The Old Mitre Pub, Holborn, London

What is an article? Basically, an article is an adjective. Like adjectives, articles modify nouns.

English has two articles: the and a/an.

The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns;

a/an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns.

We call the the definite article and a/an the indefinite article.

the = definite article

a/an = indefinite article

For example, if I say, "Let's read the book," I mean a specific book. If I say, "Let's read a book," I mean any book rather than a specific book.

Here's another way to explain it: The is used to refer to a specific or particular member of a group. For example, "I just saw the most popular movie of the year." There are many movies, but only one particular movie is the most popular. Therefore, we use the.

"A/an" is used to refer to a non-specific or non-particular member of the group. For example, "I would like to go see a movie." Here, we're not talking about a specific movie. We're talking about any movie. There are many movies, and I want to see any movie. I don't have a specific one in mind.

Let's look at each kind of article a little more closely.

How do you know when to use the indefinite articles?

A - AN

The indefinite article is the a is the same for all genders.
a boy, a girl, a cat

The indefinite article has no plural form.
a boy - boys

The choice of article is actually based upon the phonetic (sound) quality of the first letter in a word, not on the orthographic (written) representation of the letter. If the first letter makes a vowel-type sound, you use "an"; if the first letter would make a consonant-type sound, you use "a." However, you may follow these basic rules when deciding to use "a" or "an," remembering that there are some exceptions to the rules.

"A" goes before words that begin with consonants.

• a cat
• a dog
• a purple onion
• a buffalo
• a big apple

"An" goes before words that begin with vowels:

• an apricot
• an egg
• an Indian
• an orbit
• an uprising

Exceptions

Use "an" before unsounded "h." Because the "h" hasn't any phonetic representation and has no audible sound, the sound that follows the article is a vowel; consequently, "an" is used.

• an honorable peace
• an honest error

When "u" makes the same sound as the "y" in "you," or "o" makes the same sound as "w" in "won," then a is used. The word-initial "y" sound ("unicorn") is actually a glide [j] phonetically, which has consonantal properties; consequently, it is treated as a consonant, requiring "a."

• a union
• a united front
• a unicorn
• a used napkin
• a U.S. ship
• a one-legged man

THE - l'indefinite article

The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or particular. The signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular member of a group. For example:

"The cat that scratched me ran away." Here, we're talking about a specific cat, the cat that scratched me.

"I was happy to see the policeman who saved my dog!" Here, we're talking about a particular policeman. Even if we don't know the policeman's name, it's still a particular policeman because it is the one who saved the dog.

"I saw the giraffe at the zoo." Here, we're talking about a specific noun. Probably there is only one giraffe at the zoo.

Countable and Non countable Nouns

The can be used with non countable nouns, or the article can be omitted entirely.

• "I love to sail over the water" (some specific body of water) or "I love to sail over water" (any water).
• "He spilled the milk all over the floor" (some specific milk, perhaps the milk you bought earlier that day) or "He spilled milk all over the floor" (any milk).

"A/an" can be used only with countable nouns.

• "I need a bottle of water."
• "I need a new glass of milk."

Most of the time, you can't say, "She wants a water," unless you're implying, say, a bottle of water.

Geographical use of the

There are some specific rules for using the with geographical nouns.

Do not use the before:

• names of most countries/territories: Italy, Mexico, Bolivia; however, the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, the United States
• names of cities, towns, or states: Seoul, Manitoba, Miami
• names of streets: Washington Blvd., Main St.
• names of lakes and bays: Lake Titicaca, Lake Erie except with a group of lakes like the Great Lakes
• names of mountains: Mount Everest, Mount Fuji except with ranges of mountains like the Andes or the Rockies or unusual names like the Matterhorn
• names of continents (Asia, Europe)
• names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key West) except with island chains like the Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands

Do use thebefore:

• names of rivers, oceans and seas: the Nile, the Pacific
• points on the globe: the Equator, the North Pole
• geographical areas: the Middle East, the West
• deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas: the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula

Omission of Articles

Some common types of nouns that don't take an article are:

• Names of languages and nationalities: Chinese, English, Spanish, Russian (unless you are referring to the population of the nation: "The Spanish are known for their warm hospitality.")
• Names of sports: volleyball, hockey, baseball
• Names of academic subjects: mathematics, biology, history, computer science