Articles: 'a', 'an', 'the'
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
Hello, Could you please explain Q8, and why we have to use the in more details ?
Hello kanaanabdullah2256,
Do you mean Q8 in Task 1 or Task 2?
With regard to your second query, do you have a specific question about the use of the? If so then we'll be happy to try to answer, but we can't answer such general questions in the comments.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello kanaanabdullah2256,
Do you mean Q8 in Task 1 or Task 2?
With regard to your second query, do you have a specific question about the use of the? If so then we'll be happy to try to answer, but we can't answer such general questions in the comments.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
good
Thanks for this grammar lesson
Hello Maiss,
In #4 no article is required because the speaker is talking about things (here, mosquitos) in general. As the grammar summary says, when we talk about things in general, we normally use a plural or uncountable noun with no article.
In #5 the answer is 'an' because the speaker is mentioning the email for the first time. As the grammar summary says, 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.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
In reference to #5 answer, why then would we say something like "did you see the email that was sent out?" Is that not also talking about the email for the first time??
Hello danjor777,
We use 'the' when something is known or already identified. Often this is because it has been mentioned already, but it can also be because it is defined in some way. In this sentence, we say 'the email' because it is identified in the sentence: not just any or an unknown email, but the email that was sent out. The relative clause here tells us which email is being described and so 'the' is used.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Why is "the teachers" ?