Articles are primarily defined as a legal term and refers to a body of published matter prepared for distribution under the laws of common law. An article is any part of such a body of law which is written, spoken, or printed matter intended to be used as legal evidence in a court of law. The entire class of articles constitutes an important part of public communication. It includes both published and unpublished works. This is because an article may have legal effect under applicable law without actually having been formally authorized by a court.
In legal terms, there are four types of articles, namely, definite article, indefinite article, inclusive article, and indefinite articles. A definite article may consist of one, two, or more words. A definite article usually follows a noun and is usually grammatically definite.
An indefinite article consists of one or more words, but is not grammatically definite. An indefinite article may therefore consist of one, two, or more words, although the sentence may still end in a -and unless the article is followed by a space. An inclusive article consists of one or more words, but is not necessarily complete in itself. It is grammatically indefinite but has a definite meaning in the particular language in which it is used. An inclusive article can also be a subject in a comparative clause, since it typically follows a noun. The most common inclusive articles are pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc), proper names (first name, last name, company, address), and articles that indicate gender (man, woman, boy, girl).
The indefinite and inclusive categories generally do not belong to the same class of articles; hence, the distinction between definite articles and indefinite articles is sometimes unclear. In English, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the two categories, especially where articles used as subject matter are concerned. In particular, it is often hard for English speakers to differentiate between a definite article used as a subject and one that is not. As an example, “The man made the planet earth” both express the same idea, but the first word is grammatically definite while the second is not.
When it comes to the indefinite articles, there are many uses for them, and many ways to construct them. Since the articles are not grammatically definite, however, it is important to be clear about what is required. For example, in the sentence “The man made the planet earth,” the definite article “the” must be inserted between the words “the planet” and “the” in order to clarify that the planet is created rather than merely being created. On the other hand, the indefinite article “the” can be omitted after the name of a person, and in fact this rule is sometimes used in modern English to indicate the lack of a definite article before a certain name. Thus, “the dog the dog’s name is Oscar” is grammatically correct, whereas “Oscar the dog” would be grammatically incorrect.
In the case of adjectives, an indefinite article may be introduced between the main verb and the object noun to indicate the lack of a specific identity. For example, in “The man who sat behind the counter” the definite article “the” is not needed, since it here indicates the lack of a specific identity. However, if the man in question were named Oscar, the indefinite article “Oscar” would be appropriate. The same thing goes for pronouns, as well as definite articles. Adjective nouns do require a definite article before they denote more than one thing, as in “the man with one arm” or “the woman with one eye.” When writing, it is important to be clear about the exact type of distinction that needs to be made between the definite article and other types of punctuation.