Articles

Back to: Basic Grammar

Articles are mainly used in European languages, but not in Asian languages, which is why many Asian students find them difficult to learn. However, they are an essential part of the English language and cannot be omitted for ease of use.

When we say ‘articles’  what we are talking about is a ‘label’.  Some things have labels and some things do not have labels.

When we say ‘a ball’:  the ‘a’ is the label for ball. These labels help us to identify what kind of thing we are talking about.

We will first learn indefinite articles.  The word “indefinite” means “we don’t know which one” or "any one"

By this we mean that there are many of the things we are talking about, but we are talking about any ‘one’ of them.

Example:

John has a blue car.  – (There are many blue cars. John has ‘one’ of them).

A bought a new shirt yesterday. (There are many new shirts in the stores),I bought ‘one’ of them).

I ate an orange with my lunch. (There are many oranges. I ate ‘one’ of them).

The doctor called for an ambulance for the sick lady. (There are many ambulances. The doctor called for ‘one’ of them).

Rules for the use of articles in front of nouns.

As you can see from the examples we use ‘a and an’ to label indefinite articles.

We  ‘an’  if the noun begins with a vowel (a,e,i,o,u). We use  ‘a’  if the word begins with a consonant (b,c,d,f,g,h,j,k,l,m,n,p,q,r,s,t,v,w,x,y,z) or a consonant sound.

There are other rules which also help us know which article to use.

  • a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins with a consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used); a university; a unicycle, a European, a use, a unicorn.
  • an + nouns starting with silent "h": an hour, an honour, an honouree.

Listen to the pronunciation of the words above and their preceding article. Is it an 'a' or an 'an'?

Practice the following exercise. You have to place either 'a' or 'an' into the gap in each sentence.

Exercise 1a

Complete the sentences using  a or an.   Use the information you have just read if you need to.

  1. There is __ church at the end of the street.
  2. We went to __ really nice hotel last weekend.
  3. Does your town have __ University?
  4. We saw __ elephant just knocked down by a car!
  5. How many eggs are there in __ dozen?
  6. What is the name of __ European country?
  7. My friend is __ doctor.
  8. He works in __ local hospital.
  9. He has __ apartment in town.
  10. He is taking __ test next week.
  11. __ man in my office is from Spain.
  12. There was __ accident in my street this morning.
  13. I have to return __ book I borrowed from the library.
  14. Just __ minute, I have __ idea.
  15. We are working on __ invention.

Answers.

  1. There is a church at the end of the street.
  2. We went to a really nice hotel last weekend.
  3. Does your town have  a University?
  4. We saw an elephant just knocked down by a car!
  5. How many eggs are there in a dozen?
  6. What is the name of a European country?
  7. My friend is a doctor.
  8. He works in a local hospital.
  9. He has an apartment in town.
  10. He is taking a test next week.
  11. A man in my office is from Spain.
  12. There was an accident in my street this morning.
  13. I have to return a book I borrowed from the library.
  14. Just a minute, I have an idea.
  15. We are working on a invention.

Now you have a text to read. Read and place an indefinite article in the gaps.

Exercise 1b

Read the story and fill in the missing article. It will be either ‘a’ or ‘an’

Bob is my brother.  He is 40 years old and he is __ carpenter. He is married and lives with his wife in __ old bungalow. His wife is named Elizabeth, She is __ nurse. She works at _ local hospital.  They have __son and __ daughter. Their son is called Michael  and their daughter is called Wendy.

At the weekends the family like to go on __ picnic and go for __ walk by the river. There is __ entertainment park by the river. __ advertisement in the newspaper was showing information about __ show in the evenings.

Bob drives__ car to work from Monday to Thursday. On Friday he takes __ bus because there is _ lot of traffic.

Answers.

Bob is my brother.  He is 40 years old and he is a carpenter. He is married and lives with his wife in an old bungalow. His wife is named Elizabeth, She is a nurse. She works at a local hospital.  They have a son and a daughter. Their son is called Michael  and their daughter is called Wendy.

At the weekends the family like to go on a picnic and go for a walk by the river. There is an entertainment park by the river. An advertisement in the newspaper was showing information about a show in the evenings.

Bob drives a car to work from Monday to Thursday. On Friday he takes a bus because there is a lot of traffic.

Review.

We use ‘a’ and ‘an’ to introduce a noun into a sentence. This is the first time we talk about it.

They have a dog. (This is the introduction of ‘dog’(noun) into the sentence, so we use ‘a’

Watch the video for more practice in the use of indefinite articles (Crown Academy)

Definite Article.

Now we will look at definite articles.

The definite article ‘the’ is used for:

  • When there is only one:

The Prime Minster visited Italy last week.   The Prince of Wales is heir to the throne.

  • When we believe that the person we are talking to knows what we are talking about:

The Eiffel Tower is in Paris.

The weather is really strange at the moment.

  • Superlatives:

He is the tallest boy in the class.

The Amazon is the longest river in the world.

  • We have already talked about it before (in our sentence or a sentence before):

There was an accident on my way to work this morning. The accident happened at around 7.45am.

A man was jogging in the park this morning. The man was wearing a red tracksuit.

  • Musical instruments:

He plays the drums, the guitar, and the piano. Wow! He is really talented.

  • A public service or organisation:

The Police arrested a man last night near my house.

The buses never arrive on time, and the trains are unreliable.

  • Countries which follow these rules:
  • States - The United States of America
  • Islands - The Canary Islands
  • A Kingdom - The United Kingdom
  • A Republic - The Czech Republic

Other countries do NOT use 'the' in their name.

  • There are other examples but for now we will use these examples to practice.

Complete the exercise. Read the instructions first.

Exercise  1c.

Complete the sentences using ‘the’ in the blank spaces. Sometimes we don’t need to use ‘the’ Read the sentences carefully and try to guess which ones do not need ‘the’ Place an  ‘X’ in the places which do not need ‘the’

  1. There was a motorbike parked outside my house yesterday. ___motorbike was there all day.
  2. ___Police have a difficult job to do.
  3. Do you play ___ musical instrument? Yes, I play __ guitar.
  4. One of ___best movies I have seen is Titanic.
  5. Will you be taking ___ train, or coming by __ bus?
  6. __Hyde Park is one of London’s main parks.
  7. There are many movies on TV, but overall I like ___ Sci Fi movies.
  8. Can you tell me __best way to get to the train station please?
  9. I will be arriving on __6 o’clock train.
  10. He studied a lot for __his upcoming exam.

Answers

  1. There was a motorbike parked outside my house yesterday. The motorbike was there all day.
  2. The Police have a difficult job to do.
  3. Do you play a musical instrument? Yes, I play the guitar.
  4. One of the best movies I have seen is Titanic.
  5. Will you be taking the train, or coming by X bus?
  6. X Hyde Park is one of London’s main parks.
  7. There are many movies on TV, but overall I like X Sci Fi movies.
  8. Can you tell me the best way to get to the train station please?
  9. I will be arriving on the 6 o’clock train.
  10. He studied a lot for X his upcoming exam.

Watch the video for more examples of how to use 'the' ( courtesy of SmrtEnglish)

Here are a series of exercises for you to practice using the indefinite article. Once again, may i remind you that YOU MUST USE 'THE' IN ENGLISH. You cannot omit it when it should be used.

A, An, The
The - 1
The - 2
The Geo and with_without
Street names & Buildings
A,An, The - Answers
The -1 Answers
The -2 Answers
Geographical - Answers
Street names - answers

This is the end of the lesson.

When you are studying, do not only do the exercises here, also read documents, books, and articles.  Look at the way the articles are used in 'real' situations.

Thank you.