Articles: A, An, The
The articles a, an, and the are known as noun markers because they mark or signal a noun.
Noun Markers
Noun markers include the following parts of speech:
- The articles a, an, and the
- Possessive nouns, such as Elena’s
- Possessive pronouns/adjectives, such as my, your, his, her, its, our, their
- Demonstrative pronouns/adjectives, such as this, that, these, those
- Quantifiers, such as all, any, each, and numbers
In English, nouns that can be counted, when singular, always require a noun marker.
Counting vs. Mass Nouns
A counting noun is something you can count (for example, flowers, books, eggs, teachers, movies, meals).
A mass noun (non-counting noun) cannot be counted (for example, water, milk, heat, kindness).
Rule #1: First Mention of a Singular Noun
When a singular noun is mentioned for the first time and has no other noun marker, use a or an.
- I saw a dog wandering on the street.
(The dog is mentioned for the first time.) - Later, the dog was at my neighbor’s house.
(Refers to the specific dog mentioned earlier.) - I saw an elephant at the zoo.
(Use an because elephant begins with a vowel sound.) - I wonder if there is an elevator at the end of the hall.
(Use an because elevator begins with a vowel sound.) - One person was standing.
(One already marks the noun, so no article is needed.) - I stubbed my toe on a rock.
(My already marks the noun.)
Rule #2: Using The for Specific Nouns
Use the when talking about specific people or things, whether the noun is singular or plural.
- The dog probably belongs to our neighbor.
- The dogs were very hungry.
(The does not change for plural nouns.) - The drivers were all honking their horns.
(Their marks the noun horns.)
Rule #3: General Plural and Mass Nouns
When speaking generally about plural counting nouns or mass nouns, noun markers are not required.
- A woman came to my door yesterday. The woman was collecting donations for the local food bank.
(Donations is plural and general, so no noun marker is needed.) - My friend was carrying books, pencils, and an umbrella.
(Books and pencils are plural counting nouns used generally; umbrella is singular and requires a noun marker.) - My desk is covered with dust.
(Dust is a mass noun used in a general sense.) - The dust must have blown in from the nearby construction.
(Dust is specific in this sentence.) - I found flowers on my desk this morning.
(Flowers is plural and general.) - The third floor is the hottest because heat rises.
(Heat is a mass noun used generally.)
Rule #4: Using Articles to Change Meaning
Adding or removing a noun marker can change a sentence’s meaning by making the noun more specific.
- Bad behavior makes teachers angry.
(Teachers is used in a general sense.) - Bad behavior makes the teachers angry.
(Refers to a specific group of teachers.)
Additional Resources
See A Writer’s Reference, pp. 410–18, for additional information and examples.
For more information, see:
Sperling, Dave. Dave’s ESL Café. Dave Sperling, 2016, www.eslcafe.com.