GRAMMAR NO. 2: A, the or nothing (use of the articles)

Some general rules on when to use: A, An, The or Nothing

• a = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects) with consonants. She has a dog. I work in a factory.
  

• an = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects) with vowels (a,e,i,o,u). Can I have an apple? She is an English teacher.
  

• the = definite article (a specific object that both the person speaking and the listener know). The car over there is fast. The teacher is very good, isn´t he?
  

• The first time you speak of something use "a or an", the next time you repeat that object use "the". I live in a house. The house is quite old and has four bedrooms. I ate in a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant was very good.
  

• DO NOT use an article with countries, states, counties or provinces, lakes and mountains except when the country is a collection of states such as "The United States". He lives in Washington near Mount Rainier. They live in northern British Columbia.
  

• Use an article with bodies of water, oceans and seas. My country borders on the Pacific Ocean.
  

• DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about things in general.I like Russian tea. She likes reading books.
  

• DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about meals, places, and transport. He has breakfast at home. I go to university. He comes to work by taxi.
  

Links to exercises

1. Initial practice here

2. A little bit more difficult here

3. For more advanced students here

4. Let's review here

5. More general exercises here


Review

http://a4esl.org/q/h/grammar.html

http://www.nonstopenglish.com/allexercises/Grammar/Grammar-articles.asp

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/artikel.htm