laz- [Voiceover] So we've covered the
basic idea that divides the usage
of "the" from "a" and "an".
"The" is the definite article,
and "a" or "an" is the indefinite.
So when you're being non-specific
in language,
you would use
the indefinite article
as in,
"May I have
an orange?"
Cause it doesn't matter
which orange you're asking for,
you don't care,
it's any orange,
as opposed to if you wanted
the orange.
This usage is much more specific,
and it seems to indicate that there is only
one orange.
You see the orange in particular that you want,
you're identifying it,
you're asking for it.
That's what this definite usage is.
Something that's interesting about
the word "the"
is that it can be used for both singular
and plural nouns.
So it's both singular and plural.
So you could say
"May I have the orange?"
You could also say
"May I have the oranges?"
And "a" and "an" does not really allow this,
it is only singular.
So you can't say
"May I have an oranges?"
This is not standard.
What you'd probably say instead is
"May I have some oranges?"
So this is not standard,
does not work in standard American English.
The other thing about "a" or "an"
is that it's "a" or "an".
The indefinite article changes
depending on the vowel sound
that comes after it.
So changes for vowel sounds.
Now what does that mean?
Well it means that if you know
that word that you're going to say next
like ah or ooh or eh or uh or ee,
then you're gonna change it to "an".
So it's the difference between saying
"A box,"
and
"An apple."
What we don't say
in standard American English
is "a apple."
It's not as easy on the mouth, frankly,
it takes a little bit more effort.
And any linguist will tell you
that the way languages develop
is that they reward laziness.
So we say "a box"
but we say "an apple."
Something a little weird though,
you want to make sure
that you're looking for vowel sounds
not just for vowels.
Because some vowels,
for example,
the letter U
don't always produce "ooh" sounds.
Sometimes if they're at the beginning of a word,
like in word union,
so if you say "a union,"
that produces a "yuh" sound,
and "yuh" is technically a consonant sound.
That's not a vowel.
But there are certainly cases like
"An underwater boat,"
where the letter U does produce
an "ooh" or an "uh" sound,
and that's a vowel.
So if you're gonna start the word
with a vowel sound,
what you wanna do is choose
"an" instead of "a"
but just be careful of the letter U for example.
So to recap,
"the" is the definite article.
You can use it for both singular and plural usage.
"May I have the orange?"
"May I have the oranges?"
"A" or "an" is indefinite
and it's only singular,
so you can say
"May I have an orange?"
or
"May I have some oranges?"
Before a vowel sound,
"a" changes to "an"
so you say "a box,"
but "an apple".
Not "a apple."
You say "a union,"
but "an underwater boat."
You can learn anything.
David out.