ARTICLES

One of the most frequent corrections I make as an editor is to add or remove direct and indirect articles. How do we know when to use articles, and whether to use definite or indefinite articles?


Indefinite articles:
These are “a” and “an.” Indefinite articles are generally used when the speaker is referring to a non-specific item.
e.g. I would like a coffee. (Any coffee)

We use “an” before a word beginning with a vowel (a, e, i, o or u) sound and “a” before a word beginning with a consonant (non-vowel) sound.
e.g. a car, an umbrella
Note that it is the sound a word begins with when spoken that determines whether “a” or “an” is required, so it is best to say a word aloud to decide which one to use.
e.g. even though “unicorn” is spelled with an initial “u” (a vowel), it is pronounced “you-ni-corn,” so we say “a unicorn.”
Similarly, although “hour” is spelled with an initial “h” (a consonant), this is silent (i.e. “our”), so we would say “an hour.”


The definite article:
This is “the,” and it is generally used to refer to something specific.
e.g. Would you bring me the bill? (Specifically my bill and not someone else’s)


For a more comprehensive guide to using articles, including situations in which they are not used (the zero article), I would recommend A Short Article on Articles by David Appleyard


Photo credit: kate mccarthy (Creative Commons)