· Classifying (meaning “one of”
). For example: It’s a letter.
· Generalizing (meaning “any” )
.For example: A tiger is a dangerous animal
· Numerical (meaning “one” ).For
example: Wait a minute!
The Indefinite article is used only
with singular nouns. In the plural such nouns are used without any
article. For example: There are books on the shelves
Note
In English the nouns advice,
information, fun, luck, news, weather are never used with the
indefinite article.
A noun with the indefinite article in
the classifying function always contains the novelty of information,
therefore this article is used before nouns whose referents are
mentioned in the situation of speech for the first time. For example:
there’s a man waiting for you…
