Understand and use English Articles Easily: Indefinite

@Kayleigh Keegan

Articles are an important part of the English language as they provide important information about nouns that they precede. There are three types of articles - namely definite, indefinite, and zero or no articles. The fact that English nouns do not carry gender certainly makes English articles easy to learn.

Some students may still find the use of articles tricky. If you can relate then this three-part blog post is just for you. Part 1 (below) will cover an introduction to articles in English grammar, together with some practical help in understanding and using indefinite articles in particular. To learn how to use English articles easily, read on.

If you find this post helpful, why not try one of these next steps?

1. Learn more - look out for my next post to learn more about using articles easily
2. Practice what you learn - see my suggestions at the end of this post
3. Accelerate your learning - take an English course. CLICK HERE to sign up for a free trial :)

What is an Article?

An article is a word that comes before a noun that tells us if the noun is specific or unspecific.
In a way, it is like an adjective because it describes or defines the specificity of a noun.

There are three types of articles in the English language (remember, nouns do not carry gender in English).

The first is the indefinite article - “a” or “an” - which shows us that it is not a specific noun that is being referred to.

Then there is the definite article - “the” - which shows that we are talking about a specific noun.

Finally, there are certain types of nouns that do not require articles - the zero article.

A quick way to remember English articles:

Indefinite = not clearly defined - “a” / “an”
Definite = sure or certain - “the”
[Zero = specific/unspecific]

This blog post forms part of and will (in time) link to a series of other practical posts to make English articles easy. This post will cover the indefinite article - “a” and “an” - and will also include some helpful exercises to practice this grammar structure.

Enjoy!

Indefinite Articles - A / AN

As mentioned above, we use indefinite articles to talk about general ideas or unspecific, undefined, nouns.
These are nouns that we are not familiar with or that have not yet been introduced in a conversation or text.
Also, remember that indefinite articles are used to refer to singular, countable nouns.

Example:

Lion

Mmmm... What do we know about this lion?

No specific lion
This could be any lion
We do not know which lion
We don’t know his name, where he’s from, or anything about him

It’s just any old lion

[any old = any item of a specified type - to show that no particular thing is being indicated]

A or AN?

We use “a” before nouns that begin with consonants sounds
We use “an” before nouns beginning with vowel sounds such as a, e, i, o, and u.

Examples:

An umbrella
An elephant

A phone
A table

This rule also applies to ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS:

Examples:

An orange dress
A very hot day

There are some EXCEPTIONS that depend on the pronunciation of the consonant:

Examples:

An heir
- The “h” silent
- Word starts with the vowel sound - “a”

A uniform
- The “u” is pronounced “you”
- Word starts with the consonant sound - “y”

Uses for Indefinite articles

1. To mention a thing, animal, or person for the first time

Examples:

May I have an apple
An old woman drove the car
You can adopt a dog from a shelter

2. Naming members of a group or category - i.e. a job

Examples:

My brother is training to be a nurse
She wants to be a famous actor
John Thomson is an author.

3. To define a person’s religion or nationality in the singular

Examples:

I am an African
Jason is a Christian
She is a European (remember the rule: “eu” sounds like “you”)

4. To mention a day of the week, but not an actual day or date in particular

Examples:

I have yoga class on a Wednesday
She is only available on a Friday
Christmas is on a Monday this year

5. To refer to an example of something (usually when describing a noun)

Examples:

It was a very cold day
I am reading an interesting book
A tiny spider crawled over my hand

6. To express a high quality or degree of a singular noun, after the words 'what' and 'such'

Examples:

It was such a beautiful play
What a disaster!
He is such a kind teacher

7. When talking about acronyms

[acronym = a word made from the first letters of the words that comprise the name of a thing]

Example:

A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals volunteer was interviewed
An S.P.C.A volunteer was interviewed

* Note: When saying the acronym S.P.C.A, the S sounds like it starts with a vowel - “es”

Exceptions - where we don’t use a / an

1. When the number of a noun is important, then we use ONE (or more) instead of A/AN to refer to a single noun or measuring unit

Examples:

There is only one piece of cake left
The recipe calls for one kilogram of potatoes
Please could I order one stapler, three pencils, and two pens

2. A / AN are not used with demonstratives, possessive pronouns, or cardinal numbers (counting numbers)

Examples:

This jacket is expensive
My car is fixed
There is one person in the room

3. We use “some” in place of “a” or “an” - to talk about unspecific, undefined, nouns - in the plural.

*Note: “some” is also regarded as an indefinite article

Examples:

May I have some oranges
Add some sugar to taste

Practice

Exercise 1: Nouns

A or AN?

