View source for Article (grammar)

{{short description|Word used with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun}}

In [[grammar]], an '''article''' is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with [[noun phrases]] to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a [[part of speech]].

Articles combine with nouns to form noun phrases, and typically specify the grammatical [[definiteness]] of the noun phrase. [[English articles|In English]], ''the'' and ''a'' (rendered as ''an'' when followed by a vowel sound) are the definite and indefinite articles respectively. Articles in many other languages also carry additional grammatical information such as [[grammatical gender|gender]], [[grammatical number|number]], and [[grammatical case|case]]. Articles are part of a broader category called [[determiner]]s, which also include [[demonstratives]], [[possessive determiner]]s, and [[Quantifier (linguistics)|quantifiers]]. In linguistic [[interlinear glossing]], articles are [[list of glossing abbreviations|abbreviated]] as {{sc|art}}.

== Types of article ==

===Definite article===
{{Redirect|Definite article|the comedy album|Definite Article{{!}}''Definite Article''}}
<!-- This section is linked from the redirect "Definite article". If the section title changes, please update the red accordingly. -->

A '''definite article''' is an article that marks a [[definiteness|definite noun phrase]]. Definite articles, such as the English ''[[the]],'' are used to refer to a particular member of a group. It may be something that the speaker has already mentioned, or it may be otherwise something uniquely specified.

For example, Sentence 1 uses the definite article and thus, expresses a request for a particular book. In contrast, Sentence 2 uses an indefinite article and thus, conveys that the speaker would be satisfied with any book.

# Give me ''the'' book.
# Give me ''a'' book.

The definite article can also be used in English to indicate a specific class among other classes:
: '''''The''' cabbage white butterfly lays its eggs on members of '''the''''' Brassica ''genus.''
However, recent developments show that definite articles are morphological elements linked to certain noun types due to [[lexicalization]]. Under this point of view, definiteness does not play a role in the selection of a definite article more than the lexical entry attached to the article.{{clarify|date=June 2016}}<ref>{{Citation |last1=Recasens |first1=Marta |title=First-mention definites:More than exceptional cases |date=2009-06-16 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110216158.217/html |work=The Fruits of Empirical Linguistics II |volume=102 |pages=217–238 |editor-last=Winkler |editor-first=Susanne |place=Berlin, New York |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110216158.217 |isbn=978-3-11-021347-8 |access-date=2023-01-16 |last2=Martí |first2=M. Antònia |author2-link=Maria Antònia Martí|last3=Taulé |first3=Mariona |editor2-last=Featherston |editor2-first=Sam|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=New perspectives on Hispanic contact : linguistics in the Americas |date=2015 |publisher=Iberoamericana |others=Melvin González-Rivera, and Sandro Sessarego |isbn=978-3-95487-831-4 |location=Madrid |oclc=969386958}}</ref>

Some languages (such as the continental [[North Germanic languages]], [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] or [[Romanian language|Romanian]]) have definite articles only as [[suffix]]es.

===Indefinite article===

<!-- This section is linked from the redirect "Indefinite article". If the section title changes, please update the redirect accordingly. -->
An '''indefinite article''' is an article that marks an [[definiteness|indefinite noun phrase]]. Indefinite articles are those such as English "[[English articles#Indefinite article|a]]" or "an", which do not refer to a specific identifiable entity. Indefinites are commonly used to introduce a new discourse referent which can be referred back to in subsequent discussion:

# A monster ate a cookie. His name is [[Cookie Monster]].

Indefinites can also be used to generalize over entities who have some property in common:

# A cookie is a wonderful thing to eat.

Indefinites can also be used to refer to specific entities whose precise identity is unknown or unimportant.

# A monster must have broken into my house last night and eaten all my cookies.
# A friend of mine told me that happens frequently to people who live on Sesame Street.

Indefinites also have predicative uses:

# Leaving my door unlocked was a bad decision.

Indefinite noun phrases are widely studied within linguistics, in particular because of their ability to take [[scope (formal semantics)#Exceptional scope|exceptional scope]].

===Proper article===

A '''proper''' article indicates that its [[Proper noun|noun is proper]], and refers to a unique entity. It may be the name of a person, the name of a place, the name of a planet, etc. The [[Māori language]] has the proper article {{lang|mi|a}}, which is used for personal nouns; so, "{{lang|mi|a Pita}}" means "Peter". In Māori, when the personal nouns have the definite or indefinite article as an important part of it, both articles are present; for example, the phrase "{{lang|mi|a Te Rauparaha}}", which contains both the proper article {{lang|mi|a}} and the definite article {{lang|mi|Te}} refers to the person name [[Te Rauparaha]].

The definite article is sometimes also used with proper names, which are already specified by definition (there ''is'' just one of them). For example: ''the Amazon, the Hebrides''. In these cases, the definite article may be considered superfluous. Its presence can be accounted for by the assumption that they are shorthand for a longer phrase in which the name is a specifier, i.e. ''the Amazon River'', ''the Hebridean Islands''.{{Citation needed|date=February 2020}} Where the nouns in such longer phrases cannot be omitted, the definite article is universally kept: ''the United States'', ''the People's Republic of China''.

