What is an article?
An article is a special kind of adjective. We use adjectives with nouns, so we use articles with nouns.
We use the to talk about a specific thing. We use a or an to talk about a non-specific thing. Some is the plural of a or an.
Examples:
Specific: Are you reading the book I gave you?
Non-specific: Are you reading a book?
Specific: When did the accident happen? The accident happened yesterday.
Non-specific: How were you hurt? I was hurt in an accident.
When to use a and when to use an
Use a in front of a word with a consonant:
a book, a cat, a dog, a front porch, a girl, a kite, a mother, a ride, a word
Use an in front of a word with a vowel or vowel-sound:
an eye, an idiom, an offer, an old man, an uncle, a yellow ribbon
Plurals
The is the plural of the.
Some is the plural of a and an.
Examples:
The chair, the chairs.
a chair, some chairs.
an elephant, some elephants.