Indefinite
• Indefinite nouns: are the general noun or not yet identified in the
context.
• A, An : are the indefinite articles and they are used with indefinite,
singular, countable nouns.
• A : before consonants
• An : before vowels
• Not yet identified --} mentioned for the first time.
-Ahmad bought a house. The house is nice.
• General nouns --} one of a group of items.
- An apple everyday keeps the doctor away.
Definite
• Definite nouns: identified, specific, special or unique.
• The: for all kind of nouns.
•
•
•
•
Identified nouns --} mentioned for the second time.
Specific --} the red car over there.
Special --} Ahmad scored the highest score.
Unique --} the sun is beautiful.
• Note: when a plural noun names a generic item, don’t use (the)
before it.
•
Parks are an important part of any city.
•
Continue: page 127
Pronunciation
• A university , a unique radio.
• An umbrella (“U” was pronounced as “A”)
• Note: if the vowel “u” was pronounced at the beginning of a
word as it is, then the article “a” must be used with this word
• An hour , a European
Note: we must determine which article to use according to the
pronunciation not spelling.