This distinction can sometimes become a political matter: the former usage ''the Ukraine'' stressed the word's Russian meaning of "borderlands"; as [[Ukraine]] became a fully independent state following the [[collapse of the Soviet Union]], it requested that formal mentions of its name omit the article. Similar shifts in usage have occurred in the names of [[Sudan]] and both [[Congo (Brazzaville)]] and [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo (Kinshasa)]]; a move in the other direction occurred with [[The Gambia]]. In certain languages, such as French and Italian, definite articles are used with all or most names of countries: {{lang|fr|la France}}, {{lang|fr|le Canada}}, {{lang|fr|l'Allemagne}}; {{lang|it|l'Italia}}, {{lang|it|la Spagna}}, {{lang|it|il Brasile}}.

{{blockquote|text=If a name [has] a definite article, e.g. ''[[Moscow Kremlin|the Kremlin]]'', it cannot idiomatically be used without it: we cannot say ''[[Boris Yeltsin]] is in Kremlin''.|author=[[Robert Burchfield|R. W. Burchfield]]<ref>{{cite book|first=R. W.|last=Burchfield|author-link=Robert Burchfield|page=512|year=1996|edition=3rd|title=The New Fowler's Modern English Usage|isbn=978-0199690367|title-link=A Dictionary of Modern English Usage|publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref>}}

Some languages use definite articles with [[personal name]]s, as in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ({{lang|pt|a Maria}}, literally: "the Maria"), [[Greek language|Greek]] ({{lang|el|η Μαρία|italic=no}}, {{lang|el|ο Γιώργος|italic=no}}, {{lang|el|ο Δούναβης|italic=no}}, {{lang|el|η Παρασκευή|italic=no}}), and [[Catalan language|Catalan]] ({{lang|ca|la Núria}}, {{lang|ca|el}}/{{lang|ca|en Oriol}}). Such usage also occurs colloquially or dialectally in [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[German language|German]], [[French language|French]], [[Italian language|Italian]] and other languages. In [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], the colloquial use of definite articles with personal names, though widespread, is considered to be a [[Germanism (linguistics)|Germanism]].

The definite article sometimes appears in American English nicknames such as "the Donald", referring to current president [[Donald Trump]], and "the Gipper", referring to former president [[Ronald Reagan]].<ref name="WaPo">{{cite news |last1=Argetsinger |first1=Amy |date=1 September 2015 |title=Why does everyone call Donald Trump 'The Donald'? It's an interesting story. |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2015/09/01/why-does-everyone-call-donald-trump-the-donald-its-an-interesting-story/ |access-date=3 October 2017}}</ref>

===Partitive article===

<!-- This section is linked from the redirect "Partitive article". If the section title changes, please update the redirect accordingly. -->A '''partitive''' article is a type of article, sometimes viewed as a type of indefinite article, used with a [[mass noun]] such as ''water'', to indicate a non-specific quantity of it. Partitive articles are a class of [[determiner]]; they are used in [[French language|French]] and [[Italian language|Italian]] in addition to definite and indefinite articles. (In [[Finnish language|Finnish]] and [[Estonian language|Estonian]], the partitive is indicated by inflection.) The nearest equivalent in English is ''some'', although it is classified as a [[determiner]], and English uses it less than French uses {{lang|fr|de}}. 
: French: {{lang|fr|Veux-tu '''du''' café ?}}
: ''Do you want ('''some''') coffee?''

:For more information, see the article on [[French articles and determiners#Partitive article|the French partitive article]].

[[Haida language|Haida]] has a partitive article (suffixed {{lang|hai|-gyaa}}) referring to "part of something or... to one or more objects of a given group or category," e.g., {{lang|hai|tluugyaa uu hal tlaahlaang}} "he is making a boat (a member of the category of boats)."<ref>{{cite book|last=Lawrence|first=Erma|year=1977|title=Haida dictionary|location=Fairbanks|publisher=Alaska Native Language Center|page=64|url=http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/recordDetails.jsp?ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED162532&searchtype=keyword&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&accno=ED162532&_nfls=false}}</ref>

===Negative article===

<!-- This section is linked from the redirect "Negative article". If the section title changes, please update the redirect accordingly. -->A '''negative''' article specifies ''none'' of its noun, and can thus be regarded as neither definite nor indefinite. On the other hand, some consider such a word to be a simple [[determiner (linguistics)|determiner]] rather than an article. In English, this function is fulfilled by ''no'', which can appear before a singular or plural noun: 
: '''''No''' man has been on this island.''
: '''''No''' dogs are allowed here.''
: '''''No''' one is in the room.''

In [[German language|German]], the negative article is, among other variations, ''kein'', in opposition to the indefinite article ''ein''.
:''Ein Hund'' &ndash; a dog
:'''''K'''ein Hund'' &ndash; no dog

The equivalent in [[Dutch language|Dutch]] is ''geen'':
: ''een hond'' &ndash; a dog
: '''''g'''een hond'' &ndash; no dog

===Zero article===

{{See also|Zero-marking in English}}

The '''zero article''' is the absence of an article. In languages having a definite article, the lack of an article specifically indicates that the noun is indefinite. Linguists interested in [[X-bar theory]] causally link zero articles to nouns lacking a determiner.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/S0346-251X(97)00010-9 |title=The English article system: Acquisition, function, and pedagogy |journal=System |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=215–232 |year=1997 |last1=Master |first1=Peter }}</ref> In English, the zero article rather than the indefinite is used with [[grammatical number|plurals]] and [[mass noun]]s, although the word "some" can be used as an indefinite plural article.

