ARTICLES

 English has two types of articles:

1. Indefinite Articles: a, an

Used to talk about something non-specific or mentioned for the first time.

🟦 Use a

Before words that start with a consonant sound.

• a book

• a dog

• a university (starts with /juː/ → consonant sound)

• a European country

🟦 Use an

Before words that start with a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u).

• an apple

• an hour (silent h → vowel sound)

• an umbrella

• an idea

When to use a/an

• When the exact thing is not known to the listener

  • “I saw a man in the park.”

• When mentioning something for the first time

  • “She bought a laptop.”

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2. Definite Article: the

Used for specific people, places, or things known to both speaker and listener.

🟩 Use the when:

✔ The thing is already mentioned

• “I saw a movie. The movie was exciting.”

✔ There is only one

• the sun, the moon, the sky

✔ Both people know which one

• “Close the door.” (the only door)

✔ With superlatives

• the best student

• the tallest building

✔ With rivers, oceans, and mountain ranges

• the Nile

• the Pacific Ocean

• the Himalayas

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❌ When NOT to use an article

Zero article (no a/an/the):

Before plural or uncountable nouns when speaking generally:

• I like dogs.

• She enjoys music.

Before names of people, cities, countries

• Maria

• Paris

• Egypt
  (Except: the Netherlands, the Philippines/ countries giving plural tones or having full forms)

Before academic subjects & languages

• I study biology.

• He speaks Spanish.

Note: Please refer to notes given in class for detailed chapter.

NOW, SOLVE THESE QUESTIONS:

1. I saw ___ interesting movie yesterday.

2. She wants to buy ___ umbrella because it’s raining.

3. ___ sun is very bright today.

4. My brother is ___ engineer.

5. We visited ___ Netherlands last summer.

6. He plays ___ guitar very well.

7. ___ dogs are friendly animals.