Learn all the rules ⭐️ of using the articles A, AN and THE ⭐️ in English – from Beginner to Advanced! Find out more in our article✔️!

A, AN, THE – everything about articles in English, even for the Advanced level

Be honest, would you like to remember everything about articles in English once and for all? And we confess that we really want to help you with this! In this article, we have collected all the rules for using A, AN and THE in English – from Beginner level to the most advanced. We do not promise that it will be easy, but very useful. Bookmark so you don't lose it!

A / AN or THE – basic rule

A and AN are indefinite articles. We use them when:

1. We are talking about something in general, and not about a specific thing:

• I need a vocabulary. – Not a specific dictionary, but in general.

2. Talking about something new or unknown:

• Jane is a DJ. – New information for the listener.

3. For the first time we tell something to the listener:

• I have a bicycle. “This is the first time we are talking about a bike.

4. We ask about the presence / existence of something:

• Do you have a power bank? – Not specific, but any.

5. Describe something (which, as a rule, we are talking about for the first time) or ask about the characteristics:

• This is an excellent album.
• Do you live in a big house?

We never use A / AN with plural nouns and uncountable nouns, because these articles indicate the singular and mean one or unit.

Uncountable nouns
Liquids and gases	water, coffee, milk, oxygen, air
Solid and granular substances	wood, metal, cheese, rice, sand
Words that relate to energy and strength	electricity, sunshine, radiation, heat, magnetism
Areas of Knowledge	chemistry, English, economics, science, math
Information and abstract concepts	information, misic, education, democracy, intelligence
Sports and games	football, golf, tennis, poker
Weather conditions	snow, fog, rain
Diseases	flu, cancer

The article THE is definite. We use it when:

1. We speak or ask about something that the listener already knows, has been mentioned, imagined or discussed before:

• There is a book in my table. The book is very old. – After mentioning the book for the first time with the article A, it becomes definite and is used with the article THE.
• Don't you know where I left the keys? – We ask about specific keys, not keys in general.

2. We speak or ask about something that is described by defining phrases:

• Did you listen to the song which I sent you?
• I like the movie that we watched yesterday.

Important! Not all descriptions make the subject matter specific. Some simply describe its qualities (as in point 5 about the use of the articles A / AN).

It all depends on the context and you need to be more careful:

• She bought a phone with 2 cameras. – When we just say that she bought some kind of phone with two cameras.
• She bought the phone with 2 cameras. – When she chose among specific phones (and the listener knew about it) and chose the one with two cameras.

Singular and plural rules. Article THE can be used with both singular and plural nouns.

A or AN before consonants and vowels

Of course everyone knows that A and AN are interchangeable articles. A is used before nouns (or adjectives describing nouns) that begin with a consonant, and AN before vowels:

• She is a doctor.
• He is an actor.
• She is an excellent doctor.
• He is a brilliant actor.

Important! A consonant English letter at the beginning of a word does not always = a consonant sound.

Article AN used before words that begin with vowels, although the letter is a consonant. For example, hour. This also applies to the names of the letters F, L, M, N, R, S, X.

And one more trick. Some words, such as herb or hospital, are pronounced differently in British and American English. For example, in the British version, the h in the word herb is pronounced, but in the American version it is not. In the word hospital – on the contrary, h is pronounced by the Americans and not by the British. Accordingly, the articles for the two accents will be different. What to do? It's not worth worrying too much. Just remember this funny exception and use articles according to how you personally pronounce these words.

English articles with tense nouns: A, AN, THE or nothing?

Let's move on to a more complex level of grammar of English articles. This topic is rightfully considered one of the most difficult, along with the next one – articles with geographical names and other designations of places. So.

The article THE is used in such expressions of time:

• in the morning
• in the afternoon
• in the evening
• during the night
• during the day
• the day before yesterday
• the day after tomorrow
• the fall, the summer, the winter, the spring

• We'll meet in the evening
• I love to travel in the summer.

Articles in English are not used before the names of days of the week, months, holidays and in such expressions:

• at night, at noon, at midnight
• all day, all night
• all year, all month, all week
• every month, every year
• last night, last day, last week, last mont, last year
• yesterday, today, tomorrow

• Did you sleep well last night?
• We'll meet tomorrow.

And in these expressions, any articles can be used – both THE and A / AN:

• a/the whole day
• a/the whole month
• an/the entire year
• an/the entire decade

• Mike spent a whole year in London.
• Last Monday I went to the doctor and spent the whole day in his office.

Understand the articles in the course Vocabulary and Grammar

English articles with place names and directions

Names of countries and cities in English – with the article THE or without the article?

As a rule, the article is not put before the names of countries, cities, states and provinces. Exceptions with articles THE:

• Countries, states, cities, and provinces with the words States, Kingdom, Republic, Emirates, Union, Coast, Territory in their names: the United States, the Northwest Territories
• Island nations: the Philippines, the Maldives, the Bahamas
• The Netherlands

In the recent past, the Sudan, the Gambia and the Congo were also exceptions, but in recent times they are increasingly found without the article. So now it’s 1 point easier for us to understand the rules of English articles.