: '''''Visitors''' end up walking in '''mud'''.''

==Crosslinguistic variation==

[[File:EuropeArticleLanguages.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Articles in languages in and around Europe {{legend|darkblue|indefinite and definite articles}} {{legend|blue|only definite articles}} {{legend|darkmagenta|indefinite and suffixed definite articles}} {{legend|magenta|only suffixed definite articles}} {{legend|lightgray|no articles}}]]

Articles are found in many [[Indo-European languages]], [[Semitic languages]], [[Polynesian languages]], and even [[language isolate]]s such as [[Basque language|Basque]]; however, they are formally absent from many of the world's major languages including [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Japanese language|Japanese]], [[Korean language|Korean]], [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]], [[Tibetic languages|Tibetan]], many [[Turkic languages]] (including [[Tatar language|Tatar]], [[Bashkir language|Bashkir]], [[Tuvan language|Tuvan]] and [[Chuvash language|Chuvash]]), many [[Uralic languages]] (incl. [[Finnic languages|Finnic]]{{efn|name=fn1}} and [[Sámi languages|Saami languages]]), [[Hindustani language|Hindi-Urdu]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], the [[Dravidian languages]] (incl. [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]], and [[Kannada language|Kannada]]), the [[Baltic languages]], the majority of [[Slavic languages]], the [[Bantu languages]] (incl. [[Swahili language|Swahili]]). In some languages that do have articles, such as some [[North Caucasian languages]], the use of articles is optional; however, in others like English and German it is mandatory in all cases.

Linguists believe the common ancestor of the [[Indo-European languages]], [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]], did not have articles. Most of the languages in this family do not have definite or indefinite articles: there is no article in [[Latin]] or [[Sanskrit]], nor in some modern Indo-European languages, such as the families of [[Slavic languages]] (except for [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] and [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]], which are rather distinctive among the Slavic languages in their grammar, and some Northern Russian dialects<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kusmenko |first1=J K |title=The typology of the language contact on the Balkans and in Scandinavia. A case of the suffixed definite article.|url=https://julevbaago.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/7-the_thypology_of_the_language_contact_on_the_balkans_and_in_scandinavia.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004042537/https://julevbaago.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/7-the_thypology_of_the_language_contact_on_the_balkans_and_in_scandinavia.pdf |archive-date=2021-10-04 |url-status=live}} See s.5 Summary. Retrieved 2 February 2012.</ref>), [[Baltic languages]] and many [[Indo-Aryan languages]]. Although [[Ancient Greek|Classical]] [[Greek language|Greek]] had a definite article (which has survived into [[Modern Greek]] and which bears strong functional resemblance to the German definite article, which it is related to), the earlier [[Homeric Greek]] used this article largely as a pronoun or demonstrative, whereas the earliest known form of Greek known as [[Mycenaean Greek]] did not have any articles. Articles developed independently in several language families.

Not all languages have both definite and indefinite articles, and some languages have different types of definite and indefinite articles to distinguish finer shades of meaning: for example, [[French language|French]] and [[Italian language|Italian]] have a partitive article used for indefinite [[mass noun]]s, whereas [[Colognian dialect|Colognian]] has two distinct sets of definite articles indicating focus and uniqueness, and [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]] uses definite articles in a demonstrative sense, with a tripartite distinction (proximal, medial, distal) based on distance from the speaker or interlocutor. The words ''this'' and ''that'' (and their plurals, ''these'' and ''those'') can be understood in English as, ultimately, forms of the definite article ''the'' (whose declension in Old English included ''thaes'', an ancestral form of this/that and these/those).

In many languages, the form of the article may vary according to the [[grammatical gender|gender]], [[grammatical number|number]], or [[grammatical case|case]] of its noun. In some languages the article may be the only indication of the case. Many languages do not use articles at all, and may use other ways of indicating old versus new information, such as [[topic–comment]] constructions.

