If you ever wonder what article to use in a particular situation, here’s a good way to remember How to Use Articles in the English language.
First of all, a quick lesson in history. The English indefinite article A is a modern version of the word ONE. That’s it – A simply means one. And if you know a little Spanish, then you know that the indefinite article in Spanish is either Una or Un, which literally mean One in that language. The same in German – the indefinite article is Eine, which means One.
So, what does this tell us? Well, let’s consider a sentence:
A woman was walking down the street.
What does this sentence really mean, considering what we’ve just learned? Here’s what it means:
One woman was walking down the street.
So, it’s obvious here that we’re talking about this woman for the first time; otherwise we wouldn’t be saying “One woman.” Just think back to your own experience of telling a story, whatever language is your native one.
When you begin telling a story and you mention someone for the first time, you say: “One man was…” Again, you say ‘One’ because you are mentioning him for the first time.
Anywhere else in the story you wouldn’t call him “One man” again. No – you would refer to him differently. So, how would you refer to that woman from the first sentence if you wanted to say something else about her – that she was beautiful, for example? Well, let’s try:
The woman was beautiful.
A little history again. The definite article THE comes from a word that is spelled very similarly. Can you guess what it is? Okay, ready or not – it’s the word THAT. That’s right – the English definite article THE means nothing but THAT!
So, in view of what we just learned, what does the sentence “The woman was beautiful” mean? It means:
THAT woman was beautiful.
So, let’s look at the two sentences again, and the picture will become even clearer:
A woman was walking down the street. The woman was beautiful.
LITERALLY MEANS:
One woman was walking down the street. That woman was beautiful.
I hope that this example helped you understand how to use the articles in English. Just think of A as One, and of The as That, and that will help you in most, though not all, cases.
And, by the way, the article An is the same as A, but you use it before a word that begins with a vowel when pronouncing it:
A book. An apple.
A man. An honest man.
Note that although the word honest begins with an h, which is a consonant, not a vowel, when you pronounce this word you don’t pronounce the h. This way, it’s as if the word starts with a vowel. So, we use the article An.
The use of English articles is more complex, but this should get you started. Best…
Questions? Go ahead and post one here.
Tutor Phil
Hi Phil,
Thanks for your explanation about how to distinguish articles. Yet I usually get confused in whether and when I should use the word ‘the’ before a noun. Could you give me some tips or any explanations?
Thank you very much
Sam
Hey, Sam.
Yes, this is a tough one for a non-native speaker. Some languages don’t have articles at all, and it is difficult to get used to having to use them. Begin by really thinking of A and An as just meaning One, and THE meaning That, and that will get you started on the path to mastery.
You gave me a good idea for a blog post. I’ll come back to using articles again on my blog. So, stop by often.
Here’s a great page I found that has some really good explanations and a bunch of examples on how to use A, An, The. Just scroll down that page to go straight to THE:
How to Use Articles
When I see that someone out there has a great explanation, I’m perfectly comfortable recommending them to you.
Enjoy and visit me again,
Tutor Phil
Discovered your site via yahoo the other day and absolutely think its great. Continue the truly amazing work.
Thanks, Cherry.
Hi, Phil
I’m familiar with grammar rules, but the problem is sometimes I can’t catch the difference between articles, or I can’t determine whether I should use them or not.
For example, the word ‘EARTH’. Some use it with the, others without. Another example is the word ‘SITUATION’. It depends on a/the situation.
Can you give me a reasonable explanations?
Best regards
If we talk about out planet, then both “Earth” and “the Earth” are acceptable.
Earth may also mean “soil” or “dirt.” In this case, you may use “the” if you’re talking about a specific kind of earth, or earth in a specific location:
“I like planting trees outside my town. The earth there is very rich.”
In this case, we’re talking about some particular earth – the earth outside my town.
The word “situation” works with both articles pretty much like any other noun.
A situation = One situation
The situation = That (particular) situation
“That is a bad situation. I wish I could do anything about the situation.”
This is the same as:
“That is ONE bad situation. I wish I could do anything about THAT situation.”
Hope this helps.
Thanks, tutor
You helped much, but I want more clarification. Why “they landed on Earth”, but “the Earth is our home”?
I understand the difference between the and a situation, but what to use in these sentences: “Whether to make a decision alone or consult with others depend on a/the situation. It depends on a/the situation”?
Best regards
You could say “They landed on Earth” or “They landed on the Earth.”
Both are acceptable.
You could also say ” The Earth is our home” or “Earth is our home.”
Both are acceptable, as well. The choice of the author here probably depended on the sound of the sentence; its rhythm. So, the music of the language will sometimes dictate the use of “the.”
The next example is tricky.
“Whether to make a decision alone or consult with others depends on a situation.”
Here, “a situation” is some situation not necessarily related to the decision. In other words, we’re talking about “some (or one) situation” that is outside the context in which the decision has to be made.
“Whether to make a decision alone or consult with others depends on the situation.
Now the situation is of one and only kind – the kind that is associated with the context of the decision.
Please note that understanding the etymology of “a” and “the” (meaning that they correspond to “one” and “that”) helps here, too. Observe:
“Whether to make a decision alone or consult with others depends on one situation.” (Do you see how “one” situation may have nothing to do with the decision?)
And this is different from:
“Whether to make a decision alone or consult with others depends on that situation.” (Note that in this case the situation is unmistakably the one in which the decision has to be made.)
Learning the use of articles for someone whose native language doesn’t have any can be very tricky. It goes deeper than learning a few rules. It’s often psychological. The way to really get it is to keep asking the questions you’re asking. So, feel free to keep this going. Whenever you come across the use that you’re not sure about, post the question.
I think I should write another post about this or devote a newsletter to this topic.
Good questions, Remula.
Thank you very much. You helped me much. Yes, it would be nice of you to add some topics, especially about semicolumns. I wonder how some people became polyglots, if studying one language takes them so much energy and time 🙂
Best regards
Well, remember that most polyglots don’t speak every language perfectly. In fact, and you probably know this, even native speakers make mistakes both in speech and in writing.
Just think of your goals. What are you trying to accomplish? Do you want to study in an English-based university? Or do you want to write a novel in English?
Different goals will require different levels of English.
Keep up being curious.
I want both of them 🙂
Thanks
Take both, Remula! 🙂
Thank you for another great article. Where else could anyone get that kind of information in such a perfect way of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I am on the look for such information.
I yesterday find one sites on the web that shows me how to write an essay. It is most good because writers are also good. As English is not my language, their guide assist me with my term papers.
Hey Prem,
I’m glad you finally found something that works for you! 🙂
Phil