Articles - a, an & the - English Grammar lesson

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Learn English | Let's Talk - Free English Lessons
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Published 2014-11-26
Articles - a, an & the - English Grammar lesson

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The 3 articles in English are a, an and the. The learner has to decide noun-by-noun which one of the articles to use.

In fact, there are 4 choices to make, because sometimes no article is necessary. Native-speakers, of course, use the articles correctly without thinking. English learners, on the other hand, need to have some guidelines for making the right choice - particularly those learners whose own language does not have articles.

The guidelines that follow in this lesson should help ESL students to a basic understanding of English article use.

The words a, an and the are known as articles.
• We use an before words that begin with vowels (a,e,i,o,u).

E.g. I found an orange boat.

However there are few exceptions like the words honest and hour. In the words honest and hour the alphabet h is silent and therefore the letter o becomes the first alphabet of the word and hence we use the article an.

E.g. Mr. Smith is an honest man.
I will be with you in an hour.

We use a before words that begin with consonants (all the letters of the alphabet except the vowels).

E.g. Bumble is a baby elephant.
• We use the before words that we have already spoken about.
E.g. I bought an apple. The apple is very sweet.
All Comments (21)
  • @simranbuddy
    For a Beginner it is good and simple to understand. I as a Voice trainer I feel it was explained beautifully with just one correction .....An is is used not just in front of a Vowel but Vowel sounds.
  • @I3e1ng
    You stated that one uses "an" before a word that begins with a vowel, and "a" before a word that begins with a consonant. Most teachers teach this rule, but it is incorrect. You use "an" when the word after it begins with a vowel SOUND, and "a" when the word after it begins with a consonant SOUND. Here are examples of words that begin with vowels, but we use "a" for them, because they begin with consonant SOUNDS: - A university - A unicycle. Here is a word that begins with a consonant, but we use "an" for it, because it begins with a vowel SOUND: - An x-ray. The reason why one should use "an" before a word that begins with a silent h, is because words that begin with silent h also begin with vowel sounds.
  • @EngBell_108
    A/An is used with vowel sounds, not with the vowel letters.
  • @navinjkumbla6779
    Thanks Tash, you have taught how to use articles. It's simple and informative teaching by you.
  • @vijayprakaash2227
    Very impressive teaching skills you have. Thanks Ma'am . Waiting for new videos.
  • @vicky00909
    If a teacher like you then who gonna concentrate on study.......keep looking on you......beautiful teacher....
  • @Music_lover_o7
    मॅम आप इंग्लिश मे बात कर रही हो अगर हमे इतनी इंग्लिश अति तो हम ये व्हिडीओ नहि देखते
  • @AnandSingh-kt4th
    I still reccommend dear sir videos on english........ best explanation ever on it Tash u need training froM Dear sir videos.......
  • @subekshyakhatri1649
    Thanks you mam for teaching in easy way and you teach easily with out wasting our time thank you so much mam
  • @JahanZeb1976
    You are an excellent trainer like other trainers are. Especially Cema is awesome! Regards,
  • @zeeshanazhar2615
    i've a one question. you just focus on the Article A and there example is "this is a brilliant book. if i use the word ''excellent'' except ''brilliant'' then can i replce the artical a into an or not?
  • @pvraju4926
    Beautiful..&..physical strong....and also excellent explanation