Articles - A/An/The

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted. Most nouns in English are countable.

• I have two dogs.
• Sandra has three cars.
• Jessie has ten dollars.

Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are not counted in English. This usually has to do with the way English speakers think of these nouns. We often picture these nouns as a single concept or one big thing which is hard to divide. Many of these words are countable in other languages, but they ARE NOT countable in English. Generally, we do not use plural forms of these words; however some of these words do end in "s", so don't get confused.

• Mack drinks a lot of water.
• Cindy gives great advice.
• Paul enjoys politics. Ends with "s" but uncountable

Uncountable nouns tend to belong to one of the following categories:

Liquids and Gases	Solid and Granular Substances	Energy Words and Forces	Subjects	Grouped Concepts	Information and Abstract Concepts
water	wood	electricity	French	fruit	information
coffee	metal	sunshine	chemistry	money	advice
milk	cheese	radiation	economics	food	education
air	sand	heat	science	vocabulary	democracy
oxygen	rice	magnetism	math	news	intelligence

Uncountable Plurals               

Sometimes in English, we do use uncountable nouns in plural forms. This is most commonly done with liquids and substances. It usually takes on the meaning of "cups of", "bottles of" or "types of".

• We'll have two coffees. Cups of coffee
• I bought three waters. Bottles of water
• The company produces two leathers. Types of leather

Different Meanings

There are certain words which have multiple meanings. It is possible for one meaning to be countable and the other to be uncountable. Take for example the word "light":

• I couldn't see anything because there was no light. Uncountable noun
• The Christmas tree was covered with hundreds of lights. Countable noun

Generally, the rules are still the same. The first use of "light" is a form of energy. The second use of "light" means "small light bulbs", which are normal countable objects.

ARTICLES BASIC RULES –

The article A is used before singular, countable nouns which begin with consonant sounds. The article AN is used before singular, countable nouns which begin with vowel sounds. A and AN are called indefinite articles. "Indefinite" means "not specific".

Use A(AN) when you are talking about a thing in general, NOT a specific thing.  Examples:

• I need a phone. Not a specific phone, any phone
• Mark wants a bicycle. Not a particular bicycle, a bicycle in general
• Do you have a driver's license? In general

Use A(AN) when talking about a thing which is new, unknown, or introduced to a listener for the first time. Also use A(AN) when you are asking about the existence of something. Examples:

• I have a car. The car is being introduced for the first time.
• Tom is a teacher. This is new information to the listener.
• Is there a dictionary in your backpack? Asking about the existence of the dictionary

THE is called a definite article. "Definite" means "specific". Use THE when talking about something which is already known to the listener or which has been previously mentioned, introduced, or discussed.

• I have a cat. The cat is black.
• There is a book in my backpack. The book is very heavy.
• Do you know where I left the car keys? The listener knows which specific car keys you are talking about.
• Do you own a car? Is the car blue? You assume they do have a car after asking about it in the first sentence.
• Nobody lives on the Moon. The Moon is known to everyone.

IMPORTANT: You can use THE with both singular nouns and plural nouns.

• I saw a bears in Yellowstone National Park. Not Correct
• I saw bears in Yellowstone National Park. Correct
• I saw the bear in Yellowstone National Park. Correct
• I saw the bears in Yellowstone National Park. Correct

Use THE with nouns modified by ranking or ordering expressions such as "the first", "the second", "the third", "the next", "the last", "the previous", "the following", "the penultimate", etc.

• This is the fifth day of our conference.
• I'll pay the next time we have dinner.
• Don't forget the following rule.

Do not use articles when generalizing about uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns.

Curiosity is a great trait. Uncountable

• Water is an important resource. Uncountable
• Vegetables are good for you. Plural countable

The expressions "a few" and "a little" mean "some" and express the idea that you have more than expected.

• He always carries a few dollars for emergencies.
• He had a little difficulty with his homework.
• She has a few friends who can help her move.

HOWEVER: The expressions "few" and "little" (without an article) mean "not much" and express the idea that you have less than expected.

• Unfortunately, I had little time to enjoy New York because I had to work so much.
• Sadly, he has few people in his life.
• They have little money, so their daughter cannot pay her tuition.

BUT REMEMBER: When the words "only" or "just" are used, "a few" and "a little" also emphasize the meaning "not much".

• Unfortunately, I only had a little time to enjoy New York because I had to work so much.
• Sadly, he just has a few people in his life.
• They only have a little money, so their daughter cannot pay her tuition.

THE can be used with plural family names to refer to the family as a group.

• The Robinsons love to vacation in Florida.
• The Shinoharas are originally from Japan.
• My brother lives next door to the Jacksons.

MORE PARTICULAL \ NO USE OF ARTICLES

Article with illness –

Generally, articles are not used with the names of illnesses or diseases.

• Dr. Smith visits schools and universities to educate students on AIDS.
• Oncologists are doctors who specialize in treating cancer.
• There are several medications that can be used to treat malaria.

