Articles

There are only three article in the entire English language - A, AN, and THE. 

A and An are used for singular items, when there are many. 

The article An is used for words that start with a vowel [a,e,i,o,u] – an apple, an egg, an attorney, an apartment, etc… OR the pronunciation of said word sounds like the word starts with a vowel – an hour. 

The article A is used for words that usually start with a consonant – a car, a flat, a teacher, etc… .

It should be noted that A and An can be used with adjectives. In English, the adjective comes before the

noun and so the article used will be dictated by the letter that the adjective starts with, not the noun.

  

Examples: 

1.        A teacher 

2.        An impressive teacher; a impressive teacher 

3.        An hour 

4.        A long hour, an long hour

The articles A/AN are called indefinite articles.

They are usually used to introduce an idea into the conversation.

Example: 

1.        Person A – That’s A nice watch you’re wearing. 

2.        Person B – Thank you.

THE can be used for either singular or plural items.

It is called a definite article and it used to express ideas that both people or an entire group knows without

explanation. 

Example: 

1.        Person A- That’s A nice watch you’re wearing. 

2.        Person B – Thank you. 

3.        Person A - Where did you get THE watch? 

4.        Person B – Oh, I got it for my birthday.

The article THE is used as both people know the exact item they are talking about. 

THE can also be used at the beginning of a conversation, but only for unique or understood nouns/concepts.

 Examples: 

a.        The sun, the moon 

b.        The King of Thailand, The King of Saudi Arabia, The President of the United States 

c.        The people, the government, the police, the hospital

  

THE must be used with superlatives. 

1.        The fastest car. 

2.        The shortest girl. 

3.        The best player.

The article THE does NOT always have to be used. Students who are learning English as a second language

usually have problems with knowing WHEN to use this article.

Situations when the article THE is not necessary:

  

1. Continents, countries (most of them), states, counties, towns, buildings, most streets, lakes, and single
mountains:

Examples:
a. I have traveled to Asia, Europe and North America.
b. Thailand, Korea, and Mexico are interesting countries.
    (Examples of exceptions: The Philippines, The Vatican, The Soviet Union, The United Arab Emirates)
c. My sister lives Michigan and my brother lives in North Carolina.
d. I live in Orange county, but I work in Volusia county.
e. My cousin lives in Los Angeles and my grandmother lives in San Diego.    

When using plural and uncountable nouns, the article THE is not used.: 
a.  Education in the U.S. has been declining for years.
b.  Baseball is the most popular sport in America.

However, if a person wants to be specific then using THE is used.
a. The baseball game was the best I have seen in a long time.
b. The economy is improving. The unemployment rate dropped.