===Tables===
{{sticky header}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header"
|+ <span style="black-space: nowrap;">Variations of articles in definiteness and inflection among major languages</span>
!
! style="width: 20%" |  Definite
! style="width: 20%" |  Indefinite
! style="width: 20%" |  Gendered
! style="width: 20%" |  Numbered
! style="width: 20%" |  Case-inflected
|-
! [[Afrikaans]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Albanian language#Grammar|Albanian]]
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Arabic grammar#Definite article|Arabic]]
| {{yes|Yes, as prefixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Armenian language#Stress|Armenian]]
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Basque grammar#Articles, determiners and quantifiers|Basque]] 
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Belarusian grammar|Belarusian]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Bengali grammar#Case|Bengali]]
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Bulgarian grammar#Nouns|Bulgarian]]
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{partial|Only masculine singular}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Catalan grammar#Articles|Catalan]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Chinese grammar#Noun phrases|Chinese]] 
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Czech language#Grammar|Czech]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Danish grammar#Articles|Danish]]
| {{yes|Yes, before adjectives or as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Dutch grammar#Articles|Dutch]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{partial| No, except for the genitive case}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[English articles|English]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! ''[[Esperanto grammar#The article|Esperanto]]''
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Estonian grammar|Estonian]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Faroese grammar#Articles|Faroese]]
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Finnish_grammar|Finnish]]{{efn|name=fn1}}
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[French articles and determiners#Articles|French]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{partial|Yes (if singular)}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Georgian language#Syntax|Georgian]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[German articles|German]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Modern Greek grammar#Articles|Greek]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Guarani language#Grammar|Guarani]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Hawaiian language#Grammar|Hawaiian]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Modern Hebrew grammar#Syntax|Hebrew]]
| {{yes|Yes, as prefixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Hungarian grammar|Hungarian]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Icelandic grammar#Articles|Icelandic]]
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! ''[[Interlingua grammar#Articles|Interlingua]]''
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Irish declension#Articles|Irish]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Italian grammar#Articles|Italian]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Japanese grammar|Japanese]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Korean grammar|Korean]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Latvian declension#Adjectives|Latvian]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Lithuanian grammar#Nouns|Lithuanian]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Macedonian language#Syntax|Macedonian]]
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Malay grammar|Malay]]/[[Indonesian grammar|Indonesian]]
| {{partial|Yes, as suffixes in the colloquial language}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Nepali language|Nepali]]
| {{No}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Norwegian language#Morphology|Norwegian]]
| {{yes|Yes, before adjectives or as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Pashto grammar|Pashto]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Persian grammar#Articles|Persian]]
| {{partial|Might be used optionally}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Polish grammar|Polish]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Portuguese grammar#Articles|Portuguese]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Romanian grammar#Articles|Romanian]]
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! Russian
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! Sanskrit
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Scottish Gaelic grammar#Articles|Scottish Gaelic]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Serbo-Croatian]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Slovak language#Articles|Slovak]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Slovene grammar|Slovene]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Somali grammar#Morphology|Somali]] 
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Spanish determiners#Articles|Spanish]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Swahili grammar#Articles|Swahili]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Swedish grammar#Articles and definite forms|Swedish]]
| {{yes|Yes, before adjectives or as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Tamil grammar#Auxiliaries|Tamil]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Thai grammar|Thai]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! ''[[Toki Pona]]''
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Turkish grammar|Turkish]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{partial|Might be used optionally}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Ukrainian grammar|Ukrainian]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Vietnamese grammar|Vietnamese]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Colloquial Welsh morphology#The article|Welsh]] <!-- Colloquial Welsh is more relevant than Literary Welsh. The former is the spoken language, the latter is a very conservative with features kept from Middle Welsh rather than Modern Welsh. Do not change. -->
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{partial|Causes [[Colloquial Welsh nouns#Feminine nouns|initial consonant mutation to singular feminine nouns]]}} <!--Gendered--> <!-- Do not change without discussion -->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Yiddish grammar#Article|Yiddish]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|}

