Articles with Plural Nouns (2024)

FAQs

Which article is used with plural nouns? ›

The definite article, the, is used before both singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific. The cat is black and white. I would love to meet the author of my favorite book. Have you seen the lions that are living at the zoo?

Some nouns—especially those ending in -s —although plural in form, are singular in number and in meaning: news, measles, mumps, calculus, rickets, billiards, molasses, dizziness, and other –ness ending nouns. These nouns require singular verb forms.

In English there are three articles: a, an, and the. Articles are used before nouns or noun equivalents and are a type of adjective. The definite article (the) is used before a noun to indicate that the identity of the noun is known to the reader.

An article is a part of speech. In English, there is one definite article: "the." There are two indefinite articles: "a" and "an." The articles refer to a noun. Some examples are: "the house," "a cat," "an activity."

Articles are words that come before nouns (or sometimes adjectives) to indicate meaning of the noun or clarify how specific the noun is. The most common articles are the, a, an. Another article that is sometimes used is some. The is a definite article.

Collective nouns are singular in form, “a team,” but refer to a group of two or more people or things. In other words, they're singular and plural at the same time.

The answer to the new question is: There is no plural of the word “a” because once a word is no longer singular (i.e., as when “a dog” becomes “dogs”), there is no longer any need for an indefinite article.

Plural noun rules

The correct spelling of plurals usually depends on what letter the singular noun ends in. 1 To make regular nouns plural, add –s to the end. 2 If the singular noun ends in –s, –ss, –sh, –ch, –x, or –z, you usually add -es to the end to make it plural.

A common beginner mistake is to forget to use the plural article when the noun is plural. It's not “la mesas,” for example; it needs to be “las mesas.” Before we have you give it a try, here are a few other examples of the Spanish the in both singular and plural.

Singular, countable nouns always have an article – a/an or the (or another determiner – my, your, this, that, etc.). We use a/an – the indefinite article – when we talk about something for the first time, or something that is part of a group or type. I saw a good film yesterday. Do you want a drink?