Look at these examples to see how articles are used.
She's a doctor.
I need an umbrella.
Have you heard the news?
I don't like spiders.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
Here are some of the most important things to know about using articles.
Jobs
When we say what people's jobs are, we usually use a/an.
He's an architect.
She's a scientist.
My grandmother was a teacher.
Singular nouns
Singular, countable nouns always have an article – a/an or the (or another determiner – my, your, this, that, etc.).
We use a/an – the indefinite article – when we talk about something for the first time, or something that is part of a group or type.
I saw a good film yesterday.
Do you want a drink?
We use a when the word that follows it begins with a consonant sound. We use an when it's followed by a vowel sound. This makes pronunciation easier.
She has a university degree.
It took me an hour to get home.
We use the – the definite article – when the listener already knows which thing we are talking about because it was mentioned before or because there's only one of them.
I'm going to take the dog for a walk.
Have you seen the car key?
They go to the school next to the bridge.
Things in general
When we talk about things in general, we normally use a plural or uncountable noun with no article.
Birds eat worms.
Water freezes at 0°C.
Children need a lot of sleep.
Particular groups of things
When we talk about a particular group of things, we use the.
We went to the zoo and saw the kangaroos. (These are the particular kangaroos in that zoo – not kangaroos in general.)
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
To understand articles needs to do more practice.
Thanks for these lessons ...
Thank you, articles are always confusing for me.However I will do my best to learn articles.
It's little bit hard but you can best way to improve your grammar skills
Good afternoon!
Tell me please
Salt is an uncountable noun.
In this sentence :"Could you please pass me the salt?", both know what it is about (about salt). And we put "the". Does this mean that "the" is put before uncountable nouns if both know what it is about?
Hello Alisa,
Yes, that's right -- you can use 'the' before both countable and uncountable nouns. As you say, in this case 'the' is used because the speaker assumes that the listener knows what they are referring to: the bowl of salt or salt shaker on the table. It's probably also the only salt that is on the table.
If you'd like to read more about how to use 'the', I'd also suggest having a look at The definite article: 'the', and you might find it useful to look at our Uncount nouns and Common problems with count and uncount nouns (especially the Substances as count or uncount nouns section) pages too. These pages go into a little more detail than this one.
Could I also ask that you please use Roman letters (the English alphabet) to write your username? That way other users can read your name easily too! Thanks in advance.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you!
Yes, that's correct. The is used for both countable & uncountable nouns.
Have a nice day!
Hello Team. Could you please help me choose the better form or the correct one?
- Close (an - one) eye, and then the other.
Thank you.
Hi Ahmed Imam,
Both are grammatically correct but "one" is the best option here. "One" is often used to imply that alternatives exist. Other examples include "Pollution is one environmental problem, but another problem is ...", and also the common phrases "One one hand ... On the other hand ...". If these sentences are spoken aloud, the word "one" will be stressed, to introduce the contrasting alternative.
I hope that helps.
Jonathan
Awesome lesson