Articles: a / an / the
Indefinite and definite articles.
English has two kinds of articles. The indefinite articles — a and an — are used when we talk about one thing that is not specific, or when we mention something for the first time. We use a before words that begin with a consonant sound (a book, a dog, a university — 'university' starts with the /j/ sound, which is a consonant sound). We use an before words that begin with a vowel sound (an apple, an egg, an hour — 'hour' starts with a silent 'h', so the first sound is a vowel /aʊ/). The definite article the is used when both the speaker and the listener know which thing we are talking about — it may already be mentioned, or there is only one of it (the sun, the teacher in our class). We use no article (sometimes written as —) when we talk about things in general using a plural noun (Dogs are friendly. Books are useful.). For example: I have a cat. The cat is black and white.
Rules
- 1Use a before a word that begins with a consonant sound: a book, a cat, a university.
- 2Use an before a word that begins with a vowel sound: an apple, an orange, an hour.
- 3Use the when both speaker and listener know exactly which thing is meant: the sun, the teacher.
- 4Use the when something is mentioned a second time: I have a dog. The dog is brown.
- 5Use no article (—) with plural nouns when speaking about things in general: Dogs are animals.
Practice
10 easy · 10 medium · 10 hard
10 random questions per test