Articles in English language, words used as determiners, are often one of the hardest things for students to master. They come before nouns, and tell us if the noun is known or unknown, the quantity, or the type of name it is. Choosing the correct determiner (indefinite article, the definite article or no article) depends on if the noun is a name, the type of object/place it names and if it is singular or plural. The following rules should help you choose:

The indefinite article

a/an – introduces what is new (an unfamiliar object), singular.

The definite article

the – indicates we know (or will soon know) the object. Context identifies it. Used for plurals when naming a group (see below).

No article

No article – generalisations, plurals and uncountable nouns.

Specific rules for articles

Use a/an :

-with ‘There is’: There’s a beer in the fridge.
-the first time we mention something.
-after have/have got: Have you got a mountain bike?
-in naming things: It’s a rhinoceros.
-with occupations: I’m a teacher.

Use the:

when we have already mentioned the object
when there is only one of something: the moon.
in defining relative clauses: Pay the man who delivers the package.
with of, when something is defined by a preposition phrase also starting of: The benefits of early retirement.
in superlative expressions: It’s the best city in the world.
with particular adjectives: the first, the next, the last.

Sub-rules can contradict these though:

Use a/an for regular use (‘every’): Forty times an hour.

Use the for leisure activities/forms of entertainment/travel (fixed expressions): Go to the cinema/pub. I play the piano (British English)

Use the for these Proper Noun categories: rivers, mountain ranges, oceans and seas, deserts, groups of islands, hotels, cinemas, political bodies, countries with political terms or plurals, newspapers (either in the name or when referring to newspapers).

Use no article:

for ‘belonging to’ institutions, when someone is a part of a certain institution like hospital, church, school, prison, college, university: He’s still in hospital.
for meals: She went to lunch.
for time expressions: next year, at six o’clock
for work, home and bed: She left work.

Use no article for these Proper Noun categories: people, places such as villages, towns, cities, parks, streets, woods, forests.

Articles in Idioms

Idioms can simply ignore the rules, and have to be learnt individually:

a bit of
in a hurry
make a start
have a drink
do a turn
on the coast
in the red
off the record
through the nose
play the blues
in debt
on loan
out of action

If you have any questions about how to use articles or determiners in general in English language, please ask and I will do my best to further explain.

4 Comments

Sana on July 22, 2022 at 07:21

We use zero article with proper nouns l.so, if we want to say .

The American people
The British people
The Chinese people

Can we say this or should we zero article here, too.

Phil Williams on July 22, 2022 at 11:21

Hi Sana, the article here essentially changes the meaning; “American people” would be a generalisation, while “the American people” refers to the entire cultural community. There isn’t necessarily a huge difference in use but generally, we would use the article when referring to something that affects or results from the country as a whole, for example “The American people voted for a new president.” (meaning the people as a nation, rather than a simple plural).
Reply

Sana on August 8, 2023 at 07:53

Hello sir ! Hope you are doing well!
I have learned the zero article pattern that we use zero article with general location like at home ,at work , . but I don’t understand what is mean by general location.

Phil Williams on August 8, 2023 at 09:20

Hi Sana,

Good question; it’s not necessarily easily defined as this can depend, but essentially there are lots of locations/places where we wouldn’t use an article (for example home, work, church, hospital, school, university, prison, town). However while we can say general locations often don’t have an article, you can’t really use that as a rule, as so many locations do use an article (the beach, the country, the river). Perhaps the key difference is that “general” may mean a location that doesn’t have denote a specific place/definable object (home/work, for example, are general while the house/the office are specific). But it may be easier to compile lists of which take an article and which don’t than to follow patterns here.

Phil
Reply

Sana on July 22, 2022 at 07:21

We use zero article with proper nouns l.so, if we want to say .

The American people
The British people
The Chinese people

Can we say this or should we zero article here, too.
- Phil Williams on July 22, 2022 at 11:21
  
  Hi Sana, the article here essentially changes the meaning; “American people” would be a generalisation, while “the American people” refers to the entire cultural community. There isn’t necessarily a huge difference in use but generally, we would use the article when referring to something that affects or results from the country as a whole, for example “The American people voted for a new president.” (meaning the people as a nation, rather than a simple plural).
Sana on August 8, 2023 at 07:53

Hello sir ! Hope you are doing well!
I have learned the zero article pattern that we use zero article with general location like at home ,at work , . but I don’t understand what is mean by general location.
- Phil Williams on August 8, 2023 at 09:20
  
  Hi Sana,
  
  Good question; it’s not necessarily easily defined as this can depend, but essentially there are lots of locations/places where we wouldn’t use an article (for example home, work, church, hospital, school, university, prison, town). However while we can say general locations often don’t have an article, you can’t really use that as a rule, as so many locations do use an article (the beach, the country, the river). Perhaps the key difference is that “general” may mean a location that doesn’t have denote a specific place/definable object (home/work, for example, are general while the house/the office are specific). But it may be easier to compile lists of which take an article and which don’t than to follow patterns here.
  
  Phil