{| class="wikitable" 
|+ <span style="black-space: nowrap;">The articles used in some languages</span>
|-
! Language
! definite article
! partitive article
! indefinite article
|-
|[[Abkhaz language|Abkhaz]]
|''a-''
| {{N/A}}
| ''-k''
|-
|[[Afrikaans]]
|''die''
| {{N/A}}
|''<nowiki/>'n''
|-
| [[Albanian language|Albanian]]
| ''-a'', ''-ja'', ''-i'', ''-ri'', ''-ni'', ''-u'', ''-t'', ''-in'', ''-un'', ''-n'', ''-rin'', ''-nin'', ''-në'', ''-ën'', ''-s'', ''-së'', ''-ës'', ''-të'', ''-it'', ''-ët'' (all suffixes)
| ''disa''
| ''një''
|-
| [[Arabic language|Arabic]]
| {{Transliteration|ar|[[al-]]}} or ''el'' {{lang|ar|ال|rtl=yes}} (prefix)
| {{N/A}}
| -n
|-
| [[Armenian language|Armenian]]
| ''-ը'' -ë (inbetween consonants), ''-ն'' -n (elsewhere)
| {{N/A}}
| ''մի'' mi
|-
| [[Assamese language|Assamese]]
| ''-tû'', ''-ta'', ''-ti'', ''-khôn'', ''-khini'', ''-zôn'', ''-zôni'', ''-dal'', ''-zûpa'' etc.
| {{N/A}}
| ''êta'', ''êkhôn'', ''êzôn'', ''êzôni'', ''êdal'', ''êzûpa'' etc.
|-
| [[Bengali language|Bengali]]
|  -টা, -টি, -গুলো, -রা, -খানা (-ṭa, -ṭi, -gulo, -ra, -khana)
| {{N/A}}
| একটি, একটা, কোন (ekôṭi, ekôṭa, konô)
|-
| [[Breton language|Breton]]
| ''an'', ''al'', ''ar''
| {{N/A}}
| ''un'', ''ul'', ''ur''
|-
| [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] 
| ''-та'', ''-то'', ''-а'', ''-ът'', ''-я'', ''-ят'', ''-те'' (all suffixes)
| няколко
| ''един''/''някакъв'', <br /> ''една''/''някаква'', <br /> ''едно''/''някакво'', <br/> ''едни''/''някакви''
|-
| [[Catalan language|Catalan]]
| ''el'', ''la'', ''l'<!-- -->'', ''els'', ''les''<br/>''ses'', ''lo'', ''los'', ''es'', ''sa''
| {{N/A}}
| ''un'', ''una''<br/> ''uns'', ''unes''
|-
| [[Cornish language|Cornish]]
| ''an''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
|[[Danish language|Danish]]
|Singular: ''-en, -n -et, -t'' (all suffixes)
Plural: ''-ene, -ne'' (all suffixes)
| {{N/A}}
|''en, et''
|-
| [[Dutch language|Dutch]]
| {{lang|nl|de}}, ''het ('t)''; archaic since 1945/46 but still used in names and idioms: ''des'', ''der'', ''den''
| {{N/A}}
| ''een ('n)''
|-
| [[English articles|English]]
| ''the''
| {{N/A}}
| ''a'', ''an''
|-
| ''[[Esperanto]]''
| ''la''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| [[Faroese language|Faroese]]
| ''-(i)n'', ''-(i)ð'', ''-(i)na'', ''-num'', ''-(i)ni'', ''-(i)ns'', ''-(i)nnar'', ''-nir'', ''-nar'', ''-(u)num'', ''-nna'' (all suffixes)
| {{N/A}}
| ''ein'', ''eitt'', ''eina'', ''einum'', ''ein(ar)i'', ''eins'', ''einnar'', ''einir'', ''einar'', ''eini'', ''einna''
|-
| [[Finnish language|Finnish]] ([[Colloquial Finnish|colloquial]]){{efn|name=fn1}}
| ''se''
| {{N/A}}
| ''yks(i)''
|-
| [[French articles|French]]
| ''le'', ''la'', ''l','' ''les''<br/> 
|  {{lang|fr|de}}, ''d','' ''du'', ''de la'', ''des'', <br/> ''de l'''<br/> 
| ''un'', ''une'', ''des'' <br/> 
|-
| [[German articles|German]]
| ''der'', ''die'', ''das''<br/> ''des'', ''dem'', ''den''
| {{N/A}}
| ''ein'', ''eine'', ''einer'', ''eines''<br/> ''einem'', ''einen''
|-
| [[Greek language|Greek]]
| {{lang|el|ο, η, το<br/>οι, οι, τα}}
| {{N/A}}
| {{lang|el|ένας, μια, ένα}}
|-
| [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]]
| ''ka'', ''ke''<br/> ''nā''
| {{N/A}}
| ''he''
|-
| [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]
| {{Transliteration|he|ha-}} {{Script/Hebrew|ה}} (prefix)
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| [[Hungarian Language|Hungarian]]
| ''a'', ''az''
| {{N/A}}
| ''egy''
|-
| [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]
| ''-(i)nn'', ''-(i)n'', ''-(i)ð'', ''-(i)na'', ''-num'', ''-(i)nni'', ''-nu'', ''-(i)ns'', ''-(i)nnar'', ''-nir'', ''-nar'', ''-(u)num'', ''-nna'' (all suffixes)
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| ''[[Interlingua]]''
| ''le''
| {{N/A}}
| ''un''
|-
| [[Irish language|Irish]]
| ''an'', ''na'', ''a' (used colloquially)''
| {{N/A}}
|
|-
| [[Italian grammar#Articles|Italian]]
| ''il'', ''lo'', ''la'', ''l'''<br/> ''i'', ''gli'', ''le''
| ''del'', ''dello'', ''della'', ''dell'''<br /> ''dei'', ''degli'', ''degl','' ''delle''
| ''un'', ''uno'', ''una'', ''un'''
|-
| [[Khasi language|Khasi]]
| ''u'', ''ka'', ''i''<br/> ''ki''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| [[Central Kurdish|Kurdish]]
| ''-eke''<br/> ''-ekan''
| ''hendê'', ''birrê''
| ''-êk''<br/> ''-anêk''
|-
| [[Latin]] <!-- Useful to include a language with no articles -->
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| [[Luxembourgish language|Luxembourgish]]
| ''den'', ''déi (d')'', ''dat (d')''<br/> ''dem'', ''der''
| ''däers/es'', ''däer/er''
| ''en'', ''eng'' <br/> ''engem'', ''enger''
|-
| [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]] 
| ''-от'' ''-ов'' ''-он'' ''-та'' ''-ва'' ''-на'' ''-то'' ''-во'' ''-но'' <br/> ''-те'' ''-ве'' ''-не'' ''-та'' ''-ва'' ''-на'' (all suffixes) 
| ''неколку'' 
| ''еден'' ''една'' ''едно'' <br/> ''едни''
|-
| [[Manx Gaelic|Manx]]
| ''y'', ''yn'', '''n'', ''ny''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| [[Malay language|Malay]] and [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]]
| ''-nya'' (colloquial), before names: ''si'' (usually informal), ''sang'' (more formal)
| {{N/A}}
| ''se-'' (+ classifiers)
|-
| [[Māori language|Māori]]
| ''te'' (singular), ''ngā'' (plural)
| {{N/A}}
| ''he'' (also for "some")
|-
| [[Maltese language|Maltese]]
| ''(i)l-'', ''(i)ċ-'', ''(i)d-'', ''(i)n-'', ''(i)r-'', ''(i)s-'', ''(i)t-'', ''(i)x-'', ''(i)z-'', ''(i)ż-'' (all prefixes)
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| [[Nepali language|Nepali]]
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|''euta'', ''euti'', ''ek'', ''anek'', ''kunai''
''एउटा'', ''एउटी'', ''एक'', ''अनेक'', ''कुनै''
|-
| [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] ([[Bokmål]])
| Singular: ''-en'', ''-et'', ''-a (all suffixes)''
Plural: ''-ene, -a'' (all suffixes)
| {{N/A}}
| ''en'', ''et'', ''ei''
|-
| Norwegian ([[Nynorsk]])
| Singular: ''-en'', ''-et'', ''-a (all suffixes)''
Plural: ''-ane, -ene, -a'' (all suffixes)
| {{N/A}}
| ''ein'', ''eit'', ''ei''
|-
|[[Papiamento]]
|''e''
| {{N/A}}
|''un''
|-
| [[Pashto language|Pashto]]
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
| ''yaow'', ''yaowə'', ''yaowa'', ''yaowey''<br/> ''يو'', ''يوهٔ'', ''يوه'', ''يوې''
|-
| [[Persian language|Persian]]
| ''in, ān'' (prepositive)<br/> ''-e'' (suffixed)
| {{N/A}}
| ''ye(k)'' (prepositive)<br/> ''-i'' (suffixed)
|-
| [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
| ''o'', ''a''<br/> ''os'', ''as''
| {{N/A}}
| ''um'', ''uma''<br/> ''uns'', ''umas''
|-
| ''[[Quenya]]''
| ''i'', ''in'', '''n''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| [[Romanian language|Romanian]]
| ''-(u)l'', ''-le'', ''-(u)a''<br/>''-(u)lui'', ''-i'', ''-lor'' (all suffixes)
| {{N/A}}
| ''un'', ''o''<br/>''unui'', ''unei''<br/>''niște'', ''unor'' 
|-
| [[Scots language|Scots]]<!-- Please note that Scots is not a dialect of English, but a closely related Germanic language and not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic -->
| ''the''
| {{N/A}}
| ''a''
|-
| [[Scottish Gaelic]]
| ''an'', ''am'', ''a''', ''na'', ''nam'', ''nan''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| ''[[Sindarin]]''
| ''i'', ''in'', ''-in'', ''-n'', ''en''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| [[Spanish determiners#Articles|Spanish]]
| ''el'', ''la'', ''lo'',<br/> ''los'', ''las''
| {{N/A}}
| ''un'', ''una''<br/> ''unos'', ''unas''
|-
|[[Swedish language|Swedish]]
|Singular: ''-en, -n, -et, -t'' (all suffixes)
Plural: ''-na, -a, -en'' (all suffixes)
| {{N/A}}
|''en, ett''
|-
| [[Welsh language|Welsh]]
| ''y'', ''yr'', ''-'r''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
|[[Yiddish]]
| דער ''(der)'', די ''(di)'', דאָס ''(dos)'', דעם ''(dem)''
| {{N/A}}
| אַ ''(a)'', אַן ''(an)''
|}

