Articles: a / an / the
Articles go before nouns. Use a/an for one new thing, and the for a specific known thing. Russian has no articles, so this needs practice.
a or an?
Use a/an with one countable thing mentioned for the first time. Use a before a consonant sound and an before a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u).
- •I have a dog.
- •She is an engineer.
- •It is an apple.
the for something specific
Use the when both people know which thing we mean, or when we mention it a second time. The works for one or many things.
- •Close the door, please.
- •I bought a book. The book is good.
- •The sun is bright today.
No article
We usually use no article before plural or uncountable nouns when we speak in general, and before most names of people and cities.
- •I like coffee.
- •Cats are nice animals.
- •Anna lives in London.