Download Example

The words a/an and the are "articles". We divide them into
"indefinite" and "definite" like this:
indefinite articles
definite article
a
an
the
We use "indefinite" to mean not sure, not certain. "Indefinite" is
general.
When we are talking about one thing in general, we use a or
an.
When we are talking about one thing in particular, we use the.
Of course, often we can use a/an or the for the same word.
It depends on the situation, not the word.
Look at these examples:
Example 1:We want to buy an umbrella. (Any umbrella, not a
particular umbrella.)
Example 2:Where is the umbrella? (We already have an
umbrella. We are looking for our umbrella, a particular
umbrella.)
1- a = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the
same objects) with consonants
a + singular noun beginning with a consonant:
Example: a boy; a car; a bike; a zoo; a dog
2- an = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the
same objects) with vowels (a, e, I, o, u) or unvoiced consonant.
an + singular noun beginning with a vowel:
Example: an elephant; an egg; an apple; an idiot; an orphan
3- the = definite article (a specific object that both the person speaking
and the listener know) that is identified as particular item(s).
Example: "The dog that bit me ran away." Here, we're talking about a
specific dog, the dog that bit me.
The form ‘a’ is used before consonant sounds and
the form ‘an’ is used before vowel sounds.
Example 1: a horse / a unit / a girl
Example 2: an hour / an apple / an umbrella
‘a’ and ‘an’ is used before countable or singular
noun referring to people or things that have
already mentioned.
Example 1: I can see a bird in the sky.
Example 2: Mrs Amini is a clerk.
‘a’ and ‘an’ are used before countable nouns when
these have an adjective in front of them, or phrase
following them.
Example 1: He has a good knowledge of Spanish.
Example 2: Mrs Jordan is a respectful person.
‘a’ and ‘an’ are used to show that sb/sth is member
of a group or profession.
Example: Smiths’ new car is a BMW.
‘a’ and ‘an’ is used instead of one before some
numbers.
Example: A thousand people were killed in the
earthquake.
‘a’ and ‘an’ is used before the names of days of the
week to talk about one particular day.
Example: I saw him on a Wednesday.
 We
use ‘a’ and ‘an’ to classify people, animals,
plants, …
Example: an elephant is a big animal.
We use ‘a’ and ‘an’ with origins, occupations,
religions, and politics
Example 1: Sarah is a dentist.
Example 2: Amir is an Iranian.
Example 3: Mr Alavi is a socialist.

We use ‘a’ and ‘an’ before a non-specific proper noun
when he/she is unknown to us.(to show that the
speaker does not know the person)
Example: I am looking for a Miss Taheri.

We use ‘a’ and ‘an’ before measurements.
Example: Ali studies English twice a week.

‘the’ is used to show that you are talking about a particular thing or
person (singular, plural, or uncountable) that has already been
mentioned, is already known about, or is the one.
Example: I ordered a pizza and a salad. The pizza was nice and the
salad was disgusting.

‘the’ is used to refer sb/sth that is the only, normal and obvious one
of their kind.
Example: the Nile/ the Quran/ the Pacific ocean/ the Alps
 ‘the’ is used to refer to o thing in general rather than a particular
thing.
Example 1: The dolphin is an intelligent animal.
Example 2: I am usually out during the day.

‘the’ is used with adjectives to refer to a thing or group
of people described by the adjective.
Example : the unemployed / the elderly
 ‘the’ is used before the plural of somebody ’s last name,
refer to whole family, or married couple.
Example : Do not forget to invite the Jordans.
 ‘the’ is used with unit of measurement to mean “every”.
Example : My car does 40 miles to the gallon.
 ‘the’ is used with a unit of time to mean the “present”.
Example : why do not have the dish of the day?

‘the’ is used to show that two things change to the same
degree.
Example 1: The less you talked about this matter, the more
depressed she became.
Example 2: The more I play volley ball, the happier I will be.
 ‘the’ is used with the superlative form of comparison.
Example: The city hall is the tallest building in town.
 the’ is used with the word university or college comes before
the name.
Example 1: My brother is studying at the university of California.
Example 2: My friend graduated from Tehran university.

the’ is used with the words “past”, “present”, and “future”
but not with the words “present time”, “past times”, and
“future times”.
Example 1: Ali has worked with the same firm from the time he
was twenty to the present.
Example 2: Undoubtedly there will be exciting new inventions
in future times.
 the’ is used before an “of-phrase”.
Example: the leaves of trees in Autumn.
 the’ is used with names of some countries.
Example: the UAE/ the United Kingdom/ the Islamic Republic
of Iran

There are some specific rules for using the with geographical nouns.
Do not use ‘the’ before:
names of most countries/territories:
Example: Italy, Mexico, Bolivia; however, the Netherlands, the
Dominican Republic, the Philippines, the United States

names of cities, towns, or states:
Example: Seoul, Manitoba, Miami

names of streets:
Example: Washington Blvd., Main St.

names of lakes and bays:
Example: Lake Titicaca, Lake Erie except with a group of lakes like
the Great Lakes
 names of mountains:
Example: Mount Everest, Mount Fuji except with ranges of mountains
like the Andes or the Rockies or unusual names like the Matterhorn
 names of continents
Example: Asia, Europe
 names of islands
Example: Easter Island, Maui, Key West except with island chains
like the Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands

Do use ‘the’ before:
names of rivers, oceans and seas:
Example: the Nile, the Pacific
 points on the globe:
Example: the Equator, the North Pole
 geographical areas:
Example: the Middle East, the West
 deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas:
Example: the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the
Iberian Peninsula





Bagheri, Mohamad Sadegh.(2011), Grammar
Booster, Shiraz
Anderson, Trudy.(1950), English grammar
digest
Oxford, advanced learner dictionary
Longman, advanced learner dictionary



www.englishclub.com
www.esl.about.com
www.owl.english.purdue.edu