Articles

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This resource is designed for English Language Learners (ELLs) who require assistance in a particular academic skill. Each handout provides brief explanations related to different core skills (reading, writing, listening, and/or speaking), and it offers some simple examples of mistakes and how these might be corrected. 

While these handouts are designed primarily for ELL students, anyone seeking to improve their writing may find these documents useful. Check out the links at the end of the handout for more resources.

What is an Article? 

An article is a word used with a noun to demonstrate the type of reference being made by the noun. Articles are usually classified as definite or indefinite. 

There are three articles you need to understand and apply: 

  1. a 
  2. an 
  3. the

How to Use “a” and “an” 

Need to decide between “a” and “an”? These two general rules should work in all cases: 

  1. Use “a” if the noun or noun phrase makes a consonant sound. 
  2. Use “an” if the noun or noun phrase makes a vowel sound. 

You will use “a” or “an” for unspecified people, things, or events and for numbers or quantity. 

  • I need a cup of coffee. 
  • I spoke to an officer. 
  • We visit my family three times a year. 
  • My commute takes a quarter of an hour. 
  • The drinks were sold for 50 cents a litre. 

See how these rules apply in these six cases.

1. Use “a” for nouns that start with consonants

  • a school 
  • a baby 
  • a banana 

2. Use “an” for words that begin with a silent “h” 

  • an hour 
  • an honest child 
  • an honour 

3. Use “an” for nouns that start with vowels 

  • an institution 
  • an Italian 
  • an apple

4. Use “a” for nouns that start with vowels, but make a consonant sound 

  • a university 
  • a European 
  • a one-parent family

5. Use “an” for initialisms that start with A, E, F, H, I, L, M, N, O, R, S, or X

  • An initialism is a term formed from the initial letters of several words or parts of words. It is an abbreviation where each letter is pronounced separately. For example, ESL (for “English as a Second Language”) and UTM (for “University of Toronto Mississauga”) are initialisms. Initialisms cannot be pronounced as words.
  • An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or a phrase.
  • An acronym is an abbreviation from the initial components of a phrase or a word. Acronyms are pronounced as words. For instance, NAFTA and SWOT are acronyms.
  • Examples 5 and 6 go over the rules for initialisms. You can treat acronyms as regular words when deciding to use “a” or “an.”
    • an MP 
    • an FBI agent 
    • an IOU

6. Use “a” for initialisms that begin with all other letters 

  • a BYOD policy
  • a DYK fact

Four ways to use “the”

 1. Use “the” when you are discussing things that are unique 

  • the world 
  • the horizon 
  • the climate
  • the sky
  • the human race
  • the sea
  • the atmosphere
  • the ground
  • the arms trade

2. Use “the” for general geographical areas

  • the beach
  • the countryside
  • the country
  • the forest
  • the town

4. Use “the” when you make generalizations about classes of things using single countable nouns

  • The computer has revolutionized publishing. 
  • The computer is an important research tool. 

Both examples refer to computers in general.

When you do not need to use an article 

You do not need to use an article: 

  • before the name of an individual person or place

 However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. 

Exception 1: Some countries 

  • the United States of America 
  • the United Kingdom 
  • the Philippines Exception

Exception 2: Referring to an entire family 

  • The Grants are away this weekend.

Exception 3: Using an adjective to describe a person

  • the late Buddy Holly 
  • the artist Pablo Picasso

“A” and “an” exercises

Choose the either “a” or “an” for each of the following words.

  1.  __ unpaid bill.
  2.  __ DIY shop
  3.  __ MA in Russian Literature
  4.  __ Euro 
  5. __ Olympic medal 
  6.  __ AGM 
  7.  __ U-turn 
  8.  __ heirloom 
  9. __ NASA space launch
  10. __ UN decision 
  11. __ SOS message 
  12. __ F grade 
  13. __ hero 

Article exercises

Choose either “a”, “an”, “the”, or no article for the following sentences. 

  1. It is __ best cake I have ever had.
  2. The Pacific Ocean is __ biggest ocean in __ world.
  3. We are going on holiday with __ Smiths. 
  4. I found myself talking to __ Barack Obama. 
  5. I am __ delivery driver for UPS. 
  6. What kind of computer do you use? It is __ Mac. 
  7. Let me introduce you to my friend __ John Kowloon. 
  8. This is __ most valuable diamond in __ world.
  9. I want to get __ best price for this book. 
  10. Albert Einstein was __ scientist.

Answers to the “a” and “an” exercises

  1. an unpaid bill 
  2. a DIY shop 
  3. an MA in Russian Literature
  4. a Euro
  5. an Olympic medal
  6. an AGM 
  7. a U-turn 
  8. an heirloom 
  9. a NASA space launch 
  10. a UN decision 
  11. an SOS message 
  12. an F grade 
  13. a hero 

Answers to the Article exercises

  1. It is the best cake I have ever had. 
  2. The Pacific Ocean is the biggest ocean in the world.
  3. We are going on holiday with the Smiths.
  4. I found myself talking to Barack Obama.
  5. I am a/the delivery driver for UPS.
  6. What kind of computer do you use? It is a Mac.
  7. Let me introduce you to my friend John Kowloon. 
  8. This is the most valuable diamond in the world. 
  9. I want to get the best price for this book. 
  10. Albert Einstein was a scientist.

More resources for using articles

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