English-lesson_a_an

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ENGLISH LESSONS

a-an / the

A and an are indefinite articles used to refer to a singular countable noun.
An indefinite article means that we don't know which one, or it is not important.

                                 A is used before a consonant (b,c,d,f,g,etc.):                a car
                               An is used before a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) :                          an animal

                                       *Tom lives in a town.
                                       *Julie is reading an English book.
                                     *We eat meat with a knife and a fork.

THE

                              The is a definite article used to talk about something specific.
                                     *The town where Tom lives is very big.
                                      *What book is Julie reading? She is reading the book Tom gave her.

                            The is also used to refer to:
                                      *Rivers, seas, oceans : the Mississippi, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic.
                                      *Nationalities :              the British, the Americans, the Japanese.

NO ARTICLE

                                No article is used in generalisations :
                                     *I like music.
                                     *Caviar is expensive.

                                Exceptions :
                                     *I watch television but I listen to the radio and I go to the cinema.
                                     *I don't play tennis but I play the piano, the guitar, etc.

                                 No article is used for place names (towns, countries, mountains):
                                     *London, Spain, Mount Everest

                                 except if plural :
                                     *The Greek Islands, The United States, The Alps