Articles (A, An, The)

In the English language, we use article adjectives - a, an, and the - to give more information about a noun.

In general, we follow these rules with our articles:

• We use a in front of a general, non-specific noun that begins with a consonant: June ate a cookie.
• We use an in front of a general, non-specific noun that begins with a vowel: Sally visited an amusement park.
• We use the in front of a specific, particular noun: Mom asked me to purchase some ±èÄ¡ at the market.

We call a and an indefinite articles, while we call the a definite article.

Here's the tricky part: some nouns require an article, and some do not.

The complete set of rules governing article use is long and boring, so we won't get into all of that. But here's a quick guide to help you with proper article use:

Typically, we do use articles in front of...

• General things (house, car, park)
• Household goods (stove, pot, television)
• Fruits and vegetables (strawberry, carrot, pumpkin)
• Unnamed people and animals (woman, cat, giraffe)
• Names of geographical features (Nile River, Sahara Desert, Equator)

Typically, we do not use articles in front of...

• Names of planets and continents (Jupiter, Asia, Africa)
• Singular names of countries (Korea, India, Japan)
• Names of cities or states (Seoul, New York City, Pennsylvania Avenue)
• Names or people or pets (Suji, Joe, Fido)
• School subjects (math, science, art)
• Sports (basketball, soccer, baseball)