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Articles in European languages
  indefinite and definite articles

  only definite articles

  indefinite and postfixed definite articles

  only postfixed definite articles

  no articles

An article is a word that combines with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun, and may also specify the volume or numerical scope of that reference. The articles in the English language are the and a (the latter with variant form an). An article is sometimes called a noun marker, although this is generally considered to be an archaic term.^[1]

Articles are traditionally considered to form a separate part of speech. Linguists place them in the class of determiners.

Articles can have various functions:^[2]

A definite article (English the) is used before singular and plural nouns that refer to a particular member of a group.

The cat is on the red mat.

An indefinite article (English a, an) is used before singular nouns that refer to any member of a group.

A cat is a mammal.

A partitive article indicates an indefinite quantity of a mass noun; there is no partitive article in English, though the quantifiers some or any often have that function.

French: Voudrez-vous du café ? ("Would you like some coffee?" or "Do you want coffee?")

A zero article is the absence of an article (e.g. English indefinite plural), used in some languages in contrast with the presence of one.

Cats love fish.

Linguists interested in X-bar theory causally link zero articles to nouns lacking a determiner.^[3]

Logic of definite articles

In English, a definite article is mostly used to refer to an object or person that has been previously introduced. For example:

At last they came to a piece of rising ground, from which they plainly distinguished, sleeping on a distant mountain, a mammoth bear.... Then they requested the eldest to try and slip the belt over the bear's head.

— Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi, appendix D

vtoday."

thethethethethethethethethethethetheeschwa (as in "uh") before words beginning with consonants (e.g. b, c, d, f), and usually with a different vowel sound /i/ (as "y" in "easy") before words beginning with vowels and in cases of proper nouns or emphasis^[4].

thethethethethethethethethethethetheeThe vthethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethethee

^ Articles, Determiners and Quantifiers
^ The Use and Non-Use of Articles
^ [1] Peter Master (1997), The English article system: Acquisition, function, and pedagogy, System, Volume 25, Issue 2, Pages 215–232
^ the — Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

[1] Articles, Determiners and Quantifiers

[2] The Use and Non-Use of Articles

[3] [1] Peter Master (1997), The English article system: Acquisition, function, and pedagogy, System, Volume 25, Issue 2, Pages 215–232

