Articles-a,an,the - brilliantatenglish.com

Articles – a, an, the

The indefinite article “a/an”

We use the indefinite article a/an (which means one) before a singular noun that we mention for the first time.

Example:

This is a book.

If the word before the indefinite article starts with a consonant (e.g b,c,d,f etc) we use a. However, if it starts with a vowel (e.g a,o,i,e,u) we use an.

Example:

a baby, a cat, a newspaper, a desk

an apple, an ice cream, an elephant, an umbrella

The definite article “the”

The definite article the is used:

with nouns when talking about something specific. Example: The kids in my class are very clever.

with nouns that are unique Example: the sun, the moon etc

with the names of cinemas, theaters, newspapers, museums, hotels, ships, organizations Example: The Hilton, The Times

with the names of oceans, seas rivers, canals Example: The Atlantic Ocean

with the names of mountain ranges, groups of islands, deserts
Example: The Alps, The Bahamas, The Sahara desert

with the names of musical instruments and dances

with the names of families Example: the Browns

with nationalities ending in –sh, -ch, -ese. The other nationalities can be used with or without the
Example: The Chinese

with titles not including a proper name Example: the President
with historical periods Example: the Ice agein some phrases: go to the cinema/theatre, in the morning/evening/afternoon etc

The definite article the is not used:

with uncountable and plural nouns when talking about something in general. Example: Kids like ice cream.(all kids)

with proper nouns Example: John, Martin etc

with the names of sports, games, activities, days, months and meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner)

with the names of, continents, cities, towns, villages and countries which do not include state, kingdom or republic.
Example: China, Europe (but the Netherlands, the Vatican)

with languages, ( English) unless they are followed by the word language (the English language)

with the names of streets, squares, parks, mountains, individual islands, lakes, bridges
Example: Hyde park, Union street, Malta, Tower bridge (but the Golden Gate Bridge)

with by + means of transport Example: by train, by plane, by car etc

with the words bed, school, hospital, college, work etc when we refer to the purpose for which we are there and not the exact place or building. Example: She has been in hospital for two weeks.

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