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An indefinite article is an article that marks an indefinite noun phrase. Indefinite articles are those such as English " 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:
The articles in English are the definite article the and the indefinite articles a and an.They are the two most common determiners.The definite article is the default determiner when the speaker believes that the listener knows the identity of a common noun's referent (because it is obvious, because it is common knowledge, or because it was mentioned in the same sentence or an earlier sentence).
Semantically, determiners are usually definite or indefinite (e.g., the cat versus a cat), [4] and they often agree with the number of the head noun (e.g., a new cat but not *many new cat). Morphologically, they are usually simple and do not inflect. The most common of these are the definite and indefinite articles, the and a(n).
The term zero article refers to the phenomenon wherein grammatically valid noun phrases contain no articles, either definite or indefinite. It is also used in reference to a theoretical zero-length article that can be said to be used in place of an expected article in some situations. [3]
For instance, Mona Lisa is the name of a work of art, and Eurythmics is the name of a musical band, but neither includes a definite or indefinite article. Use of definite and indefinite articles is acceptable as a form of natural disambiguation, if the article is not the primary topic for the article title without parenthetical disambiguation.
The rising West Coast rapper was stabbed to death backstage at hip-hop festival Once Upon a Time in L.A. Witnessing and writing about the slaying, journalist Jeff Weiss reckons with complex ...
Among other lexical items, the definite article changes its form according to this categorization. In the singular, the article is: el (masculine), and la (feminine). [note 2] [24] Thus, in "natural gender", nouns referring to sexed beings who are male beings carry the masculine article, and female beings the feminine article (agreement). [25]
In modern grammar, a particle is a function word that must be associated with another word or phrase to impart meaning, i.e., it does not have its own lexical definition. [citation needed] According to this definition, particles are a separate part of speech and are distinct from other classes of function words, such as articles, prepositions, conjunctions and adverbs.