a = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects) with consonants -------> She has a dog. -------> I work in a factory. an = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects) with vowels (a,e,i,o,u) ------> Can I have an apple? ------> She is an English teacher. the = definite article (a specific object that both the person speaking and the listener know) ------> The car over there is fast. ------> The teacher is very good, isn't he? The first time you speak of something use "a or an", the next time you repeat that object use "the". ------> I live in a house. The house is quite old and has four bedrooms. ------> I ate in a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant was very good. DO NOT use an article with countries, states, counties or provinces, lakes and mountains except when the country is a collection of states such as "The United States". He lives in Washington near Mount Rainier. They live in northern British Columbia. Use an article with bodies of water, oceans and seas - My country borders on the Pacific Ocean DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about things in general I like Russian tea. She likes reading books. DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about meals, places, and transport He has breakfast at home. I go to university. He comes to work by taxi.

There are two types of articles indefinite 'a' and 'an' or definite 'the'. A and an are the indefinite articles. They refer to something not specifically known to the person you are communicating with. A and an are used before nouns that introduce something or someone you have not mentioned before, they are also used when talking about your profession ( I'm a teacher) You use the when you know that the listener knows or can work out what particular person/thing you are talking about. You should also use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about. We use the to talk about geographical points on the globe (the North Pole, the equator) We use the to talk about rivers, oceans and seas(the Nile, the Pacific, the English channel) We also use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing(the rain, the sun, the wind, the world, the earth, the sky,etc. ) However if you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an. (I could hear the wind." / "There's a cold wind blowing) The is also used to say that a particular person or thing being mentioned is the best, most famous, etc. In this use, 'the' is usually given strong pronunciation (You don't mean you met the Tony Blair, do you?)

the= definite article (used with any noun, singular or plural), specific a= indefinite article (used with a singular noun that begins with a consonant), non-specific an= indefinite article (used with a singular noun that begins with a vowel), non-sepcific The doctor has arrived. (A specific doctor has arrived) A doctor has arrived. (One/ Any doctor has arrived. We do not know who this is necessarily) The ambulance has arrived. (A specific ambulance has arrived.) An ambulance has arrived. (One/ Any ambulance has arrived.) Source: self (American English)