Definite and indefinite article
Definite and indefinite article¶
A man – here “a” is called the indefinite article, it refers to some unspecified man, not to a specific man.
There is no indefinite article in Pāli. If you want to translate from English to Pāli: “He drank some milk.” Just use the word milk, it already has the sense of “some milk”.
The man - “the” is called the definite article, it refers to some specific man. Pāli aññatara, can be used for a specific person or thing.