This is an apple.

This is a banana.

This is a coat.

This is a dress.

This is an orange.

This is an umbrella.

A/An or The
This is a house.

This is the house where I live.

This is the bed in my bedroom.

This is the dress that I bought.

THE SHORT LIST OF RULES: Common Use of Articles "a/an" usually indicates an item in general or a typical item. Example:A man and a boy are on a bus. "the" usually indicates one or more items that are specific or unique. Example:The sun and the planets remain a mystery. "a/an" is used for the first mention of an item, followed by "the" for the second mention of the item. Example: They took a train to Reno. The train was very clean and comfortable. "the" can be used with a first mention of an item only if the item is familiar to both the speaker and the listener.

Example: "Honey, where did you park the car?" "In the driveway, dear." "the" is used with nouns preceded by numbers or superlatives. Example: The four friends sing folk songs. Really? What is the most popular song that they sing?

"a" or "an" ? Use "a" before words that begin with a consonant (or "u" when it is pronounced like "you"); use "an" before words beginning with a vowel (or with a "silent h"). Examples: " An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." "A historian gave us a history lesson." "It was an honorable thing to do." "She teaches at a university."

THE LONG LIST OF RULES DEFINITE ARTICLE - THE Articles in English dont change. They are the same for any gender or number of people or things: the girl, the man, the children, the cats, the cars When to use 'the' 1. Use the with something which has already been mentioned so that both the speaker and listener know what is being talked about There is an apple and a banana in the fruit bowl.

The apple is red and the banana is yellow, 2. Use the when both the speaker and listener know what is being talked about, even if it has not been mentioned before. Where's the bathroom? It's just down the hall. 3. Use the in sentences or clauses where we identify a specific person or object: The woman who painted this picture is famous. Which shirt did you choose? The blue one. My car is the one parked in front. 4. Use the to refer to things that are unique: the sun, the moon, the world 5. Use the before superlatives and ordinal numbers: the highest mountain, the smallest child the first page, the third book, the last chapter. 6. Use the with adjectives, to refer to a whole group of people: Examples: the Italians, the Irish, the working class, the poor. 7. Use the with names of geographical areas and with oceans: Examples: the Caribbean, the Middle East, the Pacific, the Atlantic. 8. Use with decades, or groups of years: Example: my teacher grew up in the sixties; jazz became popular in the 1920s

INDEFINITE ARTICLE A / AN Use 'a' with nouns starting with a consonant (letters that are not vowels), 'an' with nouns starting with a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) Examples: A boy An apple A car An orange A house An opera Exceptions: An before an h when it is not pronounced - an hour, an honour. A before u and eu when they sound like 'you': a european, a university, a unit The indefinite article is used: When you mention something for the first time: Two birds, an eagle and a hawk, were flying high in the sky. Would you like a cup of coffee? I've got a good class. When you refer to a particular person or thing in a group or class Examples: with names of jobs: John is a doctor. Mary is training to be an engineer.

He wants to be a dancer. with nationalities and religions: John is an Englishman. Kate is a Catholic. With musical instruments: Sherlock Holmes was playing a violin when the visitor arrived. (BUT to describe the activity we say "He plays the violin.") with names of days: I was born on a Thursday When you refer to a kind of, or example of something: the mouse had a tiny nose the elephant had a long trunk it was a very strange car With singular nouns, after the words 'what' and 'such': What a shame! She's such a beautiful girl. When the meaning is 'one', referring to a single object or person: I'd like an orange and two lemons please. The burglar took a diamond necklace and a valuable painting. Notice also that we usually say a hundred, a thousand, a million. NOTE: that we use 'one' to add emphasis or to contrast with other numbers:

I don't know one person who likes eating elephant meat. We've got six computers but only one printer. EXCEPTIONS TO USING THE DEFINITE ARTICLE There is NO article used: With names of countries (if singular) Germany is an important economic power. He's just returned from Zimbabwe. (But: I'm visiting the United States next week.) With the names of languages French is spoken in Tahiti. English uses many words of Latin origin. Indonesian is a relatively new language. With the names of meals. Lunch is at midday. Dinner is in the evening. Breakfast is the first meal of the day. With people's names (if singular): John's coming to the party. George King is my uncle. (But: we're having lunch with the Morgans tomorrow.) With titles and names: Prince Charles is Queen Elizabeth's son. President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Dr. Watson was Sherlock Holmes' friend. (But: the Queen of England, the Pope.)

 After the 's possessive case: His brother's car. Peter's house. With professions: Engineering is a useful career. He'll probably go into medicine. With names of shops: I'll get the card at Smith's. Can you go to Boots for me? With years: 1948 was a wonderful year. Do you remember 1995? With uncountable nouns: Rice is the main food in Asia. Milk is often added to tea in England. War is destructive. With the names of individual mountains, lakes and islands: Mount McKinley is the highest mountain in Alaska. She lives near Lake Windermere. Have you visited Long Island? With most names of towns, streets, stations and airports: Victoria Station is in the centre of London. Can you direct me to Bond Street? She lives in Florence. They're flying from Heathrow.

 With some fixed expressions, for example: by car by train by air on foot on holiday on air (in broadcasting) at school at work at University in church in prison in bed

Using A and An
There is sometimes confusion about whether to use an or a (particularly with abbreviations). The sound of a word's first letter determines which to use. If the word starts with a vowel sound, you should use an. If it starts with a consonant sound, you should use a.

