ARTICLES

a, an, the

TYPES OF ARTICLES
DEFINITE

the

INDEFINITE
a
an

the
So many rules

1. Because theres only one

The President of America is visiting Russia.
The moon looks beautiful tonight.
The King of Saudi Arabia lives in Riyadh.

Or:
Amirah is the tallest girl in this class.
Diriyah is the oldest part of Riyadh.

2. Because theres only one in

that place
Notice the articles in bold.
Why did we use the?

Reason

We live in a small village next to the church.

the church in our village

Dad, can I borrow the car?

the car that belongs to

our family

When we stayed at my grandmothers house we

went to the beach every day.

the beach near my

grandmothers house

Look at the boy over there.

the boy I am pointing at

3. Because weve already talked

about it
A woman is eating lunch in the park.
The woman is wearing a blue sweater and
trousers.
Oh look, theres a beautiful butterfly sitting on
the sweater now.
The butterfly is yellow in color.

4. To talk about all things together

The elephant is a big animal.
all elephants are big.

The camel lives in the desert.

all camels live in all deserts.

Joe plays the piano really well.

any piano, all pianos.

5. to talk about a system or service:

How long does it take on the train.

I heard it on the radio.

You should tell the police.

6. to talk about groups of people:

Life can be very hard for the poor.
I think the rich should pay more taxes.
She works for a group to help the
disabled.

Not with names

(-) Shakespeare wrote (-) Romeo &
Juliet.
(-) Paris is the capital of (-) France.

(-) Spain is in (-) Europe.

1. With some countries names

countries whose names include words
like kingdom, states or republic:
the United Kingdom
the Kingdom of Nepal
the Czech Republic

2. With some countries names

countries which have plural nouns as
their names:
the Netherlands
the Philippines

3. With some countries names

countries whose names include words
like kingdom, states or republic:
the United Kingdom
the Kingdom of Nepal
the Czech Republic

4. With geographical features

mountains, islands, rivers, oceans, canals

the Himalayas
The Nile
the Atlantic Ocean
the Amazon
the Suez Canal.

5. With newspapers

The Times

The Washington Post

6. With names of buildings, art

the Empire State Building

the Taj Mahal

the Mona Lisa
the Quran

7. With names of organizations

the United Nations

the Womens Union

The Labor Party

8. With names of hotels, restaurants

the Ritz Carlton
the Globe
the Kings Head
the Wolseley

9. With names of families

the Obamas
the Jacksons

the Al Sauds

7. With names of organizations

the United Nations

the Womens Union

The Labor Party