Articles a, an, the
In English, a, an, and the are articles that come before nouns. This concept can be tricky for some non-English speakers since it isn’t used in all countries. There are two types of articles: definite and indefinite articles.
Indefinite Articles
Indefinite articles in English are “a” and “an”. These articles are used before singular, countable nouns. We use “a” when the noun starts with a consonant sound and “an” when the noun starts with a vowel sound.
an + vowel sound
When Do We Use Indefinite Articles?
When talking about professions
He is an architect.
Adam is a doctor.
When describing people or things with adjectives
an interesting book
a beautiful bag
In some expressions
a few
a little
With some numbers
a thousand
a million
When talking about symptoms of an illness
She has a cold.
Tom has a sore throat.
When talking about time and work measurements
These nuts cost $2 a pound.
I go to the gym three times a week.
When describing a type or kind of something, even with uncountable nouns
a kind of juice
Cheddar is a cheese.
Important Note
The article we use depends on how the word is pronounced, not how it’s written. For example, in the word “university,” we use “a” because the “u” is pronounced like a consonant sound (“yoo”), but in “umbrella,” we use “an” because the “u” is pronounced like a vowel sound (“uh”).
an umbrella /ʌmˈbrelə/
Similarly, for some consonants like “h”, the sound may affect the article used:
a hammer /ˈhæmər/
When an adjective is used with a noun, the article depends on the sound of the adjective, not just the noun. For example:
an idea /aɪˈdɪə/
If you’re not sure how to pronounce a given word check the phonetic transcription of the word in the dictionary.
When Do We NOT Use Indefinite Articles?
Before uncountable nouns
sugar
advice
Before nouns with a quantity word
any
Before possessive adjectives
her
their
Before sports
Tom likes soccer.
Before academic subjects
Do you like math?
I took Spanish at school.
Before meals (e.g., supper, breakfast)
We usually eat dinner at 7 p.m.
Let’s make pasta for lunch today.
Before personal pronouns (e.g., you, he, she, we)
They are coming to the party.
We went to the beach last weekend.
Before street and square names
We met at the city square.
He lives on Maple Avenue.
Before names of bridges (Exceptions like The Golden Gate Bridge)
London Bridge
Tower Bridge
Before names of cities, states, islands, and continents
London is in the United Kingdom.
We vacationed in Hawaii.
Show me Africa on the map.
Before names of lakes
Lake Victoria is huge.
Before names of individual mountains
Mount Fuji is beautiful.
Before first and last names
Sarah Johnson
Before names of palaces and parks
The Queen lives in Windsor Castle.
Before names of shops and restaurants
We had coffee at Starbucks.
Before names of diseases (Exceptions: the flu, the measles, the mumps, the creeps)
diabetes
pneumonia
Cancer is a serious disease.
He was diagnosed with diabetes last year.
She is recovering from a cold.
Before names of religions
Buddhism
Islam
Hinduism is practiced by millions of people.
Judaism has a long history.
Many people follow Sikhism in India.
Before names of highways with numbers
If the highway number is used as part of its official name or designation without talking about a specific route or highway, “the” is generally not used. We also don’t use „the” when talking about the highway in a general way.
U.S. Route 1 runs through nine states.
When do we use “the” with highways?
“The” is typically used when you’re referring to a specific highway or route number that is well-known, especially in conversation or when giving directions.
Example:
Here, “the” is used because it’s a specific highway people recognize.
Here, “the” is used because we’re talking about a specific route that is well-known.
Other examples:
We drove on the 5 to get to San Francisco.
Traffic on the 10 is terrible today.
Before the names of World Wars
World War II
World War I ended in 1918.
He studied the history of World War II.
Before numbers and question numbers
Circle A and D.
I missed question number 4.
Please write your answer on page 2, question 3.
Before nouns with a number
room 10
section 4
We drove on Route 66 during our trip.
The meeting is in Room 12.
The presentation starts in Section 3.
Before ordinal numbers indicating prizes or rankings
third place
She won second place in the competition.
He received the first prize for his artwork.
With “next” and “last” when referring to past or future events
last week
We are planning a trip next year.
Last month, I visited Italy.
In certain expressions
at work
at school
in bed
on vacation
at night
at Christmas
I stayed at home all weekend.
She works at a hospital.
I like to read in bed before sleep.
In words that imply an activity (object activity nouns)
work
university
college
school
class
bed
prison
jail
court
heaven
hell
purgatory
He goes to church every Sunday.
She is studying at university.
The prisoners are in jail.
In time expressions (months, days, years)
He started his new job on Tuesday.
They were married in 2005.
Definite Article “The”
“The” is a definite article. We use it when talking about something specific or something we’ve already mentioned. “The” is used with both singular and plural countable nouns, as well as uncountable nouns when we talk about something specific.
When Do We Use “The”?
When we talk about something for the second time
She read a book. The book was amazing.
With the superlative form of adjectives
The most beautiful place
The most wonderful trip
With names of seas and oceans
The Atlantic Ocean
The Pacific Ocean
With mountain ranges
The Alps
With rivers and canals
The Suez Canal
With certain countries
The United Kingdom
The Netherlands
With certain expressions
at the theater
play the piano
Before names of roads (but not those with numbers)
The Pacific Coast Highway
The Great River Road
Before names of theaters, museums, hotels
The Globe Theater
The Met (Metropolitan Museum)
Before names of institutions or organizations
The United Nations
The Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Red Cross
When talking about unique Individuals
The CEO
With adjectives describing social groups
The Irish drink a lot of Guinness.
The strong don’t necessarily win.
With decades
How old were you in the 80s?
The 70s were a crazy time!
With centuries
The telephone was invented in the 19th century.
What is the 16th century known for?
Before newspaper names
The Huffington Post
The Washington Post
The Guardian is a well-known newspaper in the UK.
I read an article in The Times yesterday.
Have you seen the latest edition of The Independent?
Before famous buildings
The Tower of Pisa
The Empire State Building
The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world.
The Colosseum is a famous ancient monument in Rome.
The Sydney Opera House is an iconic landmark in Australia.
When talking about inventions
The iPhone is manufactured in China.
When was the car invented?
The computer revolutionized how we work.
The telephone changed communication forever.
The airplane made travel faster and easier.
Before some nouns indicating institutionalized groups
To join the military
Call the fire department.
Where are the police?
The Army is stationed near the border.
The Air Force is conducting drills today.
In the expression “the same”
They wore the same outfit to the party.
We stayed in the same hotel during our trip.
Common Mistakes with Articles
Mistakes with articles often occur because of confusion between countable and uncountable nouns or because the rules for vowel and consonant sounds aren’t always remembered.
