with.
German:
- der Hase (the rabbit; Hase is masculine)
- die Katze (the cat; Katze is feminine)
- das Haus (the house; Haus is neuter)
French:
- le baiser (the kiss; baiser is masculine)
- la maison (the house; maison is feminine)
- l'enfant (the child; the article is shortened because the noun starts with a vowel)
English speakers who learn these languages have to learn the gender of each noun along with the word itself. In English, the, a, and an are all you need. If you are unsure about an article in your own text, the Spell Checker checks grammar as well as spelling.