English has three articles: “an”, “a” and “the”. Uncountable nouns, proper nouns, abstractions, places and plurals take zero articles. Countable nouns can have an article of zero or “a” or “the”. Some nouns can take either zero or a definite article, while others require an article depending on context. Some countable nouns take an article of zero when used for their normal function.
Definite or indefinite articles are often placed before a noun or noun phrase to indicate a general instance of that noun. Many nouns, however, require no articles. In English, a zero article denotes the lack of an article that precedes a noun or noun phrase. Uncountable nouns, proper nouns, and abstractions, as well as many places and plurals, all take zero articles.
There are only three articles in English: “an”, “a” and “the”. The words “an” and “a” denote a general singular countable noun, while “the” normally denotes a specific singular or plural countable noun. A countable noun is simply a noun that can have a number. For example, there may be five trees but not five airs. The word “air” is an uncountable noun, which means that it is a basic term for a general or intangible object. Uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns are some of the more common nouns that take zero articles.
For example, the sentence “The diver has air” contains the nouns “air” and “diver”. The word “diver” is a countable noun and refers to a specific person, so it takes the definite article “the”; “air” is uncountable and therefore has an article of zero. Conversely, the sentence “That’s a tree” contains a singular countable noun, “tree,” and therefore must have an article. Changing the sentence to the plural results in “those are trees” and an article of zero. If the speaker is speaking of a significant set of trees, however, the definite article remains in the plural: “Those are the trees.”
Other nouns can take a zero article or a definite article depending on preference. For example, official titles may or may not have an article. Saying “He is the CEO of the company” and “He IS the CEO of the company” are both grammatically correct.
On the other hand, some abstract nouns may require articles when used in a specific instance. For example, “Love is fickle” doesn’t require an article because this sentence talks about the concept of love in general terms. To say, however, “A woman’s love is fickle,” gives specific context to the love in question and therefore needs an article.
Some countable nouns can also take on an article of zero if they are used for the function with which they are normally associated. For example, when one says: “She went to bed”, the definite article “la” is not necessary. Saying: “she sat on the bed”, however, requires the article. Likewise, saying “You are in prison” requires an article of zero, but “I went to a prison for lunch” requires an article because a prison is not normally a place where people go to eat. However, only a few nouns follow this rule, and most still require an article regardless of their use.
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