Geographical (and astronomical) names with the article THE

In English with an article THE the following names are used:

• oceans, seas, rivers, swamps: the Black Sea, the River Thames
• lake groups: the Great Lakes
• coasts: the Florida Suncoast, the Emerald Coast
• archipelagos: the Berlengas, the Canary Islands
• mountain ranges: the Limestone Alps, the Dolomites
• deserts: the Sahara, the Accona Desert
• geographic poles, parallels and meridians: the Equator, the North Field
• geographic regions: the Northwest, the Middle East
• bridges (except Tower Bridge): the Golden Gate Bridge, the Rialto Bridge
• pagodas: the Nepal Peace Pagoda, the Tiger Hill Pagoda
• hotels: the Victoria Hotel, The Central Park Hotel
• theatres: the Globe, The Stanley Theater
• museums: the British Museum, the Museum of Modern Art
• institutions: the Babraham Institute, the Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education
• skyscrapers: the Burj Khalifa, the International Commerce Center
• the Sun, the Moon
• outstanding works of art or architecture: the Mona Lisa, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal

Geographical (and astronomical) names without articles

• separate lakes
• individual islands
• individual mountains (except the Matterhorn)
• canyons (except the Grand Canyon)
• beaches
• waterfalls
• streets (except the High Street)
• public squares
• hospitals
• stadiums
• shopping centers
• parks
• churches and temples
• universities and colleges
• planets

The use of articles with the names of directions and cardinal points

If the direction word (north, west, southeast, left, right) immediately follows the verb in the sentence, the article is not needed:

• They drove south all day.
• Turn right and drive 3 km.

Article THE needed:

1. If the word defining the direction (north, west, southeast, left, right) follows in the sentence immediately after the verb with a preposition:

• Our house is in the west.
• The supermarket is on the left.

2. If we are talking about cardinal points, meaning geographical or cultural regions:

• Have you ever visited the East?
• The West has better national parks.

Articles in English with the names of languages, nationalities and religions

The names of languages, religions, nationalities and ethnic groups are used in English without the article:

• English, French
• Christianity, Buddhism
• Americans, Germans

Important exception: article THE is used in the only case – when in a sentence it is not clear from the context whether we are talking about nationality or language. Don't forget about THEif you want to talk about a nationality or an ethnic group. But only in this case!

• I like French. – French
• The French. – French people.

THE with nouns + adjectives / numerals

Article THE always used when the noun is preceded by:

1. Ordinal number: the first, the second, the third, the next, the last, the previous, the following

• The match was postponed to the next day because of bad weather.

2. Superlative adjective: the best, the biggest, the worst, the most important, the least interesting

• The voice is the best music.

In both cases the article THE can be omitted when talking about informal communication. However, IELTS, TOEFL and other English exams are highly recommended not to skip it.

THE with groups of people

Article THE can be used with surnames when referring to the family as a group. What does it mean? See examples!

• The Smiths love to vacation in Italy.
• I live next door to the Johnsons.

Besides, THE is placed before adjectives that denote groups of people. For example, the elderly, the rich, the blind. If such words act simply as adjectives describing someone, the article is not placed in front of them. Let's see some examples.

• He is elderly. – He is elderly.
• The organization helps the elderly. – Elderly people as a group.

THE with disease names

As a rule, articles are not used in English with the names of illnesses or illnesses. They are uncountable nouns. However, with some diseases, the article is put THE are the exceptions:

But that's not all! There are also several health conditions or diseases that can be used with both A / AN, so with THE. This category includes most pain, swelling, and seizures. In the case of these words, the main rule for the use of articles applies (at the top of the page):

• a/the cold
• a/the heart attack
• a / the stroke
• a / the wart, a / the tumor, a / the growth…
• a / the sore throat, a / the sore back, a / the sore foot…
• a / the head, a / the toothache, a / the backache…

• Oncologists are doctors who specialize in treating cancer.
• Old people are particularly vulnerable to the flu.
• John has a cold. The cold was pretty bad.

More useful materials for learning English in our Facebook

Article A with adverbs FEW and LITTLE

Very interesting point! Depending on the use with or without the article, the adverbs little and few change their meaning.Without the article A, they mean a little, sometimes in the sense of less than you expected. When we add the article A, the meaning changes to almost the opposite: a few, in the sense of more than you expected.

Be careful! If in a sentence with a few or a little there are words only or just, then these adverbs again mean a little. This is how difficult it is.

• Unfortunately, I had little time to enjoy Roma as I had much work to do.
• She has a few friends who can help her move.
• They have little money, so they can't pay their son's tuition.

A/AN in PER value

Sometimes the article A / AN is used instead of per in English, so don't be surprised if you see it in this meaning.