AXIS English A1 U5

Articles (A, An, The)

Level A1

Pronunciation

Vocabulary

There are three types of articles in English:

The zero article

The indefinite article

The definite article

a/an

the

We use these articles with nouns.

I like drinking water.

I like a cup of tea before bed.

I like the taste of malt whisky.

When we talk about a group of nouns in general, we use the zero article (that is, no article at all).

Cats like sleeping.

Here we are talking about all cats

When we talk about one example of a group we use the indefinite article.

There is a cat in the garden.

Here we are talking about one cat from many

When we talk about one specific example of the group, we use the definite article.

The cat with the gray and black coat is mine.

Here we are talking about one special cat

The zero article means that we do not use anything; it is useful to help to explain how we use the other articles.

Working with Plurals

When we want to talk about all the nouns in a group, we use the zero article (i.e. nothing):

Dogs bark and cats purr.

In this example, we are making a general comment about all cats and all dogs.

When we talk about a sub-group of nouns, we use the definite article, the:

The men from Nagasaki chew tobacco.

Compare this with:

Men are often paid more than women for the same job.

In the first example above - the men - we're talking about a group of men; in the second example - men - we're talking about all men.

We often use the when we have adjectives or other qualifications of the noun which restrict it:

Flowers make a house brighter.

I prefer the red flowers.

I am impressed with the flowers in your garden.

We can also use the definite article with a singular noun to mean all nouns:

Bananas have a curious design.

The banana has a curious design.

Both of these mean the same thing.

Working with non-countable

When we use non-countable nouns, we treat them like plural nouns. This is because non-countable nouns have the idea of a large amount:

Water is essential for healthy crops.

The water in this river is very polluted.

Sometimes we can choose whether to use an article or not. Both of these are possible:

People in my town always vote Conservative.

The people in my town always vote Conservative.

The article we use here depends on the point of view of the speaker.

Working with A or An

When we want to talk about a single example of a noun, we can use the definite or indefinite article. When we talk about one noun in general, and it does not matter which one, we use the indefinite article a or an:

Can you lend me a pen please?

I saw an elephant playing in the garden.

In the first example it makes no difference which pen is lent; the speaker does not mind if it is red or blue or old or new, etc. In the second example, the important fact is that there is an elephant in the garden; the speaker is not concerned whether the elephant is old or young, a bull or a cow.

Note: We use a before a consonant sound and an before a vowel sound. Be careful with words like hour which are spelt with a consonant but start with a vowel sound - an hour. Also take care with words like union which are spelt with a vowel but start with a consonant sound - a union.

When we talk about a specific example of a group, we use the definite article, the:

Which pen do you want? - I want the red pen, please.

In this example, the speaker does not want any pen, but a special or specific one.

When we are speaking, we often introduce a new subject with a... and then, when we talk about it again, we use the...

Elephants are annoying! I saw an elephant climb into my garden this morning and then the elephant ate all my tomatoes.

In this example, the speaker firstly talk s about elephants in general (zero article), then about an example of the genre (indefinite article) and finally about the previously mentioned example (definite article).

We use the to talk about a noun we already know about. This can be mentioned previously (as above) or be obvious from the context:

You look upset; what's the problem?

The meaning of a/an is one. We do not use one unless we want to specify exactly how many we want.

Can you lend me one dollar please, I don't need any more.

Did you see two cats in the garden? - No, I only saw one cat.

In general, we do not use one very much and mostly use a or an.

A or An?

The general rule is that we use a before a consonant and an before a vowel:

a bowl

but

an elephant

a car

an orange

a dog

an insect

But, what is important here is not the way a word is written, but the way it sounds. We choose a or an depending on the sound at the beginning of the word and whether it is a vowel sound or a consonant sound.

For example, take the word uniform. Although it begins with a vowel - u - when we write it, when we say it the first sound is [y] which is a consonant.