When to use a, an, the or no article — rules and common exceptions
Learn the article system in English: a vs an (based on sound, not spelling), the for specific or previously mentioned nouns, zero article with uncountable nouns, languages, meals and institutions, unique things like the sun or the east, musical instruments vs sports, superlatives, and tricky exceptions like "an honest man" or "a university". 15 questions.
Articles are one of the trickiest parts of English for Spanish and Catalan speakers, because neither "a/an" nor the zero article map cleanly onto anything in their own language — getting them right takes a different kind of intuition, built through examples, not translation.
The exam covers the sound-based a/an rule (an hour, a university), the first-vs-second-mention logic behind the/a, zero article with languages, meals and uncountable nouns, and the classic exceptions that trip up even advanced students, like musical instruments taking "the" while sports take none.
Practise articles with real sentence examples in the exam below.
English · Primary, Secondary
"An" before vowel SOUNDS: an apple, an hour (h is silent), an honest man. "A" before consonant SOUNDS: a university (sounds like /juː/), a European country.
First time a noun appears: use a/an. Second time (it's now known): use the. "I saw a dog. The dog was barking." This rule explains 80% of article use.
No article with: languages (I speak Spanish), meals (I had lunch), institutions in their function (go to school/hospital), uncountable nouns in general (Water is essential).
"A student wrote "I play the football." After learning that sports take zero article (unlike musical instruments, which take "the"), they self-corrected to "I play football" and applied the rule to basketball, tennis, etc."
Trucos y técnicas para dominar este tema más rápido:
A/an = indefinite (one of many). The = definite (specific one we both know). No article = general or uncountable.
Musical instruments: I play the piano, the guitar, the violin. Sports: I play football, tennis, basketball.
Unique things: the sun, the moon, the east, the government, the internet.
Superlatives always need the: "She is the best student in the class."
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