Articles A, AN & THE

How to use articles 'a', 'an', and 'the' in English?

English articles ("a", "an", and "the") come before nouns. They help to communicate which
thing you're talking about, similar to words like "this", "my", and "all". And they're confusing to
a lot of English learners.
Articles are really, really hard!
If your native language doesn't use articles, they can be really confusing. The truth is, you
might never completely master articles. Most non-native English speakers don't, even know if
they're quite fluent and have spoken English for a very long time. That's mostly OK. Mistakes
with articles don't usually get in the way of communication. Your listeners or readers will
usually be able to figure out what you mean by guessing whether you meant "a thing" or "the
thing".

A --- Indefinite Article

Articles are used for Nouns

She wore a hat.

If I come and tell you that she wore a hat, you dont know what hat im talking about, whether
its red, blue or big. Nothing is definite This is just a general idea you are not talking
about something specific just in general
I saw a star in the sky last night
There are millions of stars in the sky.another thing I would like to tell you about is that it is
used for a singular noun. You cannot say I saw a stars

THE Definite Article

Specific Noun

She wore the hat

The here is your article, basically, which means, you know what hat I am talking about,
maybe its the hat you bought last weekyou know specifically which hat I am talking
about.

I saw the North Pole star in the sky last night

Now, here the is your article, your definite article and North Pole Star is the specific star ,
even having million of stars in the sky , that you spotted the north pole star and therefore your
are using this article.

If you notice in both sentences we have the , whyyyy???? How many skies do we have? 10?
11?noooo..its just 1 sky in the universe, so sky here is acting as your noun and the is the
article because you know that youve spotted the a start in the sky.

I hope you are clear with this.. You know when to use A.It is used when you do not have
an idea about a thing..its just in general ..that you are talking about whereas THE you
would use it when you know what you are talking about, particularly if you are talking about
something you know it and thats exactly whenyou use the article THE.

AN - indefinite/Vowel

Used for Nouns

I bought an umbrella
Here, , this is an indefinite article but why are we not saying?? I bought a umbrella
thats not correctIll tell you whybecause umbrella is your noun, however, it starts
with the letter U and U it a vowel, so here, AN is a very simple article and easy to
usebecause I know AN comes before a vowel
I will be back in an hour
AN is again a indefinite article, but Hour has an H and this is a consonantbut it is
pronounce as our..the H is silent here..
So always remember, that AN would come before a vowel or a vowel sound
I am an Honest person.
Here honest has a vowel sound..

ARTICLES: A, AN, THE

Nouns: person, place or a thing

A General = any
AN: Use before a Vowel or vowel sound
THE Specific = you choose

2nd time you talk about the same noun

Ex: I bought some fruit. The fruit was bad.
The speaker & listener knows
1% of countries United States = More than 2 words
The United States of America,
The United Kingdom
The United Arab Emirates
= Small islands
The Canary Islands
The Phillipines

Using an with consonant abbreviations Free Grammar Lesson

You have learned that a is used before a noun with a consonant sound and an is used
before a noun with vowel.
But what about when we use abbreviations in a sentence ?
See some examples listed below:
Example 01 : John is working with an FMCG company. (use an because F when used in an
abbreviation, has a vowel sound. But in its full form it would be, a fast moving consumer goods
company)
Example 02: Hes working as an HR officer. (use an because H when used in an
abbreviation, has a vowel sound. But in its full form it would be, a human resource officer)
Example 03: He received an LOA from his boss. (use an because L when used in an
abbreviation, has a vowel sound. But in its full form it would be, a letter of appreciation)
Example 04: Hes got an MBA degree from the best university. (use an because M when used
in an abbreviation, has a vowel sound. But in its full form it would be a Masters in Business
Administration degree)
Example 05: He was working with an NGO a few years ago. (use an because N when used in
an abbreviation, has a vowel sound. But in its full form it would be a non government
organization)
Example 06: He always wanted to be an RJ. (use an because R when used in an
abbreviation, has a vowel sound. But in its full form it would be a radio jockey)
Example 07: He drives an SUV. (use an because S when used in an abbreviation, has a
vowel sound. But in its full form it would be a sports utility vehicle)
Example 08: He had to get an X-Ray done. (use an because it has the same vowel sound like
ex-student)
When the consonant letters f, h, l, m, n, r, s, x are used in abbreviations, they have a vowel
sound and hence they are followed by an.