Look at these examples to see how articles are used.
She's a doctor.
I need an umbrella.
Have you heard the news?
I don't like spiders.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
Here are some of the most important things to know about using articles.
Jobs
When we say what people's jobs are, we usually use a/an.
He's an architect.
She's a scientist.
My grandmother was a teacher.
Singular nouns
Singular, countable nouns always have an article – a/an or the (or another determiner – my, your, this, that, etc.).
We use a/an – the indefinite article – when we talk about something for the first time, or something that is part of a group or type.
I saw a good film yesterday.
Do you want a drink?
We use a when the word that follows it begins with a consonant sound. We use an when it's followed by a vowel sound. This makes pronunciation easier.
She has a university degree.
It took me an hour to get home.
We use the – the definite article – when the listener already knows which thing we are talking about because it was mentioned before or because there's only one of them.
I'm going to take the dog for a walk.
Have you seen the car key?
They go to the school next to the bridge.
Things in general
When we talk about things in general, we normally use a plural or uncountable noun with no article.
Birds eat worms.
Water freezes at 0°C.
Children need a lot of sleep.
Particular groups of things
When we talk about a particular group of things, we use the.
We went to the zoo and saw the kangaroos. (These are the particular kangaroos in that zoo – not kangaroos in general.)
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hi cms10,
In this context you can use either 'a' or 'the' in each sentence. You can see it as one of many rights ('a right') or as a particular right which is specified in the sentence ('the right). It's really up to the speaker.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Risa Warysha,
Both of the first two sentences are fine, though only one or the other would be appropriate in specific situations. In general, we use 'a' when are mentioning this woman for the first time and 'the' after that.
As for the other two sentences, the first one suggests that she is the only person, whereas the second one suggests there could be more than one person.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello jeje
As the explanation says, we use 'a' when the word that follows it begins with a consonant sound. 'university' begins with the /j/ sound -- you can hear it on this dictionary page.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Aguirre79,
The correct answer to that question is 'The', not no article. I'm not sure why you think no article is correct.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Gelebishokarma
'teachers' refers to more than one teacher (in the first sentence, all the teachers in the school) and 'teacher' refers to just one teacher (in the second sentence, Philip).
'dogs' refers to the animal in general, that is, all dogs. He doesn't like any dog anywhere because one dog bit him when he was a child. But the man going on the walk is going with just one dog, not all dogs.
Does that make sense?
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team