{{notelist|refs=
{{efn|name=fn1|Grammatically speaking [[Finnish language|Finnish]] has no articles, but the words ''se'' (it) and ''yks(i)'' (one) are used in [[colloquial Finnish]] in the same fashion as ''the'' and ''a/an'' in English and are, for all intents and purposes, treated like articles when used in this manner.}}
}}

The following examples show articles which are always suffixed to the noun:

* [[Albanian language|Albanian]]: ''zog'', a bird; ''zog'''u''''', the bird
* [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]: שלם (shalam), peace; שלמ'''א''' (shalma), the peace
** Note: Aramaic is written from right to left, so an [[Aleph]] is added to the end of the word. ם becomes מ when it is not the final letter. 
* [[Assamese language|Assamese]]: "কিতাপ (kitap)", book; "কিতাপ'''খন''' (kitapkhôn)": "The book"
* [[Bengali language|Bengali]]: "বই (bôi)", book; "বই'''টি''' (bôi'''ti''')/বই'''টা''' (bôi'''ta''')/বই'''খানা''' (bôi'''khana''')" : "The Book"
* [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]]: стол ''stol'', chair; стол'''ът''' ''stolǎt'', the chair ([[Subject (grammar)|subject]]); стола ''stol'''a''''', the chair ([[Object (grammar)|object]])
* [[Danish language|Danish]]: ''hus'', house; ''hus'''et''''', the house; if there is an adjective: '''''det''' gamle hus'', the old house
* [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]: ''hestur'', horse; ''hestur'''inn''''', the horse
* [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]]: стол ''stol'', chair; стол'''от''' ''stolot'', the chair; стол'''ов''' ''stolov'', this chair; стол'''он''' ''stolon'', that chair
* [[Persian language|Persian]]: ''sib'', apple. (There is no definite articles in the Standard Persian. It has one indefinite article 'yek' that means 'one'. In [[Standard Persian]], if a noun is not indefinite, it is a definite noun. 'Sib e' man' means 'my apple'. Here, 'e' is like 'of' in English, so literally 'sib e man' means 'the apple of mine'. However, in [[Iranian Persian]], "-e" is used as a definite article, quite different from [[Standard Persian]]. ''pesar'', boy; ''pesar'''e''''', the boy; ''pesar'''e''' in'o be'm dād'', the boy gave me this.)
* [[Romanian language|Romanian]]: ''drum'', road; ''drum''u'''''l''''', the road (the article is just "l", "u" is a "connection [[vowel]]" {{langx|ro|vocală de legătură}})
* [[Swedish language|Swedish]] and [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]: ''hus'', house; ''hus'''et''''', the house; if there is an adjective: '''''det''' gamle (N)/gamla (S) hus'''et''''', the old house

