1.3. Stressed forms
Normally in speech the articles are not stressed, but sometimes it is necessary to stress them, as for example when you want to contrast them with other words.
The is pronounced /ðɪ:/ when you are emphasizing it; a is pronounced /ei/ and an is pronounced /ɛən/.
When you are talking about the articles as individual words, it is also possible to stress the basic forms described above. For example, if a learner makes a mistake with articles, the teacher might say ‘You should have said "the" /ðə/, not "a" /ə/’.
In writing, the emphatic use of an article is usually indicated by writing it in italics (for example, the) or within quotation marks ('the'). In something written by hand, emphatic use is indicated by underlining the article or by writing it in capitals.
You can say /ðɪ:/ and /ei/ when you are hesitating, especially when you do not know what word to use next, as in 'This is the, er, solution'.
Articles and nouns
General notion
Definite and indefinite articles go only with nouns, or words that are behaving like nouns. They are therefore a kind of determiner.
The town is small and undistinguished.
It is only a gesture.
Not every noun has to have an article; there may be another determiner, like 'this' or 'that', 'his' or 'my', or 'some' or 'no', or there may be no article at all (sometimes called the 'zero' article).
He stuck to this story.
After some weeks his efforts bore fruit.
Another had only bread and soup for Sunday dinner.
There may be several words between the article and its noun.
...for a fairly long period.
You cannot use an article on its own; you can say 'I like the idea', but not 'I like the'.
NOTE The indefinite article is never used with a noun in the plural
Countable nouns
Countable nouns are used to refer to things which can be counted, and so they have both a singular and a plural form. In the singular, you have to use them with the definite article, the indefinite article, or another determiner.
Even that was an error.
The rug was stained.
If no other determiner is appropriate, you use the indefinite article. You cannot normally use a singular count noun without a determiner.
You can use count nouns in the plural with the definite article or with no article at all, but you cannot use them with the indefinite article.
...so she drank coffee and smoked cigarettes.
The firemen cut through the bars.
Countable nouns refer to things which are regarded as separate units. Most count nouns refer to things which can be seen, touched or measured, such as tables, trees, and tennis balls; nouns which refer to these things are sometimes called concrete nouns.
However, some count nouns refer to things which cannot be seen, touched, or measured, such as remarks, schemes, and shocks; nouns which refer to these things are sometimes called abstract nouns. Here is a list of some common abstract count nouns: year, address, idea, month, scheme, effect, issue, plan, shock, election, method, problem, suggestion, hour, minute, remark, week.
However, most abstract nouns are uncountable