[4] the — Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 ::— [[Mark Twain]], ''[[Life on the Mississippi]]'', appendix D
+vtoday.''"
-In this example, a bear becomes ''the bear'' because a "mammoth bear" had been previously introduced into the narrative, and no other bear was involved in the story. Only previously introduced subjects, and unique subjects, where the speaker can assume that the audience is aware of the identity of the referent (''The government has increased tax'') typically take definite articles in English.
+thethethethethethethethethethethethee[[schwa]] (as in "uh") before words beginning with consonants (e.g. b, c, d, f), and usually with a different vowel sound {{IPA|/i/}} (as "y" in "easy") before words beginning with vowels and in cases of proper nouns or [[emphasis]]<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the the — [[Definition]] from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary]</ref>.
-By contrast, the indefinite article is used in situations where a new subject is being introduced, and the speaker assumes that the hearer is not yet familiar with the subject:
-:There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
-::— A traditional [[nursery rhyme]]
-Reflecting its historical derivation from the number word ''[[one]]'', the English indefinite article can only be used with singular [[count noun]]s. For [[mass noun]]s, or for plurals, adjectives or adjective phrases like ''some'' or ''a few'' substitute for it, or it is omitted. In English, [[pronoun]]s, nouns already having another non-number determiner, and [[proper noun]]s usually do not use articles. Otherwise in English, unlike many other languages, singular count nouns take an article; either ''a'', ''an'', or ''the''.<ref>Sidney Greenbaum, ''The Oxford English Grammar'' (Oxford University Press, 1996) ISBN 0-19-861250-8</ref> Also in English word order, articles precede any [[adjective]]s that modify the applicable noun.<ref>Dorothy Disterheft, "Advanced Grammar" (Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004) ISBN 0-13-048820-8</ref>
-In French, the masculine definite article ''le'' (meaning ''the'') is contracted with a following word if that word begins with a vowel sound. When the French words ''de'' and ''le'' are to be used sequentially (meaning ''of the''), the word ''du'' is used instead, in addition to the above mentioned use of ''du'' as a partitive article.
-In various languages other than English, the form of the article may vary according to the [[grammatical gender]], [[grammatical number|number]] or [[grammatical case|case]] of the noun it combines with. (In some languages the article may be the only indicator of the case, eg., ::''Der Hut des Napoleon'', Napoleon's hat.) Many languages do not use articles at all, and may use other ways of indicating old vs. new information, such as [[topic-comment]] constructions.
-==''The''==
-{{Refimprovesect|date=July 2008}}
-The word '''''the''''' is the only [[Definiteness|definite]] article in the [[English language]], and the most frequently used word in English.<ref>{{cite web
-|url=http://www.world-english.org/english500.htm
-|title=The 500 Most Commonly Used Words in the English Language
-|author=World English
-|accessdate=2007-01-14
-}}</ref>
-The article '''"the"''' is used with singular and plural, countable and uncountable nouns when both the speaker and listener know the thing or idea already. The article ''the'' is often used as the very first part of a [[noun phrase]] in [[English language|English]]. For example:
-:''The end of time begins now.''
-Here, "the end of time" is a noun phrase. The use of ''the'' signals that the reference is to a specific and unique instance of the concept (such as person, object, or idea) expressed in the noun phrase. Here, the implication is that there is one end of time, and that it has arrived.
-:''The time is 3:29 PM.''
-There are many times, but the meaning here is the time ''now'', of which (at the moment the sentence was produced) there is only one.
-In normative spoken English, it takes two forms, the vowel being a [[schwa]] before a word starting with a consonant, and otherwise an {{IPA|[i:]}} sound.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the|work=Merriam Webster Online Dictionary|title=the - definition}}</ref>
-===Etymology===
-Linguists believe that the common ancestor of the [[Indo-European languages]] (i.e., the [[Proto-Indo-European language]]) did not have a definite article. Most of the languages in this family do not have definite or indefinite articles; there is no article in [[Latin]], [[Sanskrit]], [[Persian language|Persian]], nor in some modern Indo-European languages, especially in Slavic languages — [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Polish language|Polish]] and [[Czech language|Czech]], etc., nor in the Baltic languages — [[Latvian language|Latvian]], [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] and [[Latgalian language|Latgalian]]. (The only Slavic languages that have articles are [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] and [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]]). [[Ancient Greek|Classical]] [[Greek language|Greek]] has a definite article, but [[Homeric Greek]] did not. In the [[etymologies]] of these and many other languages, the definite article arose from a demonstrative [[pronoun]] or [[adjective]] changing its [[usage]]; compare the fate of the Latin demonstrative "ille" (meaning "that") in the [[Romance languages]], becoming [[French language|French]] ''le'', ''la'', ''l’'', and ''les'', [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''el'', ''la'', ''lo'', ''los'', and ''las'', [[Italian language|Italian]] ''il'', ''la'', ''lo'', ''l’'', ''i'', ''gli'', and ''le'', and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ''o'', ''os'', ''a'', and ''as''.
