A, An, The — Simple Rules You Won’t Forget

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Why Articles Matter in English

In English, articles are small words — a, an, the — but they play a big role in meaning. Learners often skip them, yet native speakers use them constantly. Mastering articles is one of the fastest ways to sound natural.

When to Use A / An

• A goes before words that start with a consonant sound.
  • a dog, a book, a university (notice: university starts with /juː/, a consonant sound, so it’s ano an)
• An goes before words that start with a vowel sound.
  • an apple, an hour, an MBA (because hour y MBA start with vowel sounds /aʊ/ and /ɛm/)

👉 Rule of sound, not spelling. Always listen to the first sound, not just the first letter.

When to Use En

• En points to something specific or known.
  • the book on the table (both know which book)
  • the sun, the moon, the internet (unique things)
• With superlatives: the best, the biggest, the most interesting.
• With ordinal numbers: the first, the second, the last.
• With rivers, seas, oceans, deserts, mountain ranges, countries with plural or union words:
  • the Nile, the Atlantic, the Sahara, the Alps, the United States, the United Kingdom

When We Skip Articles

• General ideas / plural or uncountable nouns:
  • Books are expensive.
  • Love is important.
• Names of countries, cities, streets, lakes, continents:
  • Canada, Paris, Oxford Street, Lake Ontario, Asia

Quick Test: Can You Spot the Right Article?

Choose the correct option:

1. I need ___ information.
   • a / an / (no article)
     → (no article), because información is uncountable.
2. She wants to buy ___ new phone.
   • a / an / the
     → a new phone.
3. We visited ___ Eiffel Tower last summer.
   • a / an / the
     → the Eiffel Tower, because it’s unique.
4. He is ___ honest man.
   • a / an
     → an honest man (/ˈɒnɪst/ starts with vowel sound).

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ I have car.
✔️ I have a car.

❌ She went to cinema.
✔️ She went to the cinema.

❌ He is an European student.
✔️ He is a European student (/juː/ = consonant sound).

FAQ

Q: Is “the” used before countries?
A: Usually no: Germany, Canada, Brazil. But yes with plural or descriptive names: the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, the Czech Republic.

Q: Why “a university” and not “an university”?
A: Because it starts with a /juː/ sound, which is a consonant sound. Rule is based on pronunciation, not spelling.

Q: Can we use “the” with family names?
A: Yes, for families as a group: the Smiths, the Levins.

Final Tips

• Listen to the sound, not the spelling.
• Use the when it’s unique, known, or specific.
• Skip articles for general, plural, or uncountable ideas.
• Practice with real examples daily.

Más información

If you want to go deeper into how small words change meaning, read this article from the expert column:
👉 Deja de memorizar. Empieza a pensar.

© Author’s concept by Tymur Levitin — founder, director, and lead teacher of Escuela de idiomas Levitin (Start Language School by Tymur Levitin).