What are definite and indefinite articles in English?

In English, the definite and indefinite articles are the and a/an. Articles are little words that come before nouns and give information about whether the noun is specific and familiar (definite) or generic or unfamiliar (indefinite).

• I saw the dog

  → a specific and familiar dog

• I saw a dog

  → an unfamiliar or generic dog

Ready to learn more about what an article is, what makes a noun specific or unspecific, and when to use no article at all? Let’s jump in and get started!

Articles are words that go before nounsNo definition set for nounsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. and tell you whether a noun is definite or indefinite. The English indefinite article is a/an, and the definite article is the.

• A noun is definite when it is specific and familiar to your audience.

  → This means that your audience has enough information to know exactly which noun you are talking about.

• A noun is indefinite when it is generic or is unfamiliar to your audience.

  → This means that your audience does not have enough information to know exactly which noun you are talking about (sometimes because you are not talking about a specific noun at all)

In English, we always need to show whether a noun is definite or indefinite, and articles are the most common way to show this.

• the dog

  → definite

• a dog

  → indefinite

Let’s look at an example to illustrate the difference in meaning:

I often take my dog to a park to play with other dogs. Some of the dogs are friends with my dog, and we see them very often, but there are also other dogs that we do not know. When I tell my husband about the park, I might say:

“We saw the corgi again today and we also met a German shepherd!”

the corgi

→ a specific dog
→ familiar to my husband

Because I said the corgi, my husband knows that I am talking about a dog that he knows (or knows about). The corgi is one of our dog’s friends.

a German shepherd

→ a specific dog
→ unfamiliar to my husband

Because I said a German shepherd, my husband knows that I am talking about a dog that he does not know. It is a specific dog (the dog that we met), but my husband does not have enough information to identify it.

In this post, we’ll talk about when and how to use articles, as well as some cases when you can leave the articles out.

In English, we use the definite article the before nouns that are singular or plural, as long as the noun is specific and familiar.

There are some cases where we always use the definite article:

• When there is only one in the world (or in a given situation), and so everyone will know which one you mean:

  • The sky looks so beautiful today!

    → as long as you are on Earth, there is only one sky.

• When using an English superlative adjective:

  • superlative adjective

    Jacob is the tallest player on the team.

    → We use superlative adjectives to talk about one noun that has a quality more than everyone else, so there can only be one noun.

• Before an adjective that stands for a group:

  • adjective

    The wealthy can afford luxury vacations.

• Some proper nounsNo definition set for proper nounsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. always have a definite article:

  • When I go to France I want to see the Eiffel Tower!

    → Learn more from your post on English proper nouns with definite articles!

Indefinite articles are used before a noun that is generic or that is unfamiliar (so it is being introduced for the first time). In English, the indefinite article is a(n), which is only used before singular nouns.

A and an are the same word. We use a before a word that starts with a consonantNo definition set for consonantLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. sound and an before a word that starts with a vowelNo definition set for vowelLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. sound.

There are a few common places where we use the indefinite article:

• When the noun is not specific at all:

  • I want to go to the library and choose a new book.

    → I am not imagining a specific book yet, I just need something to read.

  • My friends want to watch a movie tonight.

    → They have not chosen the movie yet.

• When we refer to a noun for the first time. After that you will use the definite article because the noun becomes familiar.

  • indefinite articledefinite article

    There’s a new student in class today and the new student is very loud.

    → This is the first time the speaker is referring to this student.

    My brother bought a car yesterday. The car is blue.

    → This is the first time the speaker is discussing this particular car.

• When we just mean “one” noun:

  • Emily has two dogs and a cat.

    → There is one cat.

  • Can you hand me a brown egg from the carton?

    → The speaker needs one brown egg.

English nouns often have an article, but there are several situations where we do not use them. These are some of those situations:

• We don’t use an article when we are referring to all or any noun that fits a description or to a noun as a general category. Let’s look at a few examples:

  • ✅ I like museums.

    → We are talking about the general idea of museums, not any one in particular.

  • ✅ Flowers are very beautiful.

    → We are referring to all flowers.

• We don’t use articles before proper nouns.

  • ✅ Lisa likes to eat jam.

  • ✅ I am traveling to New York City.

  • Exception!

    While many proper nouns never have a definite or indefinite article, some proper nouns always have a definite article, because the article is part of a name:

    • ✅ I live in the United States.

    • ✅ My favorite basketball team is the Miami Heat.

• We also don’t use articles before indefinite mass nouns (nouns a substance or concept, not an object):

  • ✅ I put the milk on the table.

    → The milk is specific and known. Probably it is the carton milk that you bought at the store.

  • ✅ I put milk in my coffee this morning.

    → The milk is not specific and known, so I do not use an article.

  However, it is common to use a quantity word like some with mass nouns instead. We just do not use a(n), because a(n) means “one” and mass nouns cannot be counted with numbers:

  • ✅ I put some milk in my coffee this morning.

  • ❌ I put a milk in my coffee this morning.

  Tip

  There are some cases where we use mass nouns as count nouns in English. When this happens, you can use a mass noun with an indefinite article, because it is acting as a count noun:

  ✅ Can you hand me a milk?

  → can you hand me a container of milk

• In some types of English prepositional phrases (at / in / to /… + noun), the noun does not need an article. Here are some common places where this happens:

  • Before nouns for schools or other sorts of institutions, if you are using that institution for its main purpose:

    • ✅ at school, in school, to school…(as a student/teacher)

    • ✅ in jail, to jail, from jail… (as a prisoner)

    • ✅ to church, at church, from church…(to worship)

    Tip

    If you are not using the institution for its main purpose, use an article:

    I was in the school.

    → I was a visitor; maybe I am picking up a child, fixing the plumbing, attending an event, etc.

  • When the noun stands for a period time on a schedule or calendar:

    • ✅ after breakfast, before noon, in February

  • After by, when the noun describes a form of transportation:

    • ✅ We traveled by train / by bus / by dragon.

• We don’t use articles if a noun already has one of the following types of words:

  • demonstrative adjectives (this, that, these, those)

    • ❌ Did you see the that kitten?

  • possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their, whose) or possessive nouns (Sarah’s, the group’s)

    • ❌ I ate the my cookie.

    • ❌ I ate the Margot’s cookie.

  • some quantity adjectives (some, all, every…).

    • ❌ The every student studied hard.

  Articles, along with the types of words listed above, are part of a group of words called determiners. In English, each noun may have many modifiers, but can only have one determiner! Have a look at our mini-article on determiners in English to learn more!

In this post we’ve looked at:

• what an article is

• when we use the definite article

• when we use the indefinite article

• when we use no article

We’ve discussed that the indefinite article should be used when a noun is unspecific, when the noun is a count of one, or when referring to a noun for the first time. We also talked about how the definite article should be used to single out one specific thing that is familiar to both you and the person you’re speaking to.

Feeling more confident in your knowledge of articles in English? Now’s a great time to take a few minutes and try out our extra practice for using English articles!