the is called a definite article, we use the with all nouns and for specific nouns, like a certain person or a particular thing. For example:
Where is the teacher?
The book is on the table
Did you bring the cake?
The examples above are talking about specific things or people. In the first example, they are looking for a specific teacher, maybe a biology teacher or an English teacher. They are not looking for any teacher, they want to know where that particular teacher is.
The other two examples have a similar concept, example two is talking about a specific book on a specific table. And the third example is talking about a particular cake, maybe a birthday cake or a wedding cake.
The indefinite articles a/an are used when talking about a general or non-specific noun.
Where is a teacher?
A book is on the table.
Did you bring a cake?
But unlike the definite article, a/an can only be used with singular countable nouns. We can’t say a teachers, a books, a cakes. Instead we use the definite article: the teachers, the books, the cakes.
Where are the teachers?
The books are on the table.
Did you bring the cakes?
Remember! In English we use an with any noun that starts with a vowel sound, NOT with a noun that starts with a vowel. This is very important because many nouns that start with a vowel don’t have a vowel sound such as university, we say a university NOT an university. Also, many vowel sounding words don’t start with a vowel for example hour, we say an hour.
Below is a list of nouns you can use ‘an’ with:
- an oven
- an apple
- an honour
- an octopus
- an auntie
- an injury
- an umbrella
- an egg
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