yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

Definite and indefinite articles | The parts of speech | Grammar | Khan Academy


2m read
·Nov 11, 2024

So we've covered the basic idea that divides the usage of the from "a" and "an." You know, "the" is the definite article, and "a" or "an" is the indefinite. So when you're being non-specific in language, you would use the indefinite article, as in "May I have an orange?" Because it doesn't matter which orange you're asking for; you don't care. It's any orange.

As opposed to if you wanted "the orange," this usage is much more specific, and it seems to indicate that there is only one orange. You see the orange in particular that you want; you're identifying it, and you're asking for it. That's what this definite usage is. Something that's interesting about the word "the" is that it can be used for both singular and plural nouns.

So it's both singular and plural. You could say, "May I have the orange?" You could also say, "May I have the oranges?" "A" and "an" does not really allow this; it is only singular. So you can't say, "May I have an oranges?" This is not standard. What you would probably say instead was, "May I have some oranges?" This is not standard; it does not work in standard American English.

The other thing about "a" or "an" is that it's "a" or "an." The indefinite article changes depending on the vowel sound that comes after it, so it changes for vowel sounds. Now, what does that mean? Well, it means that if you know that the word that you're going to say next starts with "a," "e," "i," "o," or "u," then you're going to change it to "an."

So it's the difference between saying "a box" and "an apple." And what we don't say in standard American English is "a apple." It's not as easy on the mouth, frankly. It takes a little bit more effort, and any linguist will tell you that the way languages develop is that they reward laziness.

So we say "a box," but we say "an apple." Something a little weird, though: you want to make sure that you're looking for vowel sounds, not just for vowels. Because some vowels, for example, the letter "u," don't always produce the "oo" sound. Sometimes, if they're at the beginning of a word, like in the word "union," if you say "a union," that produces a "y" sound.

And "y" is technically a consonant sound; it's not a vowel. But there are certainly cases, like "an underwater boat," where the letter "u" does produce an "u" sound, and that's a vowel. So if you're going to start the word with a vowel sound, what you want to do is choose "an" instead of "a," but just be careful of the letter "u," for example.

So to recap: "the" is the definite article; you can use it for both singular and plural usage. "May I have the orange?" "May I have the oranges?" "A" or "an" is indefinite, and it's only singular. So you can say "may I have an orange" or "may I have some oranges." Before a vowel sound, "a" changes to "an," so you say "a box" but "an apple," not "a apple." You say "a union" but "an underwater boat." You can learn anything. David out.

More Articles

View All
Generating Power on Mars | MARS: How to Get to Mars
So, power on Mars is going to be very important, and it will have to have the ability to run the microwave oven, along with the oxygenator and everything else that we’re going to need to survive. You need power; every civilization needs power. It’s what w…
Guardians of the Okavango | National Geographic
I’m a guardian of the guardians. I feel a duty to protect these guardians from what is the outside world, encroaching. I work within the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project as the community liaison with the people living in these Angolan highl…
Get to Know the Gorillas of Disney's Animal Kingdom | Magic of Disney's Animal Kingdom
On the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail lives a very special resident. This is our family troupe of gorillas. They’re a big group; all of our kids were born here. So we have Lily, she’s our oldest. She’s 12. There she is. Lily is probably my favorite. She…
15 Little Habits To Have a Better Day
You know, Alexir, the simplest habits are the most effective. They’re preached over and over again for a reason. It’s because those habits help you live a peaceful, productive, and satisfying life. Eat your greens and your protein, floss daily, put on sun…
Why America Is Going Bankrupt
What’s up, Graham? It’s guys here, and if you check the news, I guarantee you’re going to see headlines that explain that the U.S. is on the brink of a recession. The debt default could trigger the Dollar’s collapse, and the everything bubble is bursting.…
Cyrus the Great establishes the Achaemenid Empire | World History | Khan Academy
As we enter into the 6th Century BCE, the dominant power in the region that we now refer to as Iran was the Median Empire. The Median Empire, I’ll draw the rough border right over here, was something like that, and you can see the dominant region of Media…