1. Hour
2. Accountant
3. Bed
4. Owl
5. Egg
6. University
7. Indian
8. Uncle

Exercise 2: Nouns with adjectives and adverbs

A or AN?

1. Honest man
2. Tiny ant
3. Ugle duckling
4. Huge ox
5. Old car
6. Famous Actress
7. Yellow unicorn
8. Very sore arm
9. Extremely sick patient
10. Bright orange bird

Excercise 3: Sentences

Fill in the blanks:

1. I am from Africa. I am ___ ___________ man.
2. Oliver Twist, a hungry orphan said: “Please, Sir, may I have ______ more.”
3. My friend wore ___ _______ dress to the party. She looked like ___ peacock.
4. Jane cures all her patients. She is ____ exceptionally _______ _______ .
5. It was ___ __________ to be invited to their wedding.
6. This is ___ __________ car. I would not even afford its insurance.
7. South Africa became __ _______ on 31 May 1910.
8. Please could I have two bananas and ____ a_______?

In Summary

Remember:

- Use "A" for the first mention and "the" thereafter
- The = the only one (on the table, in the room etc.)
- A / An = one of several/many, The = you know what thing
- "An" comes before a vowel sound, not a vowel

Keep Practising

There are a number of ways to practice the use of articles and to improve your English in general. Here are a few:

1. Keep speaking! Join a community group, sports or art club where there are English people and make friends :)
2. Read, read, read! I'll say no more!
3. Take an English course to accelerate this process!

SIGN UP FOR AN ENGLISH COURSE > HERE
AND GET YOUR FIRST CLASS FREE :)

NEXT UP: DEFINITITE ARTICLES

Solutions:

Exercise 1:

1. AN hour
2. AN accountant
3. A bed
4. AN owl
5. AN egg
6. A university
7. AN Indian
8. AN uncle

Exercise 2:

1. AN honest man
2. A Tiny ant
3. AN ugly duckling
4. A huge ox
5. AN old car
6. A famous actress
7. A yellow unicorn
8. A very sore arm
9. AN extremely sick patient
10. A bright orange bird

Execise 3:

1. AN AFRICAN
2. SOME
3. A COLOURFUL; A
4. AN; GOOD / SKILLED DOCTOR
5. AN HONOUR
6. AN EXPENSIVE
7. A UNION
8. AN APPLE

Sources:
Intro to articles | Khan Academy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EsDY2VbIXs
Definite and indefinite articles | Khan Academy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSd0uByBoTo
Articles in English (Definite/ Indefinite/Zero)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8zFR8HPr5I
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/indefinite?q=indefinite
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/definite_1?q=definite
https://www.grammar.cl/Notes/Articles.htm
https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/indefinite-articles/
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/such
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/indefinite-articles-a-and-an/#:~:text=Indefinite%20articles%20are%20used%20when,thing%20we're%20talking%20about
https://www.tefl.net/elt/articles/teacher-technique/tips-learning-articles/

Understand and use English Articles Easily: Indefinite

If you find this post helpful, why not try one of these next steps?

What is an Article?

A quick way to remember English articles:

Indefinite Articles - A / AN

Example:

A or AN?

This rule also applies to ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS:

There are some EXCEPTIONS that depend on the pronunciation of the consonant:

Uses for Indefinite articles

1. To mention a thing, animal, or person for the first time

2. Naming members of a group or category - i.e. a job

3. To define a person’s religion or nationality in the singular

4. To mention a day of the week, but not an actual day or date in particular

5. To refer to an example of something (usually when describing a noun)

6. To express a high quality or degree of a singular noun, after the words 'what' and 'such'

7. When talking about acronyms

Exceptions - where we don’t use a / an

1. When the number of a noun is important, then we use ONE (or more) instead of A/AN to refer to a single noun or measuring unit

2. A / AN are not used with demonstratives, possessive pronouns, or cardinal numbers (counting numbers)

3. We use “some” in place of “a” or “an” - to talk about unspecific, undefined, nouns - in the plural.

Practice

Exercise 1: Nouns

Exercise 2: Nouns with adjectives and adverbs

Excercise 3: Sentences

In Summary

Keep Practising

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NEXT UP: DEFINITITE ARTICLES

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