Articles

What are articles?

Articles are the tiny words a, an and the. They come before nouns and tell the reader whether you mean any one thing or a specific thing. They are among the most common words in English, and they work like a special kind of adjective.

I saw a dog. (any dog)
I saw the dog. (a particular dog we both know about)

Indefinite articles: a and an

A and an are indefinite articles. Use them for one thing that is not specific, or when you mention something for the first time.

Can I borrow a pencil? (any pencil will do)
There is an owl in the tree. (first time we mention it)

Indefinite articles are only for singular count nouns. You cannot say a pencils or a water.

A or an? Listen to the sound

The choice depends on the sound that comes next, not the letter.

• Use a before a consonant sound: a cat, a big apple, a unicorn (sounds like you), a one-way street (sounds like won)
• Use an before a vowel sound: an egg, an orange, an hour (silent h), an honest answer, an MRI (sounds like em)

Notice: a uniform but an umbrella. Both start with u, but they start with different sounds.

The article also changes if an adjective comes first: an apple but a red apple.

The definite article: the

The is the definite article. Use it when you and your reader know exactly which one you mean.

• Something already mentioned: I saw an owl. The owl hooted.
• Something unique: the sun, the moon, the Prime Minister
• Something made specific by more words: the book on my desk
• Superlatives and ordinal numbers: the best day, the first prize

The works with singular, plural and noncount nouns: the cat, the cats, the milk.

When to use no article

Sometimes the right choice is no article at all. This is called the zero article. Use it when speaking about things in general with plural or noncount nouns.

• Dogs are loyal. (dogs in general)
• I love music.
• Water boils at 100°C.

Most names of people, cities, countries, languages and meals also take no article: Ottawa, Canada, Spanish, breakfast. Some place names do use the: the Rocky Mountains, the Atlantic Ocean, the United States.

Summary chart

Worked examples

Example 1: Choose a or an. ___ hour, ___ horse, ___ X-ray, ___ yellow egg
→ an hour, a horse, an X-ray, a yellow egg.

Example 2: Choose a or the. We adopted ___ kitten. ___ kitten is grey.
→ a kitten, The kitten.

Example 3: Article or none? ___ honesty is important.
→ None. Honesty is important.

Common mistakes

• a apple ✗ → an apple ✓
• an university ✗ → a university ✓ (sounds like you)
• I like the pizza when you mean pizza in general → I like pizza.
• She is best player. ✗ → She is the best player. ✓

Try it yourself

1. Fill in a or an: ___ elephant, ___ ukulele, ___ honour, ___ igloo.
2. Choose: Please close (a / the) door behind you.
3. Correct: An unicorn ate a apple.
4. Article or not? I want to learn ___ piano and ___ French.

Answers: 1. an, a, an, an. 2. the. 3. A unicorn ate an apple. 4. the piano, no article before French.

Tip for families

Play "A or an?" in the car. One person names an object they see, and the others must say it with the correct article as fast as they can: a truck, an exit, a billboard, an umbrella. Tricky ones like hour and uniform earn bonus points.

Quick recap

• Articles are a, an and the.
• A and an are indefinite; the is definite.
• Choose a or an by the next sound, not the letter.
• Use no article for general plural or noncount nouns.