From time-to-time we all need a little reminder
about one grammatical rule or another. Even for many native-English
speakers, the usage of the indefinite article "a" or "an" is confusing.
We can only imagine what it must be like for non-native English
speakers. Let's settle this mind-boggling English rule!
What Are Articles?
Articles are words that accompany a noun to
indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. In the English
language, there are three types of articles: definite, indefinite, and
partitive.
Definite: The word the indicates that its noun is a particular noun or is an identifiable noun to the listener or reader.
Indefinite: The words a and an are used before a singular noun that has a plural form.
Partitive: Often used to indicate a mass noun, the word some is the English equivalent to a partitive article (e.g., "Would you like some coffee?").
