Articles in English

Articles are words which may or may not be used before a noun to demonstrate if the noun is new
to the listener or reader (the indefinite article) or if the listener or reader already knows exactly
what we are talking about (the definite article). Articles are part of a group of words called
'determiners'.
 
The Indefinite Article (A or An).
We use A/An with singular, countable nouns when mentioning them for the first time.
 
They have two children, a boy and a girl.
 
There's  a new hospital in the city centre. (See notes 24, 28 &29 below)
 
We use 'A' before a noun or adjective which begins with a consonant sound.
 
I'd like a  cup of tea.                She's got a blue bag.
 
We use 'An' before a noun or adjective which begins with a vowel sound.
 
I'd like an orange juice.                    She's got an exceptional memory.
 
Sometimes a word begins with a consonant, but the word has a vowel sound. In this case
use 'An' (see note 4 below)
 
I'll see you in an hour. She's doing an MBA. 
 
Sometimes a word begins with a vowel, but the word has a consonant sound. In this case use 'A'.
 
He's got  a European car.  Is there a university in Campos? 
 
NOTE!
In some countries, the word for A/An is the same as the word for the number 1. In English we only
use '1' when we want to specify that there are not two, three or four of something.
 
She's got a  new car.
 
Has she got two cars?
No, she hasn't. She's only got one car.
 
There are certain specific cases when we must normally use an article, and other situations where
an article is not usually necessary. You should try to learn these special cases.

 
Use 'A' or 'An' with:
1. Professions    
I'm  a teacher.                                                                   She's an architect.
2. Some expressions of quantity     
A lot of                                                                                A couple of sth.
A little                                                                                 A thousand
A few                                                                                             Three times a day
A pair of shoes.                                                                Forty miles an hour
3. Exclamations with What + countable noun
What a lovely day!                                                          What a terrible hat!
4. Use 'An' with silent consonants 
An honour                                                                         An  honest person
 
Don't use A or An with:
5. Plural nouns                                                       7. Meals
X Children usually go to school.                                    I had X breakfast at 8.30.
6. Uncountable nouns                                              8. Abstract nouns (see 27 below)
Buy X bread and  X milk, please.                                  X Heavy industry causes X pollution.
 
The Definite Article (The).
We use 'The' before all nouns which are mentioned for a second (or third, fourth etc.) time, or
which both speaker and listener already know about.
 
They have two children, a boy and a girl. The girl is six and the boy is 10.
 
I'm just going to  the supermarket. Do we need anything?
Where are the kids? In the garden.
 
The definite article (the) can be pronounced in two ways:
  before a consonant sound e.g. the cat
and
before a vowel sound e.g. the eggs
 
Use 'The' with:
9. Nouns where there is only one
The  President                                                                   The sun
10. Ordinal numbers
The  first                                                                            The fifth time
11. Superlatives
The  best                                                                            The most beautiful place in the
world.
12. Geographical areas
The  Middle East                                                              The Midwest
13. Nationality and geopolitical adjectives when followed by a noun or defining the people
The  Federal University                                         The International Airport (see 39 below)
14. Seas & oceans
The  Atlantic                                                                       The Mediterranean
15. Rivers & deserts
The  Nile                                                                             The Sahara
16. Most hotels
The  Hilton                                                                         The Copacabana Palace Hotel
17. Pubs
The  Red Lion                                                                     The Queen's Legs
18. Theatres and cinemas
The  Odeon                                                                          The Municipal Theatre
19. Museums
The  Museum of Modern Art                                          The Carmen Miranda Museum
20. Newspapers
The  New York Times                                                       The Guardian
21. Mountain ranges (see 35 below)
The  Himalayas                                                                 The Alps
22. Groups of countries, islands or states
The  Bahamas                                                                    The EEC
23. Musical instruments
Play the piano                                                                  Good on the violin
24. Public buildings (see 28&29 below)
When I was in Oxford I saw the university.                 She works at the hospital on Fridays.
25. Radio and computer (see 38 below)
I heard it on  the  radio.                                                   It's on the computer at work.
 
Don't use 'The' or 'A/An' with:
26. When talking about people and things in general.   Cat's like milk.
 
27. Uncountable and abstract nouns (see 8 above)      X Heavy industry causes X  pollution.
     unless defined                                                    The  pollution in the city centre is worse today.
 
28. Places where the focus is on the activity which    I went to X university to take an exam.
takes place there. (See 24 above)                              The kids were at X school all day.
 
29. Prison & hospital if a prisoner or patient              She spent three months in X prison.
(See 24 above)                                                       We took her to X hospital after the accident.
 
30. Continents
He travelled across X Asia.                                            Monaco is in X Europe.
31. Countries
X Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world.         X Russia is the biggest.
32. Towns
X London is the capital of the UK.                               X Rio de Janeiro isn't the capital of
Brazil.
33. Streets
I live in  X Oxford street.                                                 X Park Lane is in the centre of
London.
34. Lakes
X Lake Titicaca is between Bolivia and Peru.             X Lake Victoria is in Africa.
35. Mountains (see 21 above)
I wanted to climb  X Mount Everest.                              X Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in
the UK
36. Possessive 's'
It's X John's book.                                                          X Brazil's economic situation.
37. All + time expression
I've been waiting all  X day.                                           We spent all X week there.
38. TV and most recording media (see 25 above)
I saw it on X TV.                                                             I've saved it on X cd-rom.
39. Airports (see 13 above)
I arrived at  X JFK at 6am.                                            What time do you get in
to  X Heathrow?
40. With most countable clothes and parts of the body we use a possessive adjective, not 'the'
He put on his coat and shoes.                               I hurt my  arm playing rugby.
(after prepositions we often use 'the')''                      He patted me on the back.