Articles
The 3 articles in English are a, an and the. The learner has to decide noun-by-noun which one of the articles to use*. In fact, there are 4 choices to make, because sometimes no article is necessary. The most important first step in choosing the correct article is to categorize the noun as count or uncount**: - A count noun is a noun that can have a number in front of it:1 teacher, 3 books, 76 trombones, 1,000,000 people. - An uncount noun is a noun that cannot have a number put in front of it: 1 water, 2 lucks, 10 airs, 21 oils, 39 informations. Once you have correctly categorized the noun (using your dictionary if necessary), the following "rules" apply: Uncount nouns
You cannot say a/an with an uncount noun. You cannot put a number in front of an uncount noun. (You cannot make an uncount noun plural.) You use an uncount noun with no article if you mean that thing in general. You use the with an uncount noun when you are talking about a particular example of that thing.
Count nouns
You can put a number in front of a count noun. (You can make a count noun plural.) You can put both a/an and the in front of a count noun. You must put an article** in front of a singular count noun. You use a plural count noun with no article if you mean all or any of that thing. You usually use a/an with a count noun the first time you say or write that noun. You use the with count nouns: o the second and subsequent times you use the noun in a piece of speech or writing o when the listener knows what you are referring to (maybe because there is only one of that thing) You use an (not a) when the next word (adverb, adjective, noun) starts with a vowel sound.
Some basic rules:
1. You use an uncount noun with no article if you mean all or any of that thing. 2. You use the with an uncount noun when you are talking about a particular example of that thing.
Some examples:
I need help! I don't eat cheese. Do you like music? Thanks for the help you gave me yesterday. I didn't eat the cheese. It was green! Did you like the music they played at the dance? Can I borrow a pencil, please? There's a cat in the garden! Do you have an mp3 player? Where's the pencil I lent you yesterday? I think the cat belongs to the new neighbors. I dropped the mp3 player and it broke. Please shut the door! I don't like dogs. Do they have children? I don't need questions. Give me answers! I don't eat German cheese. Can I borrow a red pencil, please? There's an extremely large cat in the garden! I don't like small, noisy children.
3. You usually use a/an with a count noun the first time you say or write that noun. 4. You use the with count nouns the second and subsequent times you use the noun, or when the listener already knows what you are referring to (maybe because there is only one of that thing).
5. You use a plural count noun with no article if you mean all or any of that thing.
6. The above rules apply whether there is or there is not an adjective in front of the noun.