Cases Where A/An Cannot Be Used
The indefinite article a/an cannot be used with plural or uncountable nouns.
- Books give knowledge. (NOT A books give knowledge.)
- Rice is rich in carbohydrates. (NOT The rice is…)
- I adore dogs and cats.
- She doesn’t eat cheese.
- Do you eat meat?
- Knowledge is power.
- Ideas rule the world.
- Ignorance isn’t blissful.
- Water is essential for life.
The indefinite article a/an is not used with singular proper nouns.
- Rahul is a student. (NOT A Rahul is a student.)
- Iran is a country in Asia. (NOT An Iran is a country in an Asia.)
We do not use a/an with possessive and demonstratives.
- She is an old friend of mine. (NOT She is a my old friend.)
- I want to adopt this cat. (NOT I want to adopt a this cat.)
Note that we use the definite article the with plural and uncountable nouns when we are talking about particular people or things.
- I talked to the girls sitting in the front row. (We are talking about particular girls here; hence, we use the with it.)
- The shy boy does not talk to girls. (We are talking about girls in general here; hence, we do not use the with it.)
