In English, there are two types of articles: definite (the) and indefinite (a, an). How they are used depends on whether you are referring to a specific member of a group, or to any non-specified member of a group.
I was talking to the policewoman at our school. (a specific policewoman; the one who works at the school)
I was talking to a policeman. (a policeman who could be anyone, anywhere)
Using a or an before a singular noun means that the noun refers to any member of a group.
a + singular noun that begins with a *consonant sound: a rabbit, a car, a book, a computer
*The exception is for the letter " H " when it's silent. Use a for words that begin with an " h " that you can hear, such as: a horse, a history book, a hint, a helper. Use an for words where you cannot hear the " h ", such as: an hour, an honest man,
an + singular noun that begins with a long or short **vowel sound: an artist, an ice cream, an engineer, an overestimate, an uncle
**The words vowel sound are confusing to most people learning English. We know that the vowels are a,e,i,o,u (y), and that they can be long vowel sounds (A as in day, E as in see, I as in Hi !, O as in Oh !, U as in university) or short vowel sounds (a as in hat, e as in bed, i as in disk, o as in pocket, u as in up).
The exception is LONG " U ".
Even though long " U " is a vowel, we cannot use an. Long " U " sounds exactly like the word you. Use a or the before all words that begin with long " U ", such as: university, unique, unit, useful, urine. There are other strange exceptions that need a or the, such as the word eulogy which sounds like YOU-li-gee, and euphemism which sounds like YOU-fa-miz-zum.
The same rules hold true for a and an used before an adjective.
a nervous bridegroom
an unhealthy substance
a European country (the eur sounds like the consonant sound you're.)
Indefinite articles are also used to indicate membership in a profession, nationality, or religion.
Roslyn is a teacher.
Julian is an Italian man.
She is a Protestant.
Using the before a noun means that the noun is definite, i.e., refers to a specific or particular item.
|
|
Indefinite (a or an) |
Definite (the) |
|
Singular |
a
chair (any chair) |
the
chair (that specific chair) |
|
Plural |
some
books (any books) |
the
books (those specific books) |
The is not used with uncountable nouns that refer to something in a general sense:
[no article] Soup is a good winter meal.
[no article] English is a difficult language.
[no article] Love is
hard to find.
The is used with uncountable nouns that refer to something specific:
The soup my mother made was delicious.
The English you hear everyday is often incorrect.
The love of a parent
for a child never dies.
The is used when a noun refers to something unique:
the Tower of London,
the law of gravity, the
2000 Olympic Games
The is not used before:
Names of countries: France, Pakistan, Argentina, Cuba, etc. except the Netherlands, the United States of America, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, etc.
Names
of cities, towns, or states: Brasilia, Montreal, Dallas, London, Mexico
City
Names of streets: Walnut Street, Fifth Avenue
Names
of lakes and bays: Lake Superior, San Francisco Bay,
except
with a group of lakes like
the Great Lakes
Names
of mountains: Mount Rainer, Mount Everest
except
with ranges of
mountains like the
Alps, or
the
Rockies
or unusual names like
the
Matterhorn
Names of continents: South America, Australia
Names of islands: Catalina Island, Oahu, Prince Edward Island except with island chains like the Hawaiian Islands, the Ionian Islands, the Galapagos Archipelagos, the Philippine Islands
The is used before:
Names
of rivers, oceans and seas: the Amazon River, the Caribbean Sea
Points on the globe: the Equator, the South Pole
Geographical areas: the East, the
Midwest)
Deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas: the Sahara Desert, the Gulf of Mexico, the Otter River State Forest, the Iberian Peninsula
With native English speakers, you will most often hear the pronounced like "thuh" (short “A” sound). But when the comes before a vowel sound, the accepted “rule” is to pronounce it as "thee" (long “E” sound).
For those of you who love grammar labels, the pronounced as “thee” is the unreduced form. The pronounced as “thuh” is the reduced form. Reduced form= use before a consonant sound (thuh cat, thuh plate, thuh movie). Unreduced form = use before a vowel sound (thee ostrich, thee arm, thee entrance, thee insect).
More unreduced examples:
A
Write: the airplane
Pronounce: thee airplane landed early
E
Write: the entire
Pronounce: thee entire play was too long
I
Write: the ice cubes
Pronounce: thee ice cubes melted
O
Write: the orangutan
Pronounce: thee orangutan ate his banana
U
Write: the unwashed shirt
Pronounce: thee unwashed shirt was under the bed
Remember: The sound matters—not the letter! Pronounce the as “thee” before a vowel sound. The sound may or may not come from a vowel!
the horse consonant (h) thuh horse consonant sound (h)
the hour consonant (h) thee our vowel sound(the “h” is silent)
the universe vowel (u) thuh youniverse consonant sound (y)
the underworld vowel (u) thee underworld vowel sound (u)
“The” for emphasis
If you want to stress a particular word while speaking, you use the “thee” pronunciation even if the word begins with a consonant sound.
Did you find the (thuh) dress you wanted when you went shopping?
Yes, I found the (thee) PERFECT dress!
Using a, an, and the also depends on which quality the noun following the article has:
A and an are used if the noun can be counted.
David
slipped on a banana peel. (How many banana
peels did David slip on? One. Use a
to mean one)
Fred ate
a piece of cake. (Pieces of cake
can be counted)
Melissa saw an
anteater at the zoo. (Anteaters can be counted)
The is used when the noun is uncountable (cannot be counted).
James jumped into the air.
Helene enjoyed the warm weather.
Howard admires the beauty of music.
A or an is used with a noun the first time it's mentioned in a piece of writing. The is used each time you mention that same noun again:
An article in the local paper reported that the school had been damaged in the tornado.
The
article went on to state that no one was injured, but the costs of
repairs would be more than one million dollars.
A, an, and the are used to show that a noun either refers to an individual (countable, specific) member of the class, or it refers to the entire class (uncountable, general).
An elephant is a large, gray land animal. (any individual elephant)
The
elephant transports seeds from one place to another. (all elephants; the
word elephant as a general category)
The omission of articles also expresses a general meaning:
No article with a plural noun: Sharks are voracious eaters. (all sharks)
No article with an
uncountable noun: Happiness is hard to find. (any kind of happiness)
Names of languages and nationalities: These nouns do not take any article, and ALWAYS need a capital letter
Portuguese
Russian
Swedish
Japanese
I don't know if Swedish is difficult to learn.
BUT: The Russians invented vodka. The Chinese are a hard-working people.
hockey
soccer
rugby
jai-lai
BUT: The soccer game I saw last night was very exciting. (soccer is being used as an adjective in this sentence, so you do need to use an article.)
Names of academic subjects:
history
social studies
geography
journalism
Roy's favorite subject is history, although he enjoys geography, too.
BUT: The geography test I took yesterday was difficult. (geography is being used as an adjective in this sentence, so you do need to use an article.)