The definite article – 

the
The definite article – the
The definite article the is the same for all genders in singular and in plural.

 the boy
 the girl
 the cat
 the computers

If the following word begins with a consonant, we speak [ðə], if the following word begins with
a vowel, we speak [ði:].

[ðə] [ði:]

the following word starts with a spoken vowel

the following word starts with a spoken consonant

the English girl
the girl
the orange book
the book
the old school
the school

Compare the following words:

Here [j] is pronounced at the beginning of the word Here [ʌ] is pronounced at the beginning of the word
→ the unit → the uncle

We have listed some examples in the following table. There you can see when we use the definite
article and when we don't.

without the definite article with the definite article – the

general words (definite)

general words (indefinite)

I've read a book on the life of Bill Clinton.

Life is too short.
I like the flowers in your garden.
I like flowers.

names of persons on the singular, relatives family names in the plural

 without the definite article with the definite article – the

Peter and John live in London.

The Smiths live in Chicago.
Aunt Mary lives in Los Angeles.

public buildings, institutions, means of transport public buildings, institutions, means of

(indefinite) transport (definite)

Mandy doesn't like school. The school that Mandy goes to is old.

We go to school by bus. The bus to Dresden leaves at 7.40.

Some people go to church on Sundays. The round church in Klingenthal is famous.

names of countries in the singular, summits of mountains,

continents, towns names of countries in the plural, mountain
ranges, regions
Germany
the United States of America
France
the Netherlands
Mount Whitney
the Highlands
Mount McKinley
the Rocky Mountains
Africa
the Alps
Europe
the Middle East
Cairo
the west of Australia
New York

single islands groups of islands

Corfu the Bahamas

Bermuda the British Isles

Sicily the Canaries

parks, lakes, streets name with of-phrase, oceans, seas, rivers

Central Park the Statue of Liberty

Hyde Park the Tower (of London)

Lake Michigan the Isle of Wight

Loch Ness the Atlantic (Ocean)

 without the definite article with the definite article – the

the Mediterranean (Sea)

42nd Street the Nile

Oxford Street the Rhine

the Suez Canal

months, days of the week (definite)

months, days of the week (indefinite)
I always remember the Monday when I had an
The weekend is over on Monday morning.
accident.
July and August are the most popular months for holidays.
The August of 2001 was hot and dry.

We use the seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn, winter) with or without the definite
article.

 in summer
 in the summer

The American English word fall is always used with the definite article the.

Sometimes we use the article and sometimes we do not. It often depends on the context. Watch
the following example:

1. The student goes to school.

2. The mother goes to the school.

In the first sentence we do not use the definite article, in the second we do. The student goes to
school for its primary purpose, so we do not use the article.

The mother might talk to a teacher, for example. She visits the school for a different reason. That's
why we use the definite article the in the second sentence.

The indefinite article – a, an

 1. The indefinite article – a
The indefinite article a is the same for all genders.

 a boy
 a girl
 a cat

The indefinite article has no plural form.

 a boy → boys

We use an if the following word starts with a spoken vowel.

the following word starts with a

the following word starts with a spoken vowel
spoken consonant

a boy an aunt

a school an old school

a girl an American girl

Mind the pronunciation of the following word.

The first sound we speak is [j], so we The first sound we speak is [ʌ], so we
use a → a unit use an → an uncle

2. Use of the indefinite article a/an

2.1. before phrases of time and measurements (per week/weekly)

 We have English 4 times a week.

 I go on holiday twice a year.
 Our car can do 220 kilometres an hour.
 Tomatoes are $2 a kilo.

2.2. before phrases of jobs

 My father is a car mechanic.

 2.3. with a noun complement

 He is a good boy.

2.4. before phrases of nationality

 Bruce Springsteen is an American.

2.5. half/quite

 We need half a pound of sugar.
 This is quite a good story.