1

Articles
There are only three articles in English: a, an and the. There are two types of articles indefinite
'a' and 'an' or definite 'the'. You also need to know when not to use an article. Their proper use
is complex, especially when you get into the advanced use of English. Quite often you have to
work it out by what sounds right, which can be frustrating for a learner.

Indefinite articles - a and an (determiners)

A and an are the indefinite articles. They refer to something not specifically known to the person
you are communicating with.A and an are used before nouns that introduce something or
someone you have not mentioned before:-

For "I saw an elephant this morning."

example: "I ate a banana for lunch."

A and an are also used when talking about your profession:-

For "I am an English teacher."

example: "I am a builder."

You use a when the noun you are referring to begins with a consonant (b, c, d, f, g, h,
j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y or z), for example, "a city", "a factory", and "a hotel".

You use an when the noun you are referring to begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u)

Pronunciation changes this rule. It's the sound that matters, not the spelling.

If the next word begins with a consonant sound when we say it, for example,
"university" then we use a. If the next word begins with a vowel sound when we say it,
Note! for example "hour" then we use an.

We say "university" with a "y" sound at the beginning as though it were spelt
"youniversity".
So, "a university" IS correct.

We say "hour" with a silent h as though it were spelt "our".

So, "an hour" IS correct.

(Lots of people get this wrong - including native speakers.)

You use the when you know that the listener knows or can work out what particular person/thing
you are talking about.

For "The apple you ate was rotten."

2

example: "Did you lock the car?"

You should also use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.

For
"She's got two children; a girl and a boy. The girl's eight and the boy's fourteen."
example:

We use the to talk about geographical points on the globe.

For
the North Pole, the equator
example:

We use the to talk about rivers, oceans and seas

For
the Nile, the Pacific, the English channel
example:

We also use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing.

For
the rain, the sun, the wind, the world, the earth, the White House etc..
example:

However if you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an.

For "I could hear the wind." / "There's a cold wind blowing."
example: "What are your plans for the future?" / "She has a promising future ahead of her."

The is also used to say that a particular person or thing being mentioned is the best, most
famous, etc. In this use, 'the' is usually given strong pronunciation:

For "Harry's Bar is the place to go."

example: "You don't mean you met the Tony Blair, do you?"

!Note - The doesn't mean all:-

"The books are expensive." = (Not all books are expensive, just the ones I'm talking
For
about.)
example:
"Books are expensive." = (All books are expensive.)

No article We usually use no article to talk about things in general:-

Inflation is rising.
3

People are worried about rising crime. (Note! People generally, so no article)

You do not use an article when talking about sports.

For My son plays football.

example: Tennis is expensive.

You do not use an article before uncountable nouns when talking about them generally.

For Information is important to any organisation.

example: Coffee is bad for you.

You do not use an article before the names of countries except where they indicate multiple
areas or contain the words (state(s), kindom, republic, union). Kingdom, state, republic and union
are nouns, so they need an article.

No article - Italy, Mexico, Bolivia, England

For Use the - the UK (United Kingdom), the USA (United States of America), the Irish
example: Republic

Multiple areas! the Netherlands, the Philippines, the British Isles

Exercise 1 Complete the sentences with a suitable article.

-select-

1. I bought pair of pants and a shirt.

-select-

2. I saw car crash last week.

-select-

3. They are staying downtown.

4

-select-

4. I think man is very unfriendly.

-select-

5. I don't like soccer.

-select-

6. That is issue between you and the boss.

-select-

7. water is dirty. Don't drink it!

-select-

8. price of gas keeps rising.

-select-

9. John moved to San Francisco.

-select-

10. Celine is French.

5

-select-

11. amazing thing happened to me yesterday.

-select-

12. My friend doesn't eat red meat.

Bas du formulaire

Exercise 2 : Taiwan
The Definite Article" (the), the Indefinite Article" (a or an) or the
Zero Article" (-)
Put the answer button to see the answer.
Haut du formulaire
1. Taiwan was called "Isla Formosa" by ___ Dutch
Answ er

2. ___ first Presidential election was March 23, 1997.

Answ er

3. There are many ___ earthquakes in Taiwan every year.

Answ er

4. Taiwan has ___ strong economy.

Answ er

5. ___ Taipei is the capital of Taiwan.

Answ er

6. Taiwan is ___ island.

Answ er

7. ___ large mountain range runs down the center of Taiwan.

Answ er

8. Taiwan is ___ industrialised country.

Answ er
 6

9. Taiwan is ___ tropical island.

Answ er

10.___ language and culture of Taiwan is Chinese.

Answ er

11.Another name for Taiwan is ___ Republic of China.

Answ er

12.Taiwan is ___ democratic country.

Answ er

13.Chinese New Year is ___ important holiday in Taiwan.

Answ er

14.Taiwan has ___ population of 22,000,000 people.

Answ er

15.___ Tropic of Cancer crosses Taiwan.

Answ er

Bas du formulaire

Exercise 3
Complete the sentences with a suitable article.
Haut du formulaire

-select-

1. Albert Einstein was famous scientist.

-select-

2. Einstein was born in Germany in 1879.

 7

-select-

3. Einstein won Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.

-select-

4. Einstein left his country and lived in States until he died

in 1955.

-select-

5. Einstein is known for his theory of relativity.

-select-

6. German physicist, who discovered X-rays in 1895, was

named Wilhelm Roentgen.

-select-

7. Roentgen won 1901 Nobel Prize.

-select-

8. Mandela was born in South Africa.

-select-

9. Mandela was first President elected in South Africa after

Apartheid was revoked.

-select-

10. Mandela was imprisoned for nearly 30 years for his anti-
 8

apartheid activities.

-select-

11. Mother Teresa was Roman Catholic nun.

-select-

12. Mother Teresa became famous for her hard work with
poor.

-select-

13. She was founder of order of nuns called the

Missionaries of Charity.

-select-

14. Mother Teresa lived in Calcutta, India.

-select-

15. Mother Teresa received her Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

Bas du formulaire
Exercise 4: Fill in the blank with the appropriate article a, an,
or the,or leave the space blank if no article is needed.
1. I want ______ piece of chocolate cake.(any piece)
2. Sara joined ______ basketball team. (the only basketball team at
school)
3. Mr. Chen speaks ______ Chinese.
4. Tonight will be ______ evening full of surprises.
5. Enrique used to play baseball for ______ Houston Astros.
6. ______ stain on my shirt is red. (specific stain)
7. Her grandfather is such ______ honorable man.
8. John is ______ United States citizen.
9

9. ______ creativity is a nice quality to have.

10.Kathy is ______ member of the Adult Literacy Council.
11.President Bush lives in ______ White House.
12.Stacey got a headache from all of ______ noise.
13.We will get married in ______ Virgin Islands.
14.I can’t wait to visit ______ Europe.
15.Cyndi loves to play ______ softball.
16.Jason held ______ door for Susan.
17.Be sure to bring ______ umbrella in case it rains.(any umbrella)
18.Juanita is expecting ______ baby.
19.Albert likes to study ______ history.
20.It will be ______ evening to remember.(one of other evenings that are
also
remembered)