Articles & DeterminersBeginner
Articles: A, An and The
#cssnexusWhen to use a, an, the or no article at all — the sound rule for a/an, the uses of "the", and the places where no article is needed.
English has two kinds of article: the indefinite articles a/an and the definite article the.
A or an? Follow the sound, not the letter
Use an before a vowel sound and a before a consonant sound.
Hour and honest start with a silent h (vowel sound). University and European start with a "yu" sound (consonant sound).
Uses of a/an
- One singular countable thing, mentioned for the first time: I saw a dog.
- A job or membership: She is a doctor.
- "Per": twice a day, 100 rupees a kilo.
Never use a/an with uncountable or plural nouns: some advice, not "an advice".
Uses of the
- Something already mentioned or known: I saw a dog. The dog was barking.
- Something unique: the sun, the earth, the sky.
- Superlatives and ordinals: the best student, the first chapter.
- Rivers, seas, oceans, mountain ranges, deserts: the Indus, the Arabian Sea, the Himalayas, the Thar.
- Plural or "union" country names: the USA, the UK, the Netherlands.
- Holy and famous books, newspapers: the Quran, the Dawn.
- Musical instruments and inventions: She plays the piano.
- The + adjective for a group: the poor, the rich, the injured.
No article
- Most names of people, cities, countries and single mountains: Lahore, Pakistan, K2.
- Languages and subjects: She speaks English.
- Meals, games and general plural/uncountable ideas: We had lunch. He plays cricket. Honesty is important.
- Places used for their purpose: go to school, go to bed, in hospital — but the when you visit the building for another reason: My father went to the school to meet the principal.