Articles (a, an, and the) are a type of determiner. In English, choosing which article to use—or whether to use an article at all—can be challenging. Although there are exceptions, the following general guidelines can help.

a or an

Use the indefinite articles a and an with singular count nouns. Use a before a consonant sound (a car) and an before a vowel sound (an uncle). Consider sound rather than spelling: a house, an hour.

A or an tells readers they do not have enough information to identify specifically what the noun refers to. Compare these sentences:

I need a new coat for the winter.

I saw a coat that I liked at Dayton’s, but it wasn’t heavy enough.

The coat in the first sentence is hypothetical rather than actual. Since it is indefinite to the writer and the reader, it is used with a, not the. The second sentence refers to an actual coat, but since the writer cannot expect the reader to know which one, it is used with a rather than the.

If you want to speak of an indefinite quantity rather than just one indefinite thing, use some or any with a noncount noun or a plural count noun. Use any in negative sentences and questions.

This stew needs some more salt.

I saw some plates that I liked at Gump’s.

This stew doesn’t need any more salt.

the

Use the definite article the with both count and noncount nouns whose identity is known or is about to be made known to readers. The necessary information for identification can come from the noun phrase itself, from elsewhere in the text, from context, from general knowledge, or from a superlative.

The phrase in front of Dwinelle Hall identifies the specific fountain.

The word store is preceded by the, which directs our attention to the information in the previous sentence, where the store is first identified.

The context shows that she is referring to her office door.

There is only one living pope.

The superlative best identifies the noun singer.

No article

Noncount and plural count nouns can be used without an article when making generalizations:

In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.

—BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Franklin refers not to a particular death or specific taxes but to death and taxes in general, so no article is used with death or with taxes.

English differs from many other languages that use the definite article to make generalizations. In English, a sentence like The ants live in colonies can refer only to particular, identifiable ants, not to ants in general.

It is sometimes possible to make general statements with the or a/an and singular count nouns.

First-year college students are confronted with many new experiences.

A first-year student is confronted with many new experiences.

The first-year student is confronted with many new experiences.

These sentences all make the same general statement, but the emphasis of each sentence is different. The first sentence refers to first-year college students as a group, the second focuses on a hypothetical student taken at random, and the third sentence, which is characteristic of formal written style, projects the image of a typical student as representative of the whole class.