Here's why they are not considered a separate category like nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.:
* Functional Role: Articles are words that precede nouns and specify their definiteness (whether the noun refers to a specific or general entity). They don't have their own meaning but rather modify the noun they accompany.
* Limited Scope: Unlike other parts of speech, articles have a very limited range of forms. In English, we primarily have "a", "an", and "the". This makes them more like grammatical markers than independent words.
Determiners encompass a broader category that includes articles (a/an/the), demonstratives (this/that/these/those), possessives (my/your/his/her), quantifiers (some/any/many/few), and numbers.
It's important to remember that categorizing parts of speech is a way to understand language structure. While articles don't have their own dedicated category, they are essential for understanding and using language correctly.