Articles and types of nouns
Articles (a, an, the) are part of a category of words known as noun markers or determiners.
Standard English uses noun markers to help identify the nouns that follow. In addition to articles (a, an, and the), noun markers include the following:
- possessive nouns, such as Elena’s
- possessive pronoun/adjectives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their
- demonstrative pronoun/adjectives: this, that, these, those
- quantifiers: all, any, each, either, every, few, many, more, most, much, neither, several, some, and so on
- numbers: one, twenty-three, and so on
Using articles and other noun markers
Articles and other noun markers always appear before nouns; sometimes other modifiers, such as adjectives and adverbs, come between a noun marker and a noun.
In most cases, do not use an article with another noun marker.
Expressions like a few, the most, and all the are exceptions: a few potatoes, all the rain.
Types of articles and types of nouns
To choose an appropriate article for a noun, first determine whether the noun is common or proper, count or noncount, singular or plural, and specific or general. The chart below describes the types of nouns.
Articles are classified as indefinite and definite. The indefinite articles, a and an, are used with general nouns. The definite article, the, is used with specific nouns.
A and an both mean “one” or “one among many.” Use a before a consonant sound: a banana, a vacation, a happy child, a united family. Use an before a vowel sound: an eggplant, an uncle, an honorable person.
The shows that a noun is specific; use the with one or more than one specific thing: the newspaper, the soldiers.
Types of nouns
Common or proper
| Common nouns | Examples | |
| name general persons, places, things, or ideas | religion knowledge rain | beautystudentcountry |
| begin with lowercase |
| Proper nouns | Examples | |
| name specific persons, places, things, or ideas | HinduismPhilip | President AdamsWashington Monument |
| begin with capital letter | New JerseyVietnam | Supreme CourtRenaissance |
Count or noncount (common nouns only)
| Count nouns | Examples | |
| name persons, places, things, or ideas that can be counted | girl, girlscity, citiesgoose, geese | |
| have plural forms | philosophy, philosophies |
| Noncount nouns | Examples | |
| name things or abstract ideas that cannot be counted | watersilverfurniture | patienceknowledgeair |
| cannot be made plural |
Singular or plural (both common and proper)
| Singular nouns(count and noncount) | Examples | |
| represent one person, place, thing, or idea | backpackcountrywomanachievement | rainbeautyNile RiverBlock Island |
| Plural nouns (count only) | Examples | |
| represent more than one person, place, thing, or idea | backpackscountrieswomen | Ural MountainsFalkland Islandsachievements |
| must be count nouns |
Specific (definite) or general (indefinite) (count and noncount)
| Specific nouns | Examples |
| name persons, places, things, or ideas that can be identified within a group of the same type |
The students in Professor Martin’s class should study. The furniture in the truck was damaged. |
| General nouns | Examples |
| name categories of persons, places, things, or ideas (often plural) |
Students should study. Books bridge gaps between cultures. The airplane has made commuting between cities easy. |