A/an and the are articles. They are a type of determiner and they go before a noun.
A/an before a noun shows that what is referred to is not already known to the speaker, listener, writer and/or reader (it is the indefinite article):
Do you live in a house?
No, actually, I live in an apartment.
The before a noun shows that what is referred to is already known to the speaker, listener, writer and/or reader (it is the definite article):
Where did we park the car? (The speaker and the listener know what car is being referred to.)
We had to paint the apartment before we sold it. (The speaker and the listener know what apartment is being referred to.)
The makes a noun specific.
Have you been to an ice rink?
The speaker is not asking about any one specific ice rink but is asking whether they have been to any ice rink (an doesn’t refer to a specific ice rink)
Have you been to the ice rink?
The speaker and listener know the ice rink which is being referred to (e.g. the one in their town/the local one). The makes the noun ice rink specific.
Specific (‘the one you and I know’)
Would you like to try the apple pie?
In speaking, we use a /ə/ before a consonant sound:
a car a house a big truck a wheel a grey day
Some words that begin with a vowel letter in writing have a consonant sound:
/ə ju:ˈnaɪtɪd …/ /ə ju:niˈvɜ:sɪti/ /ə wʌn …/
a united group a university a one-year-old child
We use an /ən/ before a vowel sound:
Some words that begin with a consonant letter in writing have a vowel sound:an apple an old shoe an orchestra an umbrella
/ən empi:θri : …/ an MP3 player
We pronounce the in two ways depending on whether the sound which comes after the is a vowel or a consonant:
We only use a/an with singular countable nouns:
I have a sister and a brother.
We can use the with singular and plural countable nouns:
We don’t use a/an before uncountable nouns:
Could I have rice instead of potatoes with my fish?
I hope we have nice weather.
Not: I hope we have a nice weather .
We can use the before uncountable nouns when they refer to a specific example:
The rice we bought in the Thai shop is much better than the supermarket rice.
The weather was awful last summer.
To talk about an individual quantity or more than one quantity of an uncountable noun, we use expressions such as a bit of, a piece of or a [specific measure] of:
That’s an amazing bit of news.
We just made a big bowl of pasta.
Could I have a litre of milk, please?
Not: Could I have a milk, please?
We only use the with general plural nouns when we are referring to a specific set within a general class of people or things.
Books are so important in my life.
I mean all books in general.
The books were all over the floor.
I mean specific books (that you and I know).
We can make general nouns specific by using an article and adding more information after the noun.
Life is wonderful. (life in general)
The life of a soldier is full of danger. (specifically the life of soldiers, not life in general)
She had a life of hard work. (one specific life)
History sometimes repeats itself. (history in general)
He wrote a book on the history of boxing. (specifically the history of boxing)
The country has a history of going to war. (one specific history of one country)
When we talk in general about inventions, musical instruments or cultural institutions (such as the cinema, the theatre, the circus, the opera, the ballet), we often use the:
The computer must be the greatest invention ever. (The computer as an invention in general, not a specific computer)
The violin sounds different to the viola.
I love a night at the opera .
We don’t use an article with other words that specify a noun (determiner ), e.g. any, some, my, her, this, that:
Not: Does she want the this book?
We use the with things known to everyone (the sun, the stars, the moon, the earth, the planet) because they are a part of our physical environment or part of the natural world:
The earth moves around the sun .
We lay on the grass and watched the stars .
We use the with things that we know as part of our daily lives. The does not refer to particular things in this context.
I don’t buy the newspaper these days. It’s free on the Internet . (newspapers in general)
They always take the train . (trains in general)
When we talk about a person’s job, we use a:
We use the with mountain ranges and some mountains (the Alps, the Eiger), groups of islands (the West Indies), rivers (the Danube), deserts (the Gobi Desert), seas (the Black Sea), geographical regions or habitats (the Amazon rainforest), motorways (the M42), the names of some countries (the People’s Republic of China).
We don’t usually use articles with individual mountains or lakes when the name includes Mount or Lake: Mount Fuji, Lake Victoria. We don’t use articles with continents (Asia), countries (Romania), towns (Edinburgh), and streets (Lombard Street).
When we talk about particular groups or people within society, we use the + adjective:
I think the rich should pay more tax and that the poor shouldn’t pay any.
The young need to be encouraged and supported in society.
When we say a specific date, we use the, but when we write it, we don’t use the:
Speaking: ‘I’ll see you on the twenty fourth of May.’
Writing: I’ll see you on 24th May.
When we talk about months, we don’t use the:
My birthday is in September .
May is my favourite month of all.
When we talk about seasons in general, we can use either in or in the. In without the is often used in more formal or literary contexts:
These birds arrive in Britain in summer , and leave as the winter begins.
In the summer , we usually go to the mountains.
We rarely get snow in the winter .
When we talk about a specific season, we use the:
The winter of 1947 was one of the coldest in Britain.
We’ll definitely visit you in the summer . (meaning next summer)
I looked it up on the Internet .
Did you see that story about parrots in the newspaper ?
There’s usually nothing on TV. (TV means television)
There’s usually nothing on the television . (less common)
When we talk about the activity that happens in a building rather than about the building itself, we don’t use the.
without the
She didn’t want to be in hospital but she was too ill to go home. (in hospital means being there as a patient)
She didn’t want to be in the hospital … (in the hospital means being in the building)
When I was at school , we didn’t have computers. (at school means being there as a student)
When I was at the school … (at the school means being in the building)
We don’t use the with bed when we go there to sleep:
I always go to bed at eleven o’clock.
We don’t use the before work when we talk about the place where we do our job:
They go to work at 8 am every morning.
We don’t use the to refer to an individual’s behaviour or to parts of an individual’s body:
He spends most of his free time playing computer games.
Not: He spends most of the free time …
We can use this instead of a/an or the, and these instead of zero article or some when we tell stories and jokes to create a sense of the present:
[beginning of a joke]
There was this chicken who wanted to cross the road … (compare There was a chicken who wanted to cross the road …)
Spoken English:These tourists came into the restaurant once and they ordered fifteen Irish coffees. (compare Some tourists came into the restaurant once and they ordered …)
In informal speaking, we can use that as an alternative to the in stories when we refer to something familiar or known to the listener. That highlights the fact that the thing being referred to is known to the speaker and listener:
Where did you buy your skirt? I really like it.
I got it at that new shop next to Green’s Hotel. (compare I got it at the new shop next to Green’s Hotel.)
We have to protect wild animals. (referring to wild animals in general)
I love Japanese food. (all Japanese food/Japanese food in general)
Last Sunday, we saw a film called ‘Nightmare’. (The speaker doesn’t think that the listener knows of this film.)
Not: … we saw the film called ‘Nightmare’ .
The police asked us to put our hands up.
Not: The police asked us to put the hands up .
I go to bed at eleven most nights.
Not: I go to the bed at eleven most nights .