← Course index: Articles, Determiners and Quantifiers

Intermediate English · Grammar and usage

Unit 1 – Articles

a, an, the and no article

Step 1. Three choices

In English, we have three possibilities when we use a noun:

ArticleExample
a / anShe bought a new car.
theThe car was very expensive.
No articleShe likes cars.

Compare:

Remember: We often use a/an when we introduce a singular countable noun. We use the when the listener or reader can identify which person or thing we mean. We often use no article when we talk about things in general.

Step 2. Talking about things in general

We normally use no article with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns when we are talking about them generally.

Plural countable nouns

Dogs are intelligent animals.

Cars cause pollution.

Books can change people's lives.

Uncountable nouns

Money isn't everything.

Information is important.

Good health is essential.

Singular countable nouns

A dog is a good companion.

A car is expensive to buy.

A book can change your life.

Compare the meanings:

SentenceMeaning
Dogs are intelligent animals.Dogs in general.
A dog is a good companion.Any dog; a general statement about one member of the class.
The dogs in our garden are barking.Particular dogs.
Cars cause pollution.Cars in general.
The cars outside the house belong to my neighbours.Particular cars.
Important: A singular countable noun normally needs an article or another determiner, even when we are making a general statement. We say A dog is a good companion, not Dog is a good companion.

Exercise 1. Choose the correct expression

1. ___ are often good companions.

2. ___ is expensive to buy.

3. ___ doesn't grow on trees.

4. ___ on that shelf belong to the library.

5. ___ is sometimes difficult to find.

Answers
  1. Dogs
  2. A car
  3. Money
  4. The books
  5. Information

Step 3. Sports, games and musical instruments

Sports and games – no article
  • She plays tennis.
  • He plays football.
  • They play cricket.
  • My grandfather plays chess.
Musical instruments – the
  • She plays the piano.
  • He plays the guitar.
  • They play the violin.
  • My brother plays the drums.

Compare: My daughter plays tennis. / My daughter plays the piano.

Exercise 2. Choose the correct expression

1. My brother plays ___ football.

2. My sister plays ___ piano.

3. They play ___ cricket every weekend.

4. John plays ___ guitar in a band.

5. We often play ___ chess after dinner.

6. Mary plays ___ violin.

Answers
  1. football
  2. the piano
  3. cricket
  4. the guitar
  5. chess
  6. the violin

Step 4. Institutions and their normal purpose

In British English, we often leave out the article when we refer to an institution in connection with its usual purpose or activity.

But we use the when we are talking about a particular building or place, rather than the normal activity or purpose.

Normal purposeParticular building
He goes to school every day.His mother went to the school to see his teacher.
He was sent to prison.His wife went to the prison to visit him.
She is in hospital.I went to the hospital to visit her.
I go to church on Sundays.We stopped outside the church to admire its architecture.
British and American English: In hospital is standard British usage. American English commonly uses in the hospital.

Exercise 3. Choose the correct expression

1. My daughter goes to ___ every weekday.

2. I went to ___ to speak to the head teacher.

3. Her husband is in ___ at the moment.

4. We went to ___ to visit her.

Answers
  1. school
  2. the school
  3. hospital
  4. the hospital

Step 5. Academic subjects and general statements

We do not normally use an article before the names of academic subjects.

Compare: I enjoy history. / I enjoy the history of England.

We also use no article when making general statements with plural or uncountable nouns.

Compare: Books are expensive these days. (books in general) / The books on that shelf are expensive. (particular books).

Exercise 4. Choose the correct expression

1. She is studying ___ economics.

2. I'm interested in ___ history of England.

3. ___ need love and attention.

4. ___ next door are very noisy.

Answers
  1. economics
  2. the history
  3. Children
  4. The children

Step 6. Superlatives and identifying descriptions

We normally use the with superlatives.

We also use the in expressions which identify someone or something uniquely.

Compare: He is a good player. / He is the best player in the team.

Titles before names: When a title is placed directly before a person's name, we normally omit the: King Charles, President Lincoln. But we say the King of England and the President of the United States.

Exercise 5. Choose the correct expression

1. This is ___ best restaurant in town.

2. He's ___ good player, but not the best.

3. ___ President of the United States gave a speech.

4. ___ King Charles visited the town.

Answers
  1. the
  2. a
  3. the
  4. No article

Step 7. Reading: A school reunion

Read the passage and notice the articles.

When I left school, I wanted to become a doctor. I was particularly interested in biology and the history of medicine. I thought that working in a hospital would be exciting.

My best friend, Peter, had different ambitions. He wanted to become the best footballer in the country. He played football every Saturday and practised for hours during the week. His sister, meanwhile, was learning the piano.

We met again at a school reunion thirty years later. Peter was now a successful businessman, and his sister had become the most accomplished musician in her town. I had become a doctor, although I had spent most of my career working in the same hospital.

We talked about life, work and the people we had known. It was interesting to discover how differently our lives had developed.

Exercise 6. Answer the questions

1. What did the speaker want to become?

2. What did Peter play every Saturday?

3. What did Peter's sister become?

Answers
  1. A doctor
  2. Football
  3. A very accomplished musician

Step 8. Correct the mistakes and write your own paragraph

Exercise 7. Correct the mistakes

Choose the correct expression to replace the incorrect words. You only need to select the missing or corrected expression.

1. My son plays the tennis.

2. She plays piano very well.

3. He goes to the school every morning because he is a pupil.

4. I am interested in the history. (I mean the academic subject.)

5. The life is sometimes difficult.

6. She is the good player, but her brother is the best player in the team.

Answers
  1. tennis
  2. the piano
  3. school
  4. history
  5. life
  6. a good player

Exercise 8. Write about yourself

Write a short paragraph about yourself or someone you know. Try to include a sport or game, a musical instrument, an academic subject, a reference to school, university, work or hospital, a general statement about life, work, education or health, and a superlative.

This is a writing activity. There is no single correct answer. Check that your articles agree with the meaning you want to express.