We continue our parts of speech series by writing all about articles.
What are parts of speech?
Language is made up of different words with different functions. These words are are known as parts of speech.
“In the English language, words can be considered as the smallest elements that have distinctive meanings. Based on their use and functions, words are categorised into several types or parts of speech.” (From Parts of Speech) A part of speech is also sometimes known as a word class.
These categories are:
[Top Tip: If you need practical help with your grammar, buy The Complete Grammar Workbook.]
Today I will be discussing articles.
All About Articles
Articles are words that introduce and give information about nouns. There are only two articles: ‘a’ and ‘the’. One is an indefinite article and the other a definite article. Articles are one of the most common words in languages, and ‘the’ is the most frequently used word in English.
Indefinite Article
This article does not refer to a specific object.
‘A’ is known as the indefinite article because it points out an unspecified object. Examples: a car, a taxi, a teenager.
Tip: Use ‘an’ if words begin with a vowel or a vowel sound. Examples: an axe, an honourable politician, an unidentified woman.
Definite Article
This article refers to a specific object.
‘The’ is known as the definite article because it points out a particular object or class. Example: This is the cat I found.
Look out for next week’s post on pronouns.
If you enjoyed this post, read:
- Grammar For Beginners: All About Prepositions
- Grammar For Beginners: All About Conjunctions
- Grammar For Beginners: All About Adverbs
- Grammar For Beginners: All About Verbs
- Grammar For Beginners: All About Adjectives
- Grammar For Beginners: All About Nouns
- Grammar For Beginners: All About Parts Of Speech
[Top Tip: If you need practical help with your grammar, buy The Complete Grammar Workbook.]