Articles                        

  • a - indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects) precedes nouns beginning with a consonant sound. She has a dog. I work in a factory.
  • an - indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects) precedes nouns beginning with a vowel (a,e,i,o,u,) sound. Can I have an apple? She is an English teacher.
  • the- definite article (a specific object that both the person speaking and the listener know) The car over there is fast. The teacher is very good, isn't he?
  • The first time you speak of something use "a or an", the next time you repeat that object use "the". I live in a house. The house is quite old and has four bedrooms. I ate in a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant was very good.
  • DO NOT use an article with countries, states, counties or provinces, lakes and mountains except when the country is a collection of states such as "The United States". He lives in Washington near Mount Rainier. They live in northern British Columbia.
  • Use an article with bodies of water, oceans and seas - My country borders on the Pacific Ocean
  • DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about things in general I like Russian tea. She likes reading books.
  • DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about meals, places, and    transport He has breakfast at home. I go to university. He comes to work by taxi


  1. Count nouns are nouns that can be preceded by a / an or a number. They also have a plural form. e.g. dog, tree, ball, girl
  2.  Non count or mass nouns can’t be preceded by a /an or a number and do not have a plural form. e.g. money, ice, milk, water