-In some languages, such as [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] and [[Romanian language|Romanian]], the definite article is not always a separate word but is sometimes attached to the end of the noun it governs:
-Icelandic: ''hestur'', horse; ''hesturinn'', the horse<br>
-Norwegian: ''stol'', chair; ''stolen'', the chair<Br>
-Romanian: ''drum'', road; ''drumul'', the road
-''The'' and ''that'' are common developments from the same [[Old English language|Old English]] system. Old English had a definite article ''se'', in the masculine [[grammatical gender|gender]], ''seo'' (feminine), and [[That|''þæt'']] (neuter). In [[Middle English]] these had all [[merger (phonology)|merged]] into ''þe'', the ancestor of the [[Modern English]] word ''the''.
-In Middle English ''the'' (þe) was frequently abbreviated as a ''þ'' with a small ''e'' above it, similar to the abbreviation for ''that'', which was a ''þ'' with a small ''t'' above it. During the latter [[Middle English]] and [[Early Modern English]] periods, the letter [[Thorn (letter)|Thorn]] (þ) in its common script, or [[cursive]], form came to resemble a ''y'' shape. As such the use of a ''y'' with an ''e'' above it as an abbreviation became common. This can still be seen in reprints of the 1611 edition of the [[King James Version of the Bible]] in places such as Romans 15:29, or in the [[Mayflower Compact]]. Note that the article was never pronounced with a ''y'' sound, even when so written.
-===Reduction and omission===
-In news headlines and informal writing, such as notes or diaries, the definite article and some other particles are often omitted, for example, "''Must pick up prescription at pharmacy today.''"
-In some Northern England [[dialect]]s of English, ''the'' is pronounced {{IPA|[t̪ə]}} (with a [[voiceless dental plosive|dental t]]) or as a [[glottal stop]], usually written in [[eye dialect]] as <t>; in some dialects it reduces to nothing. This is known as [[definite article reduction]]; see that article for further details.
-In dialects that do not have {{IPA|/ð/}} ([[voiced dental fricative]]), ''the'' is pronounced with a [[voiced dental plosive]], as in {{IPA|/d̪ə/}} or {{IPA|/d̪iː/}}).
-===Geographic uses===
-In English most cities and countries never take the definite article, but there are many that do. It is commonly used with many country names that derive from names of island groups ([[the Philippines]]), mountain ranges ([[the Lebanon]]), deserts ([[the Sudan]]), seas, rivers and geographic regions ([[the Middle East]]).<ref>How English works, p25, Michael Swan</ref> Such use is declining, but for some countries it remains common. Since the independence of [[Ukraine]], most style guides have advised dropping the article, in part because the Ukrainian Government was concerned about a [[Name of Ukraine#Preposition usage in Ukrainian, Russian and other Slavic languages|similar issue involving prepositions]]. Another example is [[Argentina]], which is now more usual than 'the Argentine', which is old fashioned.
-The definite article is always used for countries whose names are descriptions of the form of the state rather than being purely geographical; for example, the [[United States]], the [[Soviet Union]], the [[Czech Republic]].
-The [[U.S. Department of State]] [http://www.state.gov/misc/list/] and [[The World Factbook|CIA World Factbook]] [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2142.html] show the definite article with only two countries: [[The Bahamas]] and [[The Gambia]].
-Similarly, in other languages some geographic names take the article while others do not:
-''die Schweiz'', Switzerland; ''les Pays-Bas'', [[Netherlands (terminology)|the Netherlands]].
-===Pronunciation===
-According to Merriam-Webster' online dictionary, "the" is pronounced with a [[schwa]] (as in "uh") before words beginning with consonants (e.g. b, c, d, f), and usually with a different vowel sound {{IPA|/i/}} (as "y" in "easy") before words beginning with vowels and in cases of proper nouns or [[emphasis]]<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the the — [[Definition]] from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary]</ref>.
 ==See also==
@@ Line 104: / Line 41: @@
 * [[Definite description]]
 * [[Definiteness]]
+thethethethethethethethethethethetheeThe vthethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethetheethethethethethethethethethethethethee[[ca:Article]]
-==References==
-{{reflist}}
-==External links==
-* [http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/FILES/faculties/ppsw/2005/h.n.thu/thesis.pdf Vietnamese learners mastering english articles]
-*"[http://www.theindexer.org/files/22-3/22-3_119.pdf The Definite Article: Acknowledging 'The' in Index Entries]," Glenda Browne, The Indexer, vol. 22, no. 3 April 2001, pp.&nbsp;119–22.
-*[http://cf.linguistlist.org/cfdocs/new-website/LL-WorkingDirs/pubs/diss/browse-diss-action.cfm?DissID=11895 Low MH 2005: "The Phenomenon of the Word THE in English — discourse functions and distribution patterns"] — a dissertation that surveys the use of the word 'the' in English text.
-* [http://www.brighthub.com/education/languages/articles/17249.aspx When Do You Use Articles: A, An, The]
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Article (Grammar)}}
-[[Category:Parts of speech]]
-[[Category:English language]]
-[[af:Lidwoord]]
-[[bs:Član]]
-[[br:Ger-mell]]
-[[ca:Article]]
 [[cs:Člen (mluvnice)]]
 [[da:Artikel (grammatik)]]