Articles in English A, An, The | Learn English with Cambridge

Hi everyone. My name is Juri.

What do you think is one of the most used words in English?

The, the, the... That’s right.

In this bite-sized lesson you'll learn some practical

rules that will help you when using the definite and indefinite articles.

Also, if you enjoy our videos, don’t forget to hit the thumbs

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Look at these three words. Would you use a or an before them?

Use an before words which begin with a vowel sound.

An elephant.

And a before words which begin with a consonant sound.

A player.

Notice that I said a vowel sound, not a vowel letter.

University begins with a j sound, which is a consonant, that’s why it

is a university.

Similarly, use ði before a vowel sound. The elephant.

And ðe before a consonant sound. The player.

Remember that a singular countable noun, such as

person or elephant, always needs an article.

You can't use a or an with plurals or uncountable nouns.

I have a dog. Does the listener know which dog I mean?

No, she doesn't.

Use a or an to speak about something for the first time.

This information is new for the listener.

I found the dog. Great.

This time the listener knows which dog the speaker means.

Use the to speak about something you have mentioned before,

or when it is clear what you're referring to from the context.

Use a or an to say who somebody is or what something is.

I'm a teacher and a father. That’s a delicious meal.

Here comes the sun.

Use the when there is one of something. The sun.

The president of your country. In the kitchen.

Similarly, use the with superlatives.

This is the best song ever.

Finally, don’t use the when making general statements.

Czech men have a great sense of style.

In this game you and my friends will see a sentence with a missing article,

like this one.

When I say jump, the person who thinks

the article can be used in my sentence jumps.

If there is no article needed, nobody jumps.

I’ll always give you five seconds to think about your answers.

Do you use articles in your first language?

Write us in the comments below.

Thank you for watching and have a great day.

Bye.