What Is An Article? Types & Examples Published November 12, 2021 What Is An Article?

Types of articles
We can separate the articles into two different types.
Definite articles
In English, the only definite article is the word the. A definite article has several roles that it performs.
1. A definite article is used to refer to unique things or groups. A definite article can indicate that something is unique and only one of it exists.

• 
  She gazed at the moon. (The Earth only has one moon)
  
• 
  We sailed on the Pacific Ocean. (There is only one body of water named Pacific Ocean.)
  

2. A definite article is used to refer to specific things that both the speaker and the listener know the identity of.

• 
  Harold went to the store. (Both the speaker and the listener know specifically which store Harold went to.)
  
• 
  The kids are playing outside. (Both the speaker and listener know the identity of the kids.)
  

In writing and speech, the word the is typically used after the speaker or writer first introduces a thing that they are talking about. The word the then references back to this same thing. For example,

• 
  We saw birds by the lake. The birds were building nests. (The word the indicates that the birds in the second sentence are the same birds mentioned in the first sentence.)
  

 Indefinite articles
In English, there are two indefinite articles: a and an. A is used before consonants or consonant sounds, and an is used before vowels or vowel sounds. Indefinite articles are basically the reverse of definite articles and have several different roles.
1. Indefinite articles are used to refer to things that aren’t unique.

• 
  Raquel is a doctor. (Raquel is just one of the many doctors in the world.)
  
• 
  France is a country. (France is one of many countries.)