a, an, and the

What you will practice

• Choose a or an from the first sound, not the first letter.
• Use the when both people know which thing you mean.
• Leave the article out for a general plural.

Explanation

a and an

Use a before a consonant sound and an before a vowel sound. a book and an apple follow the spelling. The sound matters more: university starts with a “y” sound, so it is a university. hour starts with a vowel sound, so it is an hour. an university and a hour are both wrong.

the

the means a particular thing, or a thing already mentioned. I bought a book. The book is new. The first sentence introduces it. The second points back to it. Unique things in the speaker’s world also take the: the sun, the door when there is one door in the room.

No article

A general plural usually has no article: I like cats means cats in general. I like the cats means particular cats. Most country names have no article: in Turkey, in Japan. A few names are plural or include a common noun, and those take the: the United States, the Netherlands.

Examples

1. a bookone book
2. an appleone apple
3. a universitythe y sound takes a
4. an hourthe silent h takes an
5. the booka particular book

Common mistakes

• Do not choose a or an from the written vowel alone. Listen for the first sound.
• the cats and cats are not the same. The article makes the group specific.