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Which is right?

I am always confused with the articles.

I hear that in arabic, there is no such thing as articles.

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  • there is a definite article in arabic (il - el - al) but no indefinite article, but I don't understand what that has to do with your question.
    – JavaLatte
    Commented Jul 9, 2016 at 12:44
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    Both are acceptable. In He is an expert, expert is a noun; in He is expert it's an adjective.
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Commented Jul 9, 2016 at 12:52

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Both sentences are correct: the grammatical construction is different and they have slightly different meanings.

He is expert in something.

No indefinite article (a/an) is present, so expert is an adjective that describes him. This sentence states that he has or shows a lot of knowledge or skill.

He is an expert in something.

In this sentence, an indefinite article (a/an) is present, so expert is a noun. The meaning is that he is a person who has or shows a lot of knowledge or skill.

The term an expert implies not only that he is good at something, but also that he is generally acknowledged to have this knowledge or skill.

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  • You could also say "He has expertise in something".
    – user3169
    Commented Jul 9, 2016 at 20:41

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