What is an Article?

An article is a word that goes before a noun, giving some basic information
about the noun, such as if it is singular or plural, or if the object is specific
or general. The English articles are a, an, the.

The Definite Article

The definite article in English is ‘the’, and we can use it with singular
and plural nouns. We use ‘the’ when:

We have already identified the noun we are referring to in a previous

phrase
 There is only one of this thing (for example, ‘the station’ – there is only
one in the city)
 We use certain expressions, especially related to physical things such as
‘the weather’, ‘the sea’, ‘the environment’.
 Here are some examples:
 You can’t go to  the  post office now. It’s closed.
 Can you turn on  the  television?
 The  shopping bags are still in  the  car. I’ll get them.
 Where’s  the  bottle-opener?
 The  students are waiting for  the  lesson to start.

We also use the definite article Definite article - the in the following cases:

USES EXAMPLES SENTENCES

The sun, the moon, the

With nouns that refer to unique
sky...The world,
things, that is to say, that there The sun rose at 6:15 this morning.
is only one.
The Earth

With things we know there's The car (we only have Can I use the car next Saturday?
only one in a particular place or one) the church (there's
 USES EXAMPLES SENTENCES

time. only one in town)...

With musical instruments. The violin... I used to play the violin when I was little.

With adjectives to refer to a

The rich, the French... The rich always get richer.
group of people.

The Atlantic Ocean,

With oceans, seas and rivers. The Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Nile

The Alps, The

With mountain ranges. Which is the highest mountain in the Alps?
Pyrenees...

With groups of islands and The Bahamas, The

I spent my holidays in the Bahamas.
deserts. Sahara...

With museums, cinemas or The British Museum,

Thousands of tourists visit The British Museum every year.
theatres. The Phoenix

The Czech Republic,

With some countries. I have some relatives in The Czech Republic.
The United States...

With famous buildings and The Taj Mahal, The

The Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world.
monuments. London Eye...

In front of a superlative. The best, the biggest... He is the best player at the moment.

 Indefinite Article

We use an indefinite article in English when:

 We refer to something for the first time

  We refer to a general thing, and not something specific
 We describe a person’s profession

A/an
USES EXAMPLES SENTENCES

Before jobs. A nurse, an accountant... My mum is a nurse at the hospital.

To replace the number one. An apple, a hundred... Can I have an (one) apple, please?

Before a singular countable noun that is an

A lion, a book A baby lion is born blind.
example of a kind of things.

Expressions of price, speed... A kilo, an hour...a half The oranges cost 2 euros a kilo.

a + consonant SOUND
If the following word starts with a consonant SOUND, then we say a:

 a cat
 a game of golf
 a human emotion

an + vowel SOUND
If the following word starts with a vowel SOUND, then we say an:

 an apple
 an easy job
Here are some examples:

There’s  a  cat in the garden!

I need  a  stamp for this letter.
Sally is  an  accountant. She works for  a  multinational company.

Articles with Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Notice that we use the indefinite article a/an ONLY with singular
countable nouns: a dog, an egg, a very big man, an extremely delicious meal
In English, a singular countable noun usually needs an article (or other determiner) in
front of it. We cannot say:
 I saw elephant yesterday.

We need to say something like:

 I saw an elephant.
 I saw a pink elephant.
 I saw the elephant.
 I saw your elephant.

ZERO Article
ZERO Article with Plural and Uncountable Nouns
General meaning
 cars, people
 life, water
Abstract nouns
 education, happiness, music
ZERO Article with Singular Countable Nouns
Names
People: Mary, Bill, Josef

Places: Jupiter, Russia, Bangkok, Heathrow Airport, Cambridge University, Waterloo

Station

Streets: Oxford Street, Wall Street, Picadilly Circus

Languages: English, Russian Exception : The English Language

Academic subjects: History, Law, Physics

Days, months: Monday, November

Games and Sports

 football, chess
Meals
 breakfast, lunch, dinner
Noun + Number
 platform 3, room 7, page 44
Routine Places
 in bed, at home, to school, to work
Movement or Transport
 on foot, by car, by bus, by air
Newspaper Headlines, Notices, User Guides
 Plane Crashes On House, Keep Area Clean, Insert battery

Example Sentences
Here are some example sentences showing the ZERO article in context.

 Cars can be dangerous.
 We seldom see courage like that.
 I could see clouds in the sky.
 There was milk on the doorstep.
 I gave it to Mary.
 She arrived in Bangkok yesterday.
 Do you speak French?
 He is good at tennis.
 People will travel to Mars soon.
 He is in room 45.
 Please turn to page 67.
 She's in bed.
 Are you at home?
 They took her to hospital.
 I'm leaving town tomorrow by car.
 I go to school by bus.
 We usually meet on Monday.
 November is quite cold.