Editing Esperanto grammar (section)

==The article==
Esperanto has a single [[definite article]], ''la'', which is invariable. It is similar to English "the".

''La'' is used:

:For individual objects whose existence has been previously mentioned or implied:
::''Mi trovis botelon kaj deprenis la fermilon.''
:::"I found a bottle and took off the lid."
:For entire classes or types:
::''La gepardo estas la plej rapida el la bestoj.''
:::"The cheetah is the fastest of the animals."
::''La abeloj havas harojn, sed ili ne taŭgas por karesi.''
:::"Bees have fur, but they're no good for petting."
:For adjectives used as definite nouns, such as ethnic adjectives used as the names of languages:
::''la blua''
::: "the blue one"
::''la angla''
::: "English" (i.e. "the English language")
:The adjective may be the adjectival form of a personal pronoun, which functions as a [[possessive pronoun]]:
::''La mia bluas, la via ruĝas.''
:::"Mine is blue, yours is red".

The article may also be used for [[inalienable possession]] of body parts and [[Kinship terminology|kin terms]], where English would use a [[possessive adjective]]:
:''Ili tranĉis la manon.'' (Or: ''Ili tranĉis sian manon.'')
::"They cut their hands." (one hand each)

The article ''la'', like the [[demonstrative adjective]] ''tiu'' (this, that), occurs at the beginning of the [[noun phrase]].

There is no grammatically required [[indefinite article]]: ''homo'' means either "human being" or "a human being", depending on the context, and similarly the plural ''homoj'' means "human beings" or "some human beings". The words ''iu'' and ''unu'' (or their plurals ''iuj'' and ''unuj'') may be used somewhat like indefinite articles, but they're closer in meaning to "some" and "a certain" than to English "a". This use of ''unu'' corresponds to English "a" when the "a" indicates a specific individual.<ref>Sergio Pokrovskij (2007) [https://lingvakritiko.com/2007/02/05/la-artikolo/#specifa 'La artikolo'], in ''Lingva Kritiko: Studoj kaj notoj pri la Internacia Lingvo''</ref>
For example, it is used to introduce new participants (''Unu viro ekvenis al mi kaj diris ...'' 'A man came up to me and said ...').