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Using Articles

General Rules

Many students find the use of the article in english confusing. Part of the reason for this confusion is that there are general rules as well as a number of exceptions to the rules.

GENERAL RULES (WITH COUNTABLE NOUNS)

We use the indefinite articles, “a” and “an,” to refer to an item (a single countable noun) that is not specifically identified.

  • Can I borrow a pen? (I don’t care which pen it is.)
  • She needs to rent an apartment. (At this point, she doesn’t know which apartment it will be.)
  • He bought a pair of shoes. (We don’t know, or need to know, which pair he bought.)

Use “a” before words beginning with a consonant sound:

  • A man / a cup / a child / a fact / a university*

*Note: If the “u” sound is pronounced “uh,” as in “uncle,” “umbrella,” and “upsetting,” then it is preceded by “an.” However, if it is pronounced “yuh” as in “university,” “unique,” and “universal” then it is preceded by “a.” Similarly, when “o” is pronounced “wha,” as in “once,” then it too is preceded by “a” rather than “an.”

We use the definite article, “the,” to refer to a specific item (a countable noun) that both speaker and listener know: Can I borrow the pen that’s on your desk? (I have identified exactly which pen I want.)

  • She needs to rent the apartment by Friday. (We understand which apartment I’m referring to.)
  • He bought the pair of shoes we showed him. (I have identified which pair of shoes we’re talking about.)

We use no article before a plural countable noun: I borrowed pens from all my classmates.

  • She looked at apartments in the West End.
  • He studied short stories and essays in English 1127.

GENERAL RULES (WITH UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS)

We use no article before uncountable nouns when the meaning is general: Love is hard to define.

  • Beauty, we are told, is in the eyes of the beholder.
  • Life is short.
  • Money, it is said, is the root of all evil.
  • Pollution has spread all over the world.
  • Winter is cold.

We use the definite article, “the,” when the noun becomes specific: The love of a mother for her child is revered all over the world.

  • We admired the beauty of the mountains.
  • She wrote on the life of Mao Zedong.
  • I lost all the money you gave me.
  • The pollution in China has dramatically increased.
  • The summer of 2009 was the warmest on record.