Articles (a, an, the) Exercise
Before doing the exercise, let’s review how to use articles.
Grammar Rules
Explanation:
The articles in English are a, an, and the.
The indefinite article a/an
The articles a and an mean exactly the same. We use them to modify singular nouns.
The difference between a and an is that a comes before consonant letters, while an comes before vowels.
- a man
- a book
- a giraffe
- an apple
- an orange
Notice that if there is an adjective before the noun, we choose a or an according to the first letter sound of the adjective.
- a woman but an old woman
- an apple but a big apple
Notice that the letter u is sometimes pronounced as a consonant like in university and sometimes as a vowel like in umbrella. So you need to choose a or an accordingly.
- a university but an umbrella
- a unit but an urban area
We use a/an to modify countable singular nouns.
- I bought a notebook. (which means: I bought one notebook)
We use a/an when we talk about people or things in general.
- A doctor does a great job. = Doctors do a great job.
- A lion is a fierce animal. = Lions are fierce animals.
a/an vs one
We use a/an before singular countable nouns in general or when they are mentioned for the first time. We use one when we want to count or emphasize the number one (in contrast to two, three, etc.)
- I spent a night at the hotel. (= any night, it doesn’t matter)
- I spent one night at the hotel. (= only one night, not two or more)
The definite article the
When we introduce someone or something for the first time, we introduce the singular countable noun with a/an. If we want to refer to the same noun later in the conversation, we use the to modify it.
- I hired a worker to look after my farm. The worker will arrive tomorrow.
- We watched a movie in class yesterday. The movie was about extinct animals.
We use the to refer to things or people that both the speaker and the listener know about.
- The dog is parking again!
- I’m going to the store. Do you need anything?
We use the to modify unique things like the sun, the moon, the sky, the Mona Lisa.
We use the with the following:
- superlative adjectives (the best, the longest)
- times of the day (the morning, the afternoon, the evening, the weekend)
- parts of the body (the heart, the arm, the leg)
- ordinal numbers (the first, the second, the third)
- general groups, concepts and ideas (the government, the police, the future, the truth)
- titles (the President, the King, the Queen, the Prime Minister)
- specific geographical locations (the Pacific, the Nile River)
- names of institutions and organizations, such as schools, hospitals, companies, etc. (the University of California, the hospital)
- the ball (singular countable)
- the women (plural countable)
- the furniture (singular uncountable)
Zero article (∅ article)
We don’t use articles before nouns in the following cases:
- plural nouns that refer to people or things in general (like in Doctors do a great job. Lions are fierce animals.)
- uncountable nouns (butter, sugar)
- activities (swimming, reading)
- names of languages (English, Arabic)
- names of colors (green, red)
- abstract nouns (life, happiness)
- proper nouns (John, Charles, Amman)
Note: We use the before these nouns if they have specific, not general, references.
- plural countable nouns (The lions in this zoo are huge.)
- uncountable nouns (The butter they sell here is of good quality.)
- proper nouns (The John I know is a teacher.)
Time to practice!
