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    What Are Articles?: After The Long Day, The Cup of Tea Tasted Particularly Good

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    kiran
    The document discusses the different types of articles in English: definite and indefinite. [1] The definite article "the" refers to a specific noun, while the indefinite articles "a" and "an" refer to nonspecific nouns. [2] The indefinite article is "a" preceding consonants and "an" preceding vowels, with exceptions for words starting with silent vowels or vowels with consonant sounds. [3] Examples are provided to illustrate the proper uses of definite and indefinite articles.

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    What Are Articles?: After The Long Day, The Cup of Tea Tasted Particularly Good

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    kiran
    350 views3 pages
    The document discusses the different types of articles in English: definite and indefinite. [1] The definite article "the" refers to a specific noun, while the indefinite articles "a" and "an" refer to nonspecific nouns. [2] The indefinite article is "a" preceding consonants and "an" preceding vowels, with exceptions for words starting with silent vowels or vowels with consonant sounds. [3] Examples are provided to illustrate the proper uses of definite and indefinite articles.

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    The document discusses the different types of articles in English: definite and indefinite. [1] The definite article "the" refers to a specific noun, while the indefinite articles "a" and "an" refer to nonspecific nouns. [2] The indefinite article is "a" preceding consonants and "an" preceding vowels, with exceptions for words starting with silent vowels or vowels with consonant sounds. [3] Examples are provided to illustrate the proper uses of definite and indefinite articles.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    350 views3 pages

    What Are Articles?: After The Long Day, The Cup of Tea Tasted Particularly Good

    Uploaded by

    kiran
    The document discusses the different types of articles in English: definite and indefinite. [1] The definite article "the" refers to a specific noun, while the indefinite articles "a" and "an" refer to nonspecific nouns. [2] The indefinite article is "a" preceding consonants and "an" preceding vowels, with exceptions for words starting with silent vowels or vowels with consonant sounds. [3] Examples are provided to illustrate the proper uses of definite and indefinite articles.

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    What Are Articles?

    Articles are words that define a noun as specific or unspecific. Consider the following
    examples:

    After the long day, the cup of tea tasted particularly good.

    By using the article the, we’ve shown that it was one specific day that was long and
    one specific cup of tea that tasted good.
    After a long day, a cup of tea tastes particularly good.

    By using the article a, we’ve created a general statement, implying that any cup of tea
    would taste good after any long day.
    English has two types of articles: definite and indefinite. Let’s discuss them now in
    more detail.

    The Definite Article

    The definite article is the word  the. It limits the meaning of a noun to one particular
    thing. For example, your friend might ask, “Are you going to the party this
    weekend?” The definite article tells you that your friend is referring to a specific party
    that both of you know about. The definite article can be used with singular, plural, or
    uncountable nouns. Below are some examples of the definite article the used in
    context:

    Please give me the hammer.

    Please give me the red hammer; the blue one is too small.

    Please give me the nail.


    Please give me the large nail; it’s the only one strong enough to hold this painting.

    Please give me the hammer and the nail.

    The Indefinite Article

    The indefinite article takes two forms. It’s the word a when it precedes a word that
    begins with a consonant. It’s the word an when it precedes a word that begins with a
    vowel. The indefinite article indicates that a noun refers to a general idea rather than a
    particular thing. For example, you might ask your friend, “Should I bring a gift to the
    party?” Your friend will understand that you are not asking about a specific type of
    gift or a specific item. “I am going to bring an apple pie,” your friend tells you. Again,
    the indefinite article indicates that she is not talking about a specific apple pie. Your
    friend probably doesn’t even have any pie yet. The indefinite article only appears with
    singular nouns. Consider the following examples of indefinite articles used in context:

    Please hand me a book; any book will do.

    Please hand me an autobiography; any autobiography will do.

    Exceptions: Choosing A or An

    There are a few exceptions to the general rule of using a before words that start with
    consonants and an before words that begin with vowels. The first letter of the
    word honor, for example, is a consonant, but it’s unpronounced. In spite of its
    spelling, the word honor begins with a vowel sound. Therefore, we use an. Consider
    the example sentence below for an illustration of this concept.

    My mother is a honest woman.

    My mother is an honest woman.


    Similarly, when the first letter of a word is a vowel but is pronounced with a
    consonant sound, use a, as in the sample sentence below:

    She is an United States senator.

    She is a United States senator.

    This holds true with acronyms and initialisms, too: an LCD display, a UK-based


    company, an HR department, a URL.

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