Article

Articles are a small group of determinatives that signal whether a noun refers to something specific or something general. English has just three: the definite article the and the indefinite articles a and an. There's also a meaningful absence — the zero article — where no article appears at all. Mastering articles is one of the trickiest parts of English, because the rules involve both grammar and context.

The Definite Article: the

Use the when you expect the listener or reader already knows which thing you mean. This could be because it was mentioned before, because the situation makes it obvious, or because there's only one.

I bought a jacket. The jacket was on sale.
Can you close the door?
The sun was setting behind the mountains.

The Indefinite Articles: a and an

Use a or an when introducing something for the first time or referring to any one member of a group. These only work with singular, countable nouns. Use a before consonant sounds and an before vowel sounds.

She adopted a dog.
He ate an apple.

The choice between a and an depends on the sound the next word starts with, not its spelling:

✅ an honest mistake (silent h → vowel sound)
❌ a honest mistake
✅ a university (starts with a /j/ consonant sound)
❌ an university

Self-check: Say the next word out loud. If it starts with a vowel sound, use an. Spelling can mislead you — trust your ear.

The Zero Article

The zero article means no article appears before the noun. This isn't random — it follows clear patterns.

Generic or indefinite plurals and mass nouns:

Coffee keeps me awake. (mass noun, general reference)
Cars need fuel. (plural, generic reference)

Certain institutions when used in their typical function:

She's in hospital. (as a patient — standard in British English)
He went to prison. (as an inmate)

When you mean the physical building rather than its function, add the:

✅ The plumber went to the prison to fix the pipes.

Other common zero-article contexts:

Meals: Breakfast is ready.
Years: She was born in 1995.
Titles as complements: They elected her captain.

Quick Summary

Article	Use it when…	Example
the	The listener knows which one	Pass me the salt.
a / an	Introducing or generalising (singular, countable)	I need a pen.
zero (∅)	Generic plurals, mass nouns, institutions-as-functions, meals, years	Life is short.

To put these rules into practice, try Articles Basics for core patterns, Articles: A, An, The & Zero Article for broader coverage, or Articles Advanced for trickier cases.

Difficulty: Hard

Hard difficulty. Difficulty levels represent author's opinion about how hard a question or challenge is.