Examples of prefixed definite articles: 
* {{langx|he|ילד}}, transcribed as ''yeled'', a boy; {{lang|he|הילד}}, transcribed as {{Transliteration|he|'''ha'''yeled}}, the boy
* {{langx|mt|ktieb}}, a book; {{lang|mt|il-ktieb|rtl=yes}}, the book; {{langx|mt|għotja}}, a donation; {{lang|mt|l-għotja|rtl=yes}}, the donation; {{langx|mt|ċavetta}}, a key; {{lang|mt|iċ-ċavetta|rtl=yes}}, the key; {{langx|mt|dar}}, a house; {{lang|mt|id-dar|rtl=yes}}, the house; {{langx|mt|nemla}}, an ant; {{lang|mt|in-nemla|rtl=yes}}, the ant; {{langx|mt|ras}}, a head; {{lang|mt|ir-ras|rtl=yes}}, the head; {{langx|mt|sodda}}, a bed; {{lang|mt|is-sodda|rtl=yes}}, the bed; {{langx|mt|tuffieħa}}, an apple; {{lang|mt|it-tuffieħa|rtl=yes}}, the apple; {{langx|mt|xahar}}, a month; {{lang|mt|ix-xahar|rtl=yes}}, the month; {{langx|mt|zunnarija}}, a carrot; {{lang|mt|iz-zunnarija|rtl=yes}}, the carrot; {{langx|mt|żmien}}, a time; {{lang|mt|iż-żmien|rtl=yes}}, the time

A different way, limited to the definite article, is used by [[Latvian language|Latvian]] and [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]]. 
The noun does not change but the adjective can be defined or undefined. In Latvian: ''galds'', a table / the table; ''balt'''s''' galds'', a white table; ''balt'''ais''' galds'', the white table. In Lithuanian: ''stalas'', a table / the table; ''balt'''as''' stalas'', a white table; ''baltas'''is''' stalas'', the white table.

Languages in the above table written in ''italics'' are [[constructed languages]] and are not natural, that is to say that they have been purposefully invented by an individual (or group of individuals) with some purpose in mind.

=== Tokelauan ===
{{Undue weight section|date=December 2023|to=Tokelauan}}
When using a definite article in [[Tokelauan language]], unlike in some languages like English, if the speaker is speaking of an item, they need not have referred to it previously as long as the item is specific.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|last1=Simona|first1=Ropati|title=Tokelau Dictionary|date=1986|publisher=Office of Tokelau Affairs|location=New Zealand|page=Introduction}}</ref> This is also true when it comes to the reference of a specific person.<ref name=":0" /> So, although the definite article used to describe a noun in the Tokelauan language is ''te'', it can also translate to the indefinite article in languages that requires the item being spoken of to have been referenced prior.<ref name=":0" /> When translating to English, ''te'' could translate to the English definite article ''the'', or it could also translate to the English indefinite article ''a''.<ref name=":0" /> An example of how the definite article ''te'' can be used as an interchangeable definite or indefinite article in the Tokelauan language would be the sentence “''Kua hau te tino''”.<ref name=":0" /> In the English language, this could be translated as “'''A man has arrived'''” or “'''The man has arrived'''” where using ''te'' as the article in this sentence can represent any man or a particular man.<ref name=":0" /> The word ''he'', which is the indefinite article in Tokelauan, is used to describe ‘any such item’, and is encountered most often with negatives and interrogatives.<ref name=":0" /> An example of the use of ''he'' as an indefinite article is “''Vili ake oi k'aumai he toki'' ”, where ‘''he toki'' ’ mean ‘'''an axe'''’.<ref name=":0" /> The use of ''he'' and ''te'' in Tokelauan are reserved for when describing a singular noun. However, when describing a plural noun, different articles are used. For plural definite nouns, rather than ''te'', the article ''nā'' is used.<ref name=":0" /> ‘''Vili ake oi k'aumai nā nofoa''’ in Tokelauan would translate to “'''Do run and bring me the chairs'''” in English.<ref name=":0" /> There are some special cases in which instead of using ''nā'', plural definite nouns have no article before them. The absence of an article is represented by ''0''.<ref name=":0" /> One way that it is usually used is if a large amount or a specific class of things are being described.<ref name=":0" /> Occasionally, such as if one was describing an entire class of things in a nonspecific fashion, the singular definite noun ''te'' would is used.<ref name=":0" /> In English, ‘''Ko te povi e kai mutia''’ means “'''Cows eat grass'''”.<ref name=":0" /> Because this is a general statement about cows, ''te'' is used instead of ''nā''. The ''ko'' serves as a preposition to the “''te''” The article ''ni'' is used for describing a plural indefinite noun. ‘''E i ei ni tuhi?''’ translates to “'''Are there any books?'''”<ref name=":0" />

==Historical development==

Articles often develop by specialization of [[adjectives]] or [[determiners]]. Their development is often a sign of languages becoming more [[Analytic language|analytic]] instead of [[synthetic language|synthetic]], perhaps combined with the loss of [[inflection]] as in English, Romance languages, Bulgarian, Macedonian and Torlakian.

