Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:18 — 6.4MB)
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Email | RSS | More
When do you use indefinite articles, and which one do you use? There are two indefinite articles in English: “a” and “an.” The word indefinite as related to grammar means something that has not been identified, is generic, or is an unfamiliar person or thing. You use an indefinite article when (1) you are introducing new information, (2) the reader does not know exactly which noun you are referring to, or (3) the noun is not unique.
写论文时如何在名词前使用“A”或“An”
何时应该使用不定冠词（indefinite articles）? 使用哪一个不定冠词呢？英语中有两个不定冠词：“a”和“an”。语法上来说, “不定”（“indefinite”）这个词意味着一些尚未被识别，通用的，或者是一个不熟悉的人或事物。在以下三种情况下使用不定冠词：（1）您正在引入新的信息；（2）读者并不确切地知道您指的是哪个名词；（3）这个名词不是唯一的。