Articles

Look at this sample situation:

A conversation between two friends:

Emma: I need to buy a new jacket. It’s really cold today.

Tom: Why don’t you wear the one you bought last month?

Emma: The buttons fell off yesterday. I’ll go to the shop near my house.

Tom: Oh, I love that shop! They have great clothes.

We can see from these examples that:

We use a/an when mentioning something for the first time or when it is not specific: a new jacket. We use the when it is clear which person or thing we are talking about, or when it has been mentioned before: the one you bought, the shop near my house.

Sometimes, no article (zero article) is used, especially with plural or uncountable nouns when speaking generally: They have great clothes.

Indefinite Article: A / An

The indefinite article a/an is used before singular countable nouns or adjectives followed by singular nouns.

A + consonant sounds

An + vowel sounds

Use

The indefinite article is used:

Before a noun which is mentioned for the first time and represents no particular person or thing:

Before a noun which represents a group of people, animals or things. We can also use the or zero article (no article) with the plural form in this sense:

When talking about someone's character, job or nationality:

but:

In certain numerical expressions: a couple / dozen / a thousand / million / a half / a quarter / a great deal of / a lot of / a great many:

To talk about: price per weight or item, distance per amount of fuel or speed, frequency per time and certain illnesses:

Before Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms + surname when we refer to someone unknown;

Note: It's common to misuse one instead of the indefinite article. Let's look at the difference between them:

We do not specify what kind of car. But:

means they only have one car, not more.

Definite Article: The

The definite article the is used before countable and uncountable nouns of all genders both in the singular and the plural.

Use

The definite article is used:

Before countable and uncountable nouns which are specific or have been mentioned before:

Before unique nouns:

Before names of seas, oceans, rivers, channels, canals, coasts, deserts, countries or regions (plural), groups of islands and mountain ranges:

With some buildings such as cinemas, theatres, museums, galleries, pubs, restaurants, hotels and some institutions:

With newspapers, ships, services and organisations:

With names of families and nationalities (when we refer to the whole family or nation):

Note: The is optional with nationalities ending in -s:

Before musical instruments, dances, inventions and the word radio:

but:

With the superlative degree of adjectives and adverbs.

Note: Most does not take the when it is a determiner:

With adjectives referring to classes of people:

With only, same and ordinal numbers + nouns:

Before noun + of + noun:

With titles (not accompanied by proper names):

but:

With historical events or references:

but:

With the North, the South, the East, the West:

Note on Pronunciation

The word the has two possible pronunciations, depending on the sound that follows it:

/ðə/ before a consonant sound:

/ðiː/ before a vowel sound:

We say /ðiː/ before vowel sounds, not necessarily vowel letters. So we say:

because university begins with the consonant sound /j/.

We also use /ðiː/ for emphasis, even before a consonant:

Zero Article: No Article

The definite article the is not used in certain cases

Use

Zero article (no article) is used:

Before countable and uncountable nouns which refer to something general or have not been mentioned before:

Before names of people, streets, cities, islands, countries, continents, mountains (singular), religious holidays, days of the week, months:

but:

The is optional before the names of seasons when the meaning is general:

but the is used when we talk about a specific season:

Before names of squares, parks, lakes, and stations:

With pubs, restaurants, hotels, shops, banks, etc. whose names include the name of their founder or another proper name (e.g. a place):

Before names of magazines, sports, games, colours, school subjects and languages:

but:

but:

Before names of airlines or companies:

With meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks):

but when we talk about a specific meal, we use the:

Before the words bed, court, church, home, hospital, prison, school, university, work when they are used for the purpose for which they exist:

but:

In this case the definite article the is used as Patrick didn't go to university to study but to do something else.

Before the words father, mother, mum, dad (when we refer to our own parents):

Before means of transport:

Also: on foot, on horseback

but:

With north, south, east, west when they are used as adverbs:

With some diseases (cancer, malaria, etc.):

In the FCE exam

Articles appear in every paper of the FCE exam; sometimes directly tested, other times indirectly through your grammar and writing/speaking accuracy.

Reading and Use of English

In part 2 (Open Cloze), one of the gaps might require you to decide whether to use a/an, the or no article at all. You need to look carefully at context clues: is it something general, specific or mentioned before?

_______ Amazon rainforest is home to many animals.

Answer: The 

There is only one Amazon rainforest in the world, so we use the.

In part 4 (Key Word Transformations), you might also need to think about articles when changing sentence structure, especially when transforming between specific and general meanings:

Did you know that a lot of rice is consumed in China?

CHINESE 

Did you know that _____________________________ a lot of rice?

Answer: the Chinese consume

Writing

Correct article use makes your writing sound clear, accurate, and natural, which is key to achieving a high score in Grammatical Range and Accuracy.

Use a/an when introducing something for the first time, the when referring back to it and no article when speaking generally.

In an essay, you might write:

We say the way because we’re referring to a specific and known way: how we all live in modern times.

Or if you are writing a review:

First mention: a museum

Second mention: the museum since now the listener/reader knows which one we're talking about.

In a report you might write:

No article before students because we’re talking about students in general, not a specific group.

Speaking

Using articles correctly helps you sound more natural , especially when giving opinions and talking generally.

Let's look at some sample ideas:

General ideas (no article):

Specific situations (with the):

In part 2 when comparing the two photos, you often describe things with the because both you and the examiner can see them:

In part 4 you will ned to use articles naturally when explaining your point of view:

Now try these exercises!