ARTICLES

A/AN
A/AN Means one or a single
The article A is used before:
Singular
Countable nouns
Begin with consonant sounds (a university consonant sound; a euro a yuro).
The article AN is used before:
Singular
Countable nouns
Begin in vowel sounds (an hour-an auer)

Uncountable nouns:
Liquids and gases: water, milk, coffee, air,
Solid and granular substances: wood, metal, cheese, sand, rice
o Uncontable plurals: we use the plural form to express cups of, bottles of . For instance: Well have two
coffees Well have two cups of coffee.
Energy words and forces: electricity, sunshine, heat, magnetism
Subjects: French, chemistry, math, science
Grouped concepts: fruit, money, food, vocabulary, news

A or AN are used to:

Indefinite means. (I need a phone, I want to buy a bicycle)
To introduce something or someone (Tom is a policeman, I have a car)
To introduce some description about something (This is a good book)
Can be used like the word PER (My new car can run 200 kilometres an hour), (Apples currently cost 3 a kilo)
With the expression a few, a little (express more than you expect). He had a little difficulty with

THE
THE is used to:
Definite means, specific means or something previously mentioned.
(I have a cat. The cat is 3 years old.)
Its possible to use THE with plural nouns (I bought the things that you wanted)
With nouns of ranking or order: the first, the following, the last,
With superlatives: the best.
To refer to a group of people (The rich, the French, the elderly is helped by the organization.
With family names (The Simpsons, The Robinsons,)
With some singular names to make generalizations about certain topics:
o Musical instruments: I play the piano. I play the guitar.
o Plants: The coconut palm is native to
o Animals: The leopard, the elephant, The dolphin is a very intelligent animal.
o Inventions: The plane, the light buld was invented by
o Currencies: the dollar, the euro, the zloty is stronger than
o Body parts: the head, the eye is one of the most
With the names of:
o Oceans: The Antarctic
o Seas: The Mediterranean
o Coast: The coast Da Morte
o Rivers: The Nile
o Archipelagos
 o Mountain chain: The Andes (but without article the name of mountains Everest)
o Deserts
o The globe and reference to the globe (The Ecuador, The North Pole)
o Geographic regions (The Northwest)
o Bridges
o Hotels
o Theatres
o Museums
o Institutes
o Famous buildings
o The Sun and The Moon
o Works of art (The Mona Lisa, the Colosseum)

WITHOUT ARTICLE
Do not use articles when generalizing about uncountable nouns and plural nouns.
(Curiosity is a great trait)(Water is an important resource)(Dogs are the most faithful animals)
With expression little or few (to express less than you expect). I only had a little time to
With the names of illnesses or diseases (cancer, malaria, AIDS). They try to educate student on AIDS.
With countries (with exception of The United States, The United Kingdom, The Czech Republic, The islands )
With cities and provinces (I love Madrid)
With the names of:
o Individual lakes
o Individual Island
o Beaches
o Waterfalls
o Individual Mountains Exceptions: Theof
o Streets
The University of California
o Public squares
The Cathedral of Siena
o Hospitals
o Stadiums The Temple of Ranakpur
o Malls
o Parks
o Temples
o Churches
o Universities
o Colleges
o Languages
o Religions
o Days
o Months
o Holidays
EXCEPTIONS
Directions:
It follows a verb Without article
It follows a preposition THE
To refer to some place THE
We need to walk south.
We need to walk to the south.
I live in the North.

Nationalities:
I like French (the language)
I like the French (the French people)
Frenchs watch a lot of TV (General)

Time expressions:
With THE:
o In the morning, afternoon or evening
o During the night
o During the day
o The day before yesterday
o The day after tomorrow
o The fall, The summer,
No article
o At night
o At noon
o At midnight
o All day
o All night
o Every month
o Every year
o Last night
o Last Friday
o Yesterday
o Tomorrow
A/AN and THE
o A/the whole day
o A/the whole month
o An/the entire year
o An/the entire decade