HOWEVER: There are some illnesses which require THE.

• the measles
• the flu
• the mumps
• the bubonic plague

MOREOVER: There are a few health conditions or illnesses which can be used with both A(AN) as well as THE and follow general article use. This category includes most aches, pains, growths, and attacks.

• a cold
• a heart attack
• a stroke
• a wart / tumor / growth / etc.
• a sore throat / sore back/ sore foot / etc.
• a headache / toothache / backache / etc.

REMEMBER: This last category follows general article use. Study the examples below

• John has a cold. The cold was pretty bad.
• Nancy had a heart attack. The heart attack seriously weakened her heart.
• Deb had a sore throat. The sore throat made it hard to talk.

Article with direction –

If a direction (north, west, southeast, left, right) directly follows a verb, do not use an article with the direction.

• We need to walk south.
• They drove north all day.
• At the stop sign, turn left and walk three blocks.

HOWEVER: If a direction follows a preposition, you must use THE.

• We need to walk to the south.
• Our house is in the north.
• The grocery store is on the right.

MOREOVER: Use THE with compass directions when referring to them as special geographic or cultural regions.

• We love the South.
• Have you ever visited the East?
• The West has better national parks.

Article with country name, ethnicity and language –

THE can be combined with certain adjectives to refer to a group of people such as "the blind", "the elderly", "the rich", "the French", "the Sioux", etc.

• He is elderly. Adjective
• The organization helps the elderly. Elderly people

REMEMBER: This is especially important in situations where nationalities or ethnic groups and their languages might be confused. In such situations, THE is used to specify that we are talking about the nationality or ethnic group rather than the language.

• I like French. Language
• I like the French. The French people

HOWEVER: When generalizing about nationalities or ethnic groups that end in "-ans", such as "Americans", "Mexicans", and "Hawaiians", THE is not usually used.

• Americans watch a lot of TV.
• Germans drink a lot of beer.

Do not use THE with the names of most countries unless the name contains a word such as "States", "Kingdom", "Republic", "Emirates", "Union", "Coast", etc.

• I love Italy.
• John used to live in Japan.
• He lives in the United States.

SIMILARLY: Don't use THE with states, provinces, and cities unless THE is specifically part of the name or contains a word such as "Territory" or "Coast".

• He lives in California.
• Ladakh is in India.
• The Northwest Territories is a province in Canada.

EXCEPTIONS: THE is used with "the Netherlands" as well as with many nations which are island chains, such as "the Philippines", "the Maldives", "the Bahamas", etc. Additionally, in the past, THE was used with certain countries such as "the Sudan", "the Gambia", and "the Congo"; this usage is becoming less common.

• He lives in the Netherlands.
• I visited the Bahamas last year.

Article with time expressions –

Time expressions can be especially confusing. THE is used in some time expressions such as:

• in the morning
• in the afternoon
• in the evening
• during the night
• during the day
• the day before yesterday
• the day after tomorrow
• the fall
• the summer
• We'll meet in the afternoon.
• Jake loves to go camping in the fall.
• There was a small earthquake during the night.

HOWEVER: In other time expressions, no article is used:

• at night
• at noon
• at midnight
• all day
• all night
• all month
• every month
• every year
• last night
• last Friday
• yesterday
• tomorrow
• Did you sleep well last night?
• I'll see you tomorrow.
• We are meeting for lunch at noon.

MOREOVER: There are some expressions which can take both A(AN) and THE such as:

• a/the whole day
• a/the whole month
• an/the entire year
• an/the entire decade

A list where articles are not used generally –

• No article before plural countable general use of noun
• No article before non-countable general use
• No article before the name of lakes and waterfall, but ‘the’ before the name of oceans, seas, and river.
• No article before a single mountain name, use ‘the’ before the mountain range
• No article before the name of a holiday.
• No article generally for illness with exception
• No article with direction with exception
• No article before the country with exception
• No article before the language with exception

TABLE -                                    

Use THE with the names of:	Do not use an article with:
oceans	individual lakes
seas	individual islands
coasts	beaches
rivers	waterfalls
swamps	individual mountains (except the Matterhorn)
archipelagos	canyons (except the Grand Canyon)
collections of lakes (such as the Great Lakes)	people's first names
mountain chains	streets (except the High Street)
deserts	public squares
references on the globe (such as the Equator, the North Pole)	hospitals
geographic regions (such as the Northwest, the Middle East)	stadiums
bridges (except Tower Bridge)	malls
pagodas	parks
hotels	churches
theaters	temples
museums	universities
institutes	colleges
skyscrapers	languages
the Sun, the Moon	religions
extraordinary works of art or architecture (such as the Mona Lisa, the Colosseum, the Great Wall of China, and the Taj Mahal)	Days, Months, Holidays

Practice and examples (To be added regularly)  -

'Storm' is countable, never seen a plural use of storm.