[[Joseph Greenberg]] in Universals of Human Language describes "the cycle of the definite article": Definite articles (Stage I) evolve from demonstratives, and in turn can become generic articles (Stage II) that may be used in both definite and indefinite contexts, and later merely noun markers (Stage III) that are part of nouns other than proper names and more recent borrowings. Eventually articles may evolve anew from demonstratives.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Greenberg |first=Joseph H. |title=Genetic linguistics : essays on theory and method |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |others=William Croft |isbn=978-0-19-151452-4 |location=Oxford |oclc=132691297}}</ref>

=== Definite articles ===

Definite articles typically arise from [[demonstrative]]s meaning ''that''. For example, the definite articles in most [[Romance languages]]—e.g., ''el'', ''il'', ''le'', ''la'', ''lo, a, o'' — derive from the [[Latin]] demonstratives ''ille'' (masculine), ''illa'' (feminine) and ''illud'' (neuter).

The [[English language|English]] definite article ''[[English articles|the]]'', written ''þe'' in [[Middle English]], derives from an [[Old English language|Old English]] demonstrative, which, according to [[grammatical gender|gender]], was written ''se'' (masculine), ''seo'' (feminine) (''þe'' and ''þeo'' in the Northumbrian dialect), or [[That#Historical usage|''þæt'']] (neuter). The neuter form ''þæt'' also gave rise to the modern demonstrative ''that''. The ''ye'' occasionally seen in pseudo-archaic usage such as "[[Ye Olde]] Englishe Tea Shoppe" is actually a form of ''þe'', where the letter [[thorn (letter)|thorn]] (''þ'') came to be written as a ''y''.

Multiple demonstratives can give rise to multiple definite articles. [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]], for example, in which the articles are suffixed, has ''столот'' (''stolot''), the chair; ''столов'' (''stolov''), this chair; and ''столон'' (''stolon''), that chair. These derive from the [[Proto-Slavic]] demonstratives ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/tъ|*tъ]]'' "this, that", ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/ovъ|*ovъ]]'' "this here" and ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/onъ|*onъ]]'' "that over there, yonder" respectively. [[Colognian dialect|Colognian]] prepositions articles such as in ''dat Auto'', or ''et Auto'', the car; the first being specifically selected, focused, newly introduced, while the latter is not selected, unfocused, already known, general, or generic.

Standard [[Basque language|Basque]] distinguishes between proximal and distal definite articles in the plural (dialectally, a proximal singular and an additional medial grade may also be present). The Basque distal form (with infix ''-a-'', etymologically a suffixed and phonetically reduced form of the distal demonstrative ''har-/hai-'') functions as the default definite article, whereas the proximal form (with infix ''-o-'', derived from the proximal demonstrative ''hau-/hon-'') is [[markedness#Marked and unmarked word pairs|marked]] and indicates some kind of (spatial or otherwise) close relationship between the speaker and the referent (e.g., it may imply that the speaker is included in the referent): ''etxeak'' ("the houses") vs. ''etxeok'' ("these houses [of ours]"), ''euskaldunak'' ("the Basque speakers") vs. ''euskaldunok'' ("we, the Basque speakers").

Speakers of [[Assyrian Neo-Aramaic]], a [[modern Aramaic language]] that lacks a definite article, may at times use demonstratives ''aha'' and ''aya'' (feminine) or ''awa'' (masculine) – which translate to "this" and "[[that]]", respectively – to give the sense of "the".<ref>Solomon, Zomaya S. (1997). ''Functional and other exotic sentences in Assyrian Aramaic'', Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies, XI/2:44-69.</ref> In [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]], the third person [[possessive affix|possessive suffix]] ''-nya'' could be also used as a definite article.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kumparan.com/ragam-info/20-contoh-penggunaan-kata-nya-dalam-kalimat-22B008A3Fp3|title=20 Contoh Penggunaan Kata nya dalam Kalimat|trans-title=Twenty Examples of the Use of 'nya' in Sentences|language=id|website=kumparan.com|access-date=2024-05-26}}</ref>

=== Indefinite articles ===

Indefinite articles typically arise from adjectives meaning ''one''. For example, the indefinite articles in the [[Romance languages]]—e.g., ''un'', ''una'', ''une''—derive from the [[Latin]] adjective ''unus''. Partitive articles, however, derive from [[Vulgar Latin]] ''de illo'', meaning ''(some) of the''.

The [[English language|English]] indefinite article ''[[English articles|an]]'' is derived from the same root as ''one''. The ''-n'' came to be dropped before consonants, giving rise to the shortened form ''a''. The existence of both forms has led to many cases of [[juncture loss]], for example transforming the original ''a napron'' into the modern ''an apron''.

The [[Persian language|Persian]] indefinite article is ''yek'', meaning one.

==See also==
* [[English articles]]
* [[Al-]] (definite article in Arabic)
* [[Definiteness]]
* [[Definite description]]
* [[False title]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary|article|definite article|indefinite article}}
{{Collier's poster|Article}}
* [https://ssrn.com/abstract=2526603 "The Definite Article, 'The': The Most Frequently Used Word in World's Englishes"]
*{{cite web |url=https://www.expressenglish.ae/blogs/how-to-use-articles-in-english-correctly/ |title=How to Use Articles Correctly in English (A, An & The) |first1=John |last1=Ing
|date= September 17, 2019 |access-date=May 3, 2020}}

{{lexical categories|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Grammar]]
[[Category:Parts of speech]]