Articles: A, An, The

<ul><li><strong>The:</strong> specific, known nouns</li><li><strong>A:</strong> before consonant sounds, singular countable nouns</li><li><strong>An:</strong> before vowel sounds, singular countable nouns</li><li><strong>No article:</strong> general statements, uncountable nouns, plurals</li></ul>

elementaryArticlesDifficulty: 4/10

Explanation

Articles are words that define a noun as specific or unspecific.

'The' (definite article):

  • Used with specific nouns that both speaker and listener know
  • Used with unique things (the sun, the moon)
  • Used when something has been mentioned before

'A/An' (indefinite articles):

  • 'A' before consonant sounds
  • 'An' before vowel sounds
  • Used with singular countable nouns
  • Used when mentioning something for the first time

No article (zero article):

  • With uncountable nouns in general
  • With plural nouns in general
  • With proper nouns (names, places)

Examples

Definite Article 'The':

  • The book on the table is mine.
  • The sun is shining today.
  • I saw the movie you recommended.

Indefinite Articles 'A/An':

  • I need a pen to write.
  • She is an engineer.
  • That's a beautiful house.

No Article (Zero Article):

  • I love coffee. (general)
  • Students need to study hard. (general)
  • She speaks English well.

Practice

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Grammar Stats

CategoryArticles
Levelelementary
Difficulty
4/10