Articles

Articles are determiners that help show if a noun is general or specific.

Some common articles are a and an which are indefinite articles. They are used with a singular noun when that noun is non-specific.

For example:

• Cara bought a car.

In this example, Cara bought a car. But we don't have any further information to tell us about which car Cara bought. Thus, the noun is non-specific.

The is a definite article. The shows a specific reference point. It can be used with both plural and singular nouns, as well as both countable and uncountable nouns.

• They went to the park.

In this example, the word "the" indicates that the author is talking about a specific park.