2. The Articles- a, an, the The most common used adjectives a, an, the are also the shortest. They describe or signal nouns A and an are called indefinite articles because they refer to any unspecific member of a group or class. The is called a definite article because it refers to a specific member of a group or class The articles function as adjectives because they limit a noun or pronoun 2. 1 Indefinite articles- a, an A pen, a refrigerator, a tree, a secretary, an onion, an error 2.2 Definite article- the the pen( a specific pen the tree( a specific tree the error(a specific error) A is used before words beginning with a consonant sound, and an before words with a vowel sound. This is an important distinction it is not the spelling that determines whether to use a or an, but the sound An umbrella bUt a university A radio but an rca record5 2. The Articles- a, an, the The most common used adjectives a, an, the are also the shortest. They describe or signal nouns. A and an are called indefinite articles because they refer to any unspecific member of a group or class. The is called a definite article because it refers to a specific member of a group or class. The articles function as adjectives because they limit a noun or pronoun. 2.1 Indefinite articles- a, an A pen, a refrigerator, a tree, a secretary, an onion, an error 2.2 Definite article- the the pen ( a specific pen) the tree ( a specific tree) the error (a specific error) A is used before words beginning with a consonant sound, and an before words with a vowel sound. This is an important distinction: it is not the spelling that determines whether to use a or an, but the sound. An umbrella BUT a university A radio BUT an RCA record