Articles: "a", "an", "the"

Do you know how to use a, an and the?

Look at these examples to see how articles are used.

• She's a doctor.

• I need an umbrella.

• Have you heard the news?

• I don't like spiders.

Explanation

Articles are used before nouns or noun equivalents and are a type of adjective. The definite article (the) is used before a noun to indicate that the identity of the noun is known to the reader. The indefinite article (a, an) is used before a noun that is general or when its identity is not known.

Here are some of the most important things to know about using articles.

Jobs

When we say what people's jobs are, we usually use a/an.

• He's an architect.

• She's a scientist.

• My grandmother was a teacher.

Singular nouns

Singular, countable nouns always have an article – a/an or the (or another determiner – my, your, this, that, etc.).

We use a/an – the indefinite article – when we talk about something for the first time, or something that is part of a group or type.

• I saw a good film yesterday.

• Do you want a drink?

We use a when the word that follows it begins with a consonant sound. We use an when it's followed by a vowel sound. This makes pronunciation easier.

• She has a university degree.

• It took me an hour to get home.

We use the – the definite article – when the listener already knows which thing we are talking about because it was mentioned before or because there's only one of them.

• I'm going to take the dog for a walk.

• Have you seen the car key?

• They go to the school next to the bridge.

Things in general

When we talk about things in general, we normally use a plural or uncountable noun with no article.

• Birds eat worms.

• Water freezes at 0°C.

• Children need a lot of sleep.

Particular groups of things

When we talk about a particular group of things, we use the.

• We went to the zoo and saw the kangaroos. (These are the particular kangaroos in that zoo – not kangaroos in general.)