This lesson is about correctly using the article a/an, the, or using no article when appropriate.
Below are some of the rules applied to using a/an, the, and no article. Review the sample sentences below and find examples of article use. Which rule do they relate to?
- for superlatives
- to talk about playing a musical instrument
- with mealtimes
- to refer to something for the first time
- with plural or uncountable nouns to talk generally about things
- when there is only one of this thing
- to say what job somebody does.
- with certain proper nouns (nationalities; rivers, island groups; mountain ranges; seas and oceans; country names that represent a group e.g. United States; noun phrases with of)
- with certain proper nouns (continents; countries; states; towns and cities; mountains; lakes; companies)
- when the listener/ reader knows which thing we mean (it may have been mentioned before)
Examples
- She’s not just a doctor, she’s the best doctor in the state of Minnesota.
- The Fraser River flows to the south of Vancouver.
- I met an interesting man at a cafe this morning.
- Do you remember the interesting man we met at the cafe this morning?
- She’s a doctor but she plays piano like a professional.
- She needs to buy new shoes and socks before we meet for lunch.