ARTICLES A- AN - THE

The indefinite article - a

The indefinte article is the a is the same for all genders. a boy, a girl, a cat

The indefinte article has no plural form. a boy - boys

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

The following word starts with a consonant a boy

a school a girl

The following word starts with a vowel

an aunt an old school an American girl

Be careful with the pronunciation of the following word. i.e. A unit but An uncle

This is because the U in unit sounds like a consonant so we use an A

The U in Uncle is a vowel

Use of the indefinite article a/an

-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. -before phrases of jobs

My father is a car mechanic.

-before phrases of nationality Bruce Springsteen is an American. -before half/quite We need half a pound of sugar. This is quite a good story.

The Definite Article -THE-

The definite article the is the same for all genders in singular and in plural. the boy,the boys, the girl, the girls, the cat, the cats, the computer, the computers Its use in English is very different from how its used in Spanish.

Without the Definite article General words (indefinite) Life is too short. I like flowers. Names of persons on the singular, relatives Peter and John live in London. Aunt Mary lives in Los Angeles. Public buildings, institutions, means of transport (indefinite) Tom doesn't like school. We go to school by bus. Some people go to church on Sundays.

With the Definite Article General words (definite) I've read a book on the life of Bill Clinton. I like the flowers in your garden. Family names in the plural The Smiths live in Chicago. Public buildings, institutions, means of transport (definite) The school that Tom goes to is old. The bus to Dresden leaves at 7.40. The round church in Klingenthal is famous.

Names of countries in the singular; summits of mountains; continents; towns Germany, France; Mount Whitney, Mount McKinley; Africa, Europe; Cairo, New York
Single islands

Names of countries in the plural; mountain ranges; regions

The United States of America, the Netherlands; the Highlands, the Rocky Mountains, the Alps; the Middle East, the west of Australia
Groups of islands

Corfu, Bermuda, Sicily

The Bahamas, the British Isles, the Canaries

parks; lakes; streets

Central Park, Hyde Park; Lake Michigan, Loch Ness; 42nd Street, Oxford Street

name with of-phrase; oceans; seas; rivers

the Statue of Liberty, the Tower (of London), the Isle of Wight; the Atlantic (Ocean); the Mediterranean (Sea); the Nile, the Rhine, the Suez Canal months, days of the week (definite)

months, days of the week (indefinite)

The weekend is over on Monday morning. July and August are the most popular months for holidays.

I always remember the Monday when I had an accident. The August of 2001 was hot and dry.