2. Indefinite articles are used to refer to nonspecific things.
I am looking for a job. (I am not looking for a specific job.)
Please hand me an envelope. (You can hand me any envelope you can find.)
In this same sense, indefinite articles are often used to refer to something as an idea or concept.
Going camping is a fun experience. (This sentence says that the act of “going camping” is an example of something that can be described as “fun experience.”)
Did you know that all articles are determiners, but what exactly is a determiner? Find out here.
3. Indefinite articles are used to refer to things that the speaker and listener don’t know the identity of.
Vick has a dog. (We know Vick owns a dog, but we don’t know anything about it.)
A woman is standing outside. (We don’t know who the woman is.)
In writing and speech, indefinite articles are often used to introduce the first mention of a noun. Once the noun has been introduced, it is then possible to use a definite article.
A truck drove past. The truck was huge. (The noun truck is introduced with the definite article a. After it is introduced, we can use the to refer back to the same truck.)
Unlike definite articles, it is considered grammatically incorrect to use indefinite articles with plural nouns.
Correct: I have a cat.
Incorrect: I have a cats.
Nouns that don’t take articles
Some nouns do not take articles. Unfortunately, there is no general rule for when this happens, and you’ll just need to learn these instances as you encounter them. Some common types of nouns that don’t typically use articles include:
Languages: I studied Russian. She speaks Spanish and Portuguese.
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