The articles: a, an & the

Category: Determiners

An article is a word used to modify a noun, basically, it’s an adjective. English has two types of articles: the (definite article) and a/an (indefinite articles). They’re used very often  and are very important for using English accurately.
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Indefinite articles
A and an are indefinite articles used to refer to a singular countable noun. These articles are used to refer to any member of a group or class. The speaker doesn’t tell us exactly which one he or she is referring to.

Use a/an for naming a member of a group:
EXAMPLES

• Mrs. Doudtfire is a nanny / Oscar works as an engineer (Jobs).
• Diego Armando Maradona is an Argentine (Nationalities).
• Barbara is a Jewish (Religions).

THE USE OF THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE “A”
 1) “A” is used before a consonant (b, c, d, etc.)
EXAMPLES

• a car.
• a dog.
• a Friday.
• a tiny nose.
• a 15 year-old boy.
• a year / week (time).
• a kilo / mile (measurements). Also using “one” instead of “a” is correct.

2) “A” is used before a vowel but consonant sound 

EXAMPLES

• a university. [juː]
• a unit. [juː]
• a European. [jʊ]
• a one (1). [w]

3) “A” is used before a pronounced “h”

EXAMPLE

• a horse.

THE USE OF THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE “AN”
 1) “An” is used before a vowel (a, e, i, etc.)
EXAMPLES

• an orange.
• an eye.
• an alligator.

2) “An” is used before an unpronounced (mute) “h”
EXAMPLE

• an hour [a].
• an honest [ˈɑ] (N. Amer.) - [ˈɒ] (Brit.)
• an honor [ˈɑ] (N. Amer.) - [ˈɒ] (Brit.)
• an heir [ɛ] (N. Amer.) - [e] (Brit.)
• an herb  [ɜ] (N. Amer.)

3) “An” is used before a consonant but vowel sound
EXAMPLES

• an “F”. [ε]
• an MBA. [ε]

Definite article
The is a definite article used to refer to something specific (singular or plural nouns). The speaker talks about a particular (or known) member of a group.
EXAMPLES

• The book on the table is about horror stories.
• Could you pass me the sugar, please?
• The movie was great.

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​THE USE OF THE DEFINITE ARTICLE “THE”
1) “The” is used before a noun which has already been previously mentioned

EXAMPLES

• I lost the wallet you gave me yesterday.
• They have a dog and two cats. The dog is Siberian husky.

2) “The” is used to indicate a noun that is unique or there is only one
EXAMPLES

• The President of United States lives in the White House.
• The Eiffel tower was built in 1889 to commemorate the French Revolution.
• The Nile is a river in Africa.
• Where is the bathroom?

​3) “The” is used before superlative adjectives
EXAMPLES

• It’s the largest river in the world.
• She is the most beautiful lady of all time.

4) “The” is used to talk about the whole population of a country or region
EXAMPLES

• The British drink too much tea.
• The Romans invaded Britain in AD 43.
• The Mayans were famous for their architecture and astronomical knowledge.

HOWEVER: When generalizing about nationalities or a group of people, “the” is not usually used: “Americans eat a lot of hamburgers”
5) “The” is used to indicate all the members of a family
EXAMPLE

• The Simpsons live in Springfield.

6) “The” is used to talk about musical instruments
 EXAMPLE

• She plays the piano every day.

7) “The” is used to talk about directions (cardinal points)​
EXAMPLES

• the north.
• the south-east.

Worksheets

The articles: a, an & the 1

Answers: 1. a 2. an 3. the 4. a 5. the 6. a 7. a 8. the 9. an 10. the 11. a 12. a 13. an 14. the 15. The - an

The articles: a, an & the 2

Answers: 1. a 2. the 3. the 4. a 5. a 6. the 7. the 8. a 9. the 10. the 11. a 12. the 13. the 14. a 15. a

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