Article: A Piece of Writing, a Clause in Law, and a Word Like The
An article is a piece of writing in a publication, a numbered section of a legal document, an item of a set, and in grammar the words a, an and the.
Article looks like four unrelated words but is one. Underneath is the idea of a separate part: a joint, a section, a distinct item. A newspaper article is one piece; Article 5 of a treaty is one clause; *the* is one small part of speech.
- A piece of writing. *She wrote an article on housing.*
- A clause in a legal document. *Article 50 of the treaty.*
- An item. *An article of clothing.*
- A grammatical word. *English has three articles: a, an and the.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | article | A long article. |
| Plural | articles | Articles of association. |
| Verb (rare) | articled | An articled clerk. |
| Related | articulate | Articulate the parts clearly. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The article ran to three thousand words.Journalism.
- Article 3 protects against inhuman treatment.Law and treaties.
- Every article of furniture was sold.An item of a set — slightly formal.
- Many languages have no articles at all.Grammar.
The three English articles
| Article | Type | Use |
|---|---|---|
| a | Indefinite | Before a consonant sound: a book, a university |
| an | Indefinite | Before a vowel sound: an apple, an hour |
| the | Definite | When the listener knows which one |
From Latin *articulus*, a small joint, the diminutive of *artus*, a joint. A joint separates one part from the next, which is why the word ended up meaning a section of anything.
A or an before H?
It depends on sound, not spelling. *An hour* because the h is silent; *a hotel* because it is pronounced.
What are articles of association?
The document setting out how a company is run — one of the oldest surviving uses of article meaning a numbered clause.