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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.