Learn
📎 A/AN (indefinite article)
- We use a before words that start with a consonant sound.
Examples: a doctor, a glass, a red apple
- We use an before a vowel (a/e/i/o/u).
Examples: an artist, an umbrella, an old house
⚠️There are some exceptions:
an hour (h is not pronounced: an hour)
a university (pronounced yuniversity)
a European country (pronounced yuropean)
another (= an + other) is one word
Example: Would you like another biscuit?
We use a/an:
- when we say what a thing or a person is.
Examples: Chichester is a city in England.
A dragonfly is an insect.
Ben is a very shy boy.
Cricket is a very popular sport in the UK.
- for jobs, etc.
Examples: I’m a teacher.
‘What does Daniel do? He’s an actor.
Johannes Vermeer was a Dutch painter.
Are you a student?
We need an accountant for our company.
📎 THE (definite article)
We use the with …
- singular and plural countable nouns.
Examples: the house, the windows, the cakes
- unique things (where there is only one).
Examples: the world, the White House, the Indian Ocean, the sun.
- superlatives
Example: Blue whales are the largest animals in the world.
- groups of countries or countries which are plural
Examples: the United Kingdom, the European Union, the United States of America, the Philippines.
- locations
Examples: in the middle, on the left/right, in the north/south/east/west.
- musical instruments
Example: I play the saxophone.
- professional bodies (the police, the fire brigade, etc)
Examples: My sister is a soldier. She’s in the army.
Do you trust the police?
- the radio, the Internet
Example: I listen to the radio on the Internet.
