Grammar Tips & Articles »

article

This Grammar.com article is about article — enjoy your reading!


36 sec read
3,866 Views
  Ed Good  —  Grammar Tips
Font size:

We have three articles in the English language: a, an, and the. The words a and an are indefinite articles, the word is a definite article.

Use an when the word modified begins with a vowel or vowel sound, as in an apple or an hour.

Use a when the word modified begins with a consonant or consonant sound, as in a bicycle or a university.

When a or an modifies an acronym, use an when the spoken acronym begins with a vowel sound, as in an FDA hearing.

The differences between a-an and the, and the issue of when to omit articles are discussed in the section on Adjectives in Parts of Speech on Grammar.com. Click here for that discussion.

Rate this article:

Have a discussion about this article with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this article to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "article." Grammar.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Oct. 2024. <https://www.grammar.com/article>.

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Check your text and writing for style, spelling and grammar problems everywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Check your text and writing for style, spelling and grammar problems everywhere on the web!

    Free Writing Tool:

    Instant
    Grammar Checker

    Improve your grammar, vocabulary, style, and writing — all for FREE!


    Quiz

    Are you a grammar master?

    »
    Identify the sentence with correct use of the preposition 'across':
    A She read a book across the room.
    B The cat is hiding beneath the bed.
    C They walked across the narrow bridge.
    D The cat jumped across the fence.

    Improve your writing now:

    Download Grammar eBooks

    It’s now more important than ever to develop a powerful writing style. After all, most communication takes place in reports, emails, and instant messages.