Study materials
Ukrainian would use the bare word "phone" in both of these sentences. In English the difference is audible at once.
I need a phone.
I need the phone.
Articles are small words that show whether a thing is new to the conversation or already known.
When to use a and an
These two articles mean exactly the same. They go in front of a singular countable noun when you mention a thing for the first time, or simply say what somebody is.
This is a bag.
Anna is a doctor.
A noun is a word that names a person, an animal or a thing, like bag, doctor or cat. A countable noun can be counted one by one (one cat, two cats). Singular means one thing, and plural means several.
Jobs show this rule most clearly. Ukrainian puts nothing before the name of a job, but in English a job in the singular always takes a or an.
My dad is pilot. → My dad is a pilot.
The difference between a and an is purely about sound. A goes before a consonant sound, an before a vowel sound, and it is the sound that counts, not the letter.
a university, a European city
an hour, an honest man
A vowel sound is made freely, with nothing blocking the air, like a, e, i or o. A consonant sound is made when the lips or tongue block the air, like b, m or y. University and European start with a y sound, as in you, so they take a. The same goes for a yellow bag. Where the h is pronounced, as in horse, it is a as well.
a horse, a yellow bag
The article is chosen by the word that comes right after it. If an adjective, a word that describes the thing (old, big), stands before the noun, it is the first sound of the adjective that counts.
an apple, a big apple
a car, an old car
A and an mean “one”, so they never go before a plural. They do not go before uncountable words either, things that are not counted in pieces, like water, milk, music, bread or honey.
I have a new shoes. → I have new shoes.
I love a music. → I love music.
When to use the
The article the appears when your listener can work out which particular thing you mean. There are three usual reasons.
I see a dog. The dog is friendly.
Close the door, please.
The sun is hot today.
The moon and the sky work the same way, because there is one of each for everybody. Ukrainian simply says “sky”, so the is easy to lose here.
Look at the sky!
Unlike a, the sits happily with plurals and with uncountable words: the students, the water in this glass.
When there is no article
Sometimes no article is used at all. That is what happens when you speak about a plural or an uncountable thing in general, about all such things in the world.
Dogs are friendly.
Water is important.
The dogs are friendly would mean particular dogs that you can both see.
How to choose the article
When in doubt, run down this chain. The first yes gives you the article.
| Question | If yes |
|---|---|
| Is this about all such things in general? | no article |
| Does the listener know which one I mean? | the |
| Is it one thing, mentioned for the first time? | a or an |
A singular countable noun is never left bare. Something always stands in front of it, even if it is my or this.
Words like my, your, his, this and that already show which thing is meant. So an article never goes next to them.
the my phone → my phone
This cake is delicious.
Exceptions to this rule appear only in fixed phrases like go to bed or by bus, and you will meet them later.
Common mistakes
The first is leaving the noun with no article, the way Ukrainian does.
I have cat. → I have a cat.
The second is choosing the article by the letter instead of the sound.
a hour → an hour
The third is putting the where the whole world is meant.
The children need sleep. → Children need sleep.
The first and third are caught by the chain of questions in the table above. It tells you whether an article is needed at all and which one. The second shows by ear. Say the word after the article, and if it starts with a vowel sound, you need an.