Articles: A, An & The

Form

English has three articles — a, an and the — and choosing between them comes down to whether your listener can already tell which thing you mean.

Use a or an when the noun is one of many and they do not yet know which one (I need a pen); use the when they can pin it down exactly (Please close the door). Whether you write a or an depends on the sound the next word starts with, not the letter (a university, an hour). A singular countable noun almost always needs an article, or a word like my or this, in front of it, so “It was busy time” is missing one — but plural and uncountable nouns meant in general take no article at all (Dogs are loyal; Honesty matters).

When to Use It

1. 1

   Use a or an to introduce something for the first time, or to say what kind of thing it is

   We met an interesting couple on the train.

2. 2

   Use a or an before a job or role, because it sorts the person into a group rather than pointing at one particular person

   He works as a chef.

3. 3

   Switch to the once the listener knows which one you mean — usually on the second mention

   I bought a shirt, but the shirt was too small.

4. 4

   Use the when only one thing can fit, which is why superlatives and phrases like “the first” or “the next” pull it in

   That was the best meal I have had all year.

5. 5

   Use no article for plural and uncountable nouns meant in general, and for languages, sports and meals

   My parents speak Portuguese at home.

6. 6

   Drop the article from go to school, go to work, go to bed and in prison when you mean the routine rather than a particular place or object

   My daughter walks to school by herself now.

Common Mistakes

• Leaving a singular countable noun bare: write It was a busy time, not It was busy time — a singular countable noun needs an article, or a word like my or this, in front of it.
• Going by the letter instead of the sound: write an hour and a university, not a hour or an university — the h in hour is silent, and university starts with a y sound.
• Adding the to a general plural or uncountable noun: write Dogs are loyal and Honesty matters, not The dogs are loyal or The honesty matters — leave the article out when you mean them in general.
• Adding the to a place name that does not take one: write I work in Berlin, not I work in the Berlin — only a few names, such as the United States and the Netherlands, keep it.
• Treating hospital like school in American English: write He is in the hospital, not He is in hospital — a patient takes the, even though in school and in prison still take no article.