Examples: Buy a house in an hour. (Although house and hour start with the same three letters (hou), one attracts a and the other an.) An unknown goblin killed a unicorn. An LRS... (LRS - Linear Recursive Sequence) A TT race... (TT - Tourist Trophy) It would be a honour. ('honour' - starts with an o sound) Send an US ambassador. ('US' - starts with a y sound) She was involved in a RTA. ('RTA' - Road Traffic Accident) Read more at http://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/an_or_a.htm#ZQpRXcjPdLRrIGZK.99 WATCH OUT FOR THESE Abbreviations that start with the consonants F, H, L, M, N, R, S and X attract an, because they start with vowel sounds. An FRS representative will be present. (FRS - Fellow of the Royal Society) A LF transmitter was found in the basement. (LF - Low Frequency) WATCH OUT FOR U Abbreviations that start with the vowel U attract a, because U starts with the consonant sound y. A US ship spotted a U-boat. An UFO landed in 1967. TREAT ACRONYMS LIKE WORDS NOT ABBREVIATIONS An acronym is an abbreviation that is spoken like a word, e.g., BUPA, FOD, FEDEX. Therefore, as the first sound of FEDEX is f, use a and not an. Tim worked in the air industry as a FOD inspector for a year. (FOD - Foreign Object Damage)

Jack was a FEDEX courier. Read more at http://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/an_or_a.htm#ZQpRXcjPdLRrIGZK.99

Using an and a does not depend on the spelling of the word it comes before, it depends on the pronunciation of the word. In most cases though, an is used before words that begin with vowels (a, e, i, o u.): an apple an elephant an igloo an oven an umbrella If a word starts with a consonant sound, use a. a ball a car a doll

Vowel Sounds:

It is very important to know that when a word starts with a vowel sound, you should use an. Sometimes u is pronounced as y. Try saying these two words, see if notice how the u is pronounced in two different ways.

an unforgettable experience - unforgettable has a vowel sound so we use an. a university - university has a y sound so we use a. This is also the case with o, which may sometimes have a w sound. Compare: an octopus - octopus starts with a vowel sound. a one track mind - one-track starts has a w sound.

The Silent h:

Sometimes with words that begin with h, the h sound is not pronounced. Unfortunately there is no rule about when the h is silent. Let's look at an example. an honour - the h is silent. We use an because the honour has a vowel sound because the h is not pronounced: (h)onour. a historic day - the h is pronounced. Historic starts with an h sound. Now decide if an or a is needed in these sentences. Remember to focus on how the key words are pronounced:

Indefinite articles - a and an (determiners) A and an are the indefinite articles. They refer to something not specifically known to the person you are communicating with. A and an are used before nouns that introduce something or someone you have not mentioned before:For example "I saw an elephant this morning." "I ate a banana for lunch." A and an are also used when talking about your profession:For example "I am an English teacher." "I am a builder." You use a when the noun you are referring to begins with a consonant (b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y or z), for example, "a city", "a factory", and "a hotel". You use an when the noun you are referring to begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u)

Pronunciation changes this rule. It's the sound that matters, not the spelling. Note! If the next word begins with a consonant sound when we say it, for example, "university" then we use a. If the next word begins with a vowel sound when we say it, for example "hour" then we use an. We say "university" with a "y" sound at the beginning as though it were spelt "youniversity". So, "a university" IS correct. We say "hour" with a silent h as though it were spelt "our". So, "an hour" IS correct. (Lots of people get this wrong - including native speakers.)

Definite Article the (determiners) There are two ways to pronounce "the". One "thuh" and the other "thee". To learn how to pronounce them see the pronunciation files: How to pronounce "the". We use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about. "She's got two children; a girl For example: and a boy. The girl's eight and the boy's fourteen." We use the to talk about geographical points on the globe.

the North Pole, the equator We use the to talk about rivers, oceans and seas
For example:

the Nile, the Pacific, the English For example: channel We also use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing.

For example:

the rain, the sun, the wind, the wor ld, the earth, the White House etc..

However if you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an.

"I could hear the wind." / "There's a cold wind blowing." For example: "What are your plans for the future?" / "She has a promising future ahead of her."

The is also used to say that a particular person or thing being mentioned is the best, most famous, etc. In this use, 'the' is usually given strong pronunciation whether or not it preceeds a vowel:

For example:

"Harry's Bar is the place to go." "You don't mean you met the Tony Blair, do you?"

!Note - The doesn't mean all:-

For example:

"The books are expensive." = (Not all books are expensive, just the ones I'm talking about.) "Books are expensive." = (All books are expensive.)

No article
We usually use no article to talk about things in general:Inflation is rising. People are worried about rising crime. (Note! People generally, so no article) You do not use an article when talking about sports. My son plays football. Tennis is expensive.

For example:

You do not use an article before uncountable nouns when talking about them generally. Information is important to any organisation. Coffee is bad for you.

For example:

You do not use an article before the names of countries except where they indicate multiple areas or contain the words (state(s), kindom, republic, union). Kingdom, state, republic and union are nouns, so they need an article. No article - Italy, Mexico, Bolivia, England For example: Use the - the UK (United Kingdom), the USA (United States of America), the Irish Republic Multiple areas! the Netherlands, the Philippines, the British Isles

Definite Article The is called the definite articlebecause it points out a particular object or class. This is the book I was talking about. The dodo bird is extinct. Indefinite Article A is called the indefinite article because it points out an object, but not any particular specimen. a book, a dog, a lawn mower The indefinite article has two forms: A is used before words beginning with a consonant sound or an aspirated h: a car, a lamb, a hope, a habit, a hotel An is used before words beginning with a vowel sound: an ape, an image, an untruth, an honorable man