The Argument for Articles

By Rachel Grammer, Writing Consultant

As I wandered through tourist traps and tea shops of a foreign city a few years back, I stumbled across this sign. The grammar geek in me had to smile. Would you like to ride on camel? A nice experience, isn’t it? Even as I chuckled, I knew that the omission of the word a in the sign represented one of the greatest challenges of learning the English language: the use of what we writing nerds call articles.

Articles are actually not arbitrary.

Despite the seemingly arbitrary nature of articles, there are grammatical rules that govern their use. The category of articles generally consists of three words: a, an, and the. While these are small words, they can make a world of difference in writing. Articles do have a purpose and can provide clarity. Allow me to explain.

Articles give specificity and number.

Articles fall into two categories: Definite and indefinite.

The definite article (the) refers to definite or specific things, such as the cup of coffee sitting on the counter or the rabbits that ran in front of my car. Definite articles give more specificity but are not necessarily tied to a number. (For example, you can have the research, the articles, or the car. Whether the word that follows is singular or plural does not matter.)

Indefinite articles (a, an) refer to a nonspecific or general thing, such as a cup of coffee or an apple or a camel, meaning any cup, any apple, or any camel. The word a is used before words that begin with a consonant sound and the word an is used before words that begin with a vowel sound. (e.g. A university but an hour. The spellings here would make you think they would need the opposite articles, but whether one uses a or an is based on vowel sound.)

Indefinite articles are bound by number and require a singular word to follow them. (For example, you would use a cat or an elephant, but you would not use a cats or an elephants. These words, cats and elephants are not singular, so they would not use an indefinite article.)

Click on this table to view these article guidelines:

As you can see, because there is no category for words that are nonspecific (indefinite) and plural, we do not use any articles with those words. This is why when we refer to general categories of things or people, we do not use an article:

General topic: I enjoy all kinds of cats.  

Wrong: I like the cats.

Wrong: I like a cat.

Right (with no article): I like cats.

Take the first sentence from the sign in the photo: Would you like to ride on camel? Now click on the table to see how articles could make the sign correct:

As you can see, little words can make a big difference! Whether in your capstone paper or on a street sign, articles do matter.

For more information, check out our website resource on articles. Grammarly also has some great tips on using articles!