A, an or the?
The question behind every article is simple: does the listener already know which one you mean?
The short answer
Use a or an when you mention something for the first time, or when any one of a kind will do. Use the when the listener already knows which one you mean — because it was mentioned, because it is nearby, or because there is only one.
Which one do you need?
| Situation | Article | Example |
|---|---|---|
| first mention, one of many | a / an | I bought a jacket. |
| mentioned before | the | The jacket was too big. |
| only one of it | the | the sun, the manager, the best seat |
| plural or uncountable, in general | no article | I like books. Water is cheap. |
Practice the choice
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Getting your first question ready.
Side by side
Three sentences for each form, taken from the 565 sentences this drill uses. The answer is highlighted.
a
- There is a small park behind our house.
- I saw a movie yesterday with some friends.
- She wants to buy a house in the countryside.
an
- She made an omelet for both of us.
- She is studying to become an actress.
- My sister is an engineer at our water works.
the
- Can you pass me the remote control?
- Can you pass me the orange juice, please?
- Our fishermen watched the sea from their wall.
The question to ask
Before every noun, ask: can the person I am talking to tell which one I mean?
If yes — the. If no, and there is one of them — a or an. If no, and there are several or it cannot be counted — no article at all.
That covers the vast majority of cases, including the ones no list of rules would reach.
The chain of mentions
This is the clearest pattern in the whole topic. Something enters the conversation with a, and stays in it with the:
- A car pulled up. The car was green.
- We found a café. The café had no coffee.
First mention introduces, second mention points back.
Things there is only one of
No introduction needed, so the from the start:
the sun, the moon, the sky, the government, the police
Also anything made unique by the rest of the sentence:
- the man who called yesterday
- the first page
- the cheapest option
Superlatives and ordinals always take the: there can only be one cheapest.
No article
Plural and uncountable nouns meant in general take nothing:
Dogs bark. Rice is cheap. I like jazz.
Add the and you narrow it to a particular set: the dogs means those dogs, the ones we both know about.
Fixed phrases with no article
Place words after to, at and in often drop the article when the point is the activity rather than the building:
go to bed, go to school, be at work, be in hospital, go home
Put the article back and you mean the physical place: I walked to the school — the building, not the lesson.
American English says in the hospital even for the state of being ill, where British English says in hospital.
Names
Most names take no article: Peter, France, Everest, Lake Garda.
Names take the when they are plural or built around a noun:
the Netherlands, the Alps, the United States, the Thames, the Pacific
For the choice between a and an specifically, which depends only on sound, see a or an.
Mistakes to avoid
Wrong: I'm going to the London. correct: I'm going to London.
Most city and country names take no article. The exceptions are plurals and names built on a noun: the Netherlands, the United Kingdom.
Wrong: The money can't buy happiness. correct: Money can't buy happiness.
An uncountable noun meant in general takes no article. The money would mean a particular sum.
Wrong: She plays a piano. correct: She plays the piano.
With musical instruments English uses the, even though no particular instrument is meant.
Wrong: He is best player in the team. correct: He is the best player in the team.
A superlative identifies one thing uniquely, so it takes the.