Articles: 'a', 'an', 'the'

Articles: 'a', 'an', 'the'

Do you know how to use a, an and the? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

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

Grammar test 1: Articles 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

Grammar test 2: Articles 1

Average: 4 (196 votes)

Submitted by Aboelnour on Mon, 10/01/2022 - 23:28

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why we do use the for teachers? , I reckon teachers are plural

Hello Aboelnour,

I assume you're talking about sentence 8 in Grammar test 2. In that case, the sentence is referring to a particular group of teachers, so 'the' needs to be used.

Hope this helps.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Vivek on Wed, 22/12/2021 - 08:43

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This is my favourite car. I will buy the car.
Why this statement sounds bad. I know there will be this car instead of "the car" but why, as we know we use"the" after using a noun earlier. Here also in the sentence car is mentioned in the first sentence

Hi Vivek,

I don't think the statement sounds bad. There's no problem with using "the" or "this" here. But, I think the most common thing to say would be "I will buy it".

I hope that helps.

Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team

Profile picture for user amit_ck

Submitted by amit_ck on Tue, 07/12/2021 - 10:36

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"The proportion of paper and cardboard that WAS recycled "

Here "paper and cardboard" are two things, then why there is "Was" instead of "were"?

Hi amit_ck,

The noun is not just "paper and cardboard" but the whole phrase "the proportion of paper and cardboard". The main word is "proportion" in the singular, so the verb needs to match it.

If the sentence said "the proportions of paper and cardboard" (proportions = plural), then the correct verb would be "were".

I hope that helps :)

Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Vivek on Sat, 20/11/2021 - 05:22

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Suppose there was a football match,and I asked my friend that "did you watched the match".
And suppose my friend is eating an apple.And I asked him did you ate the apple.
Sir, why in first sentence "the match" means common noun is used and in second sentence "the apple"not "the fruit is used.