When to use an article and when not to

Actually, the use of articles in English is pretty complicated, and many writers get confused about when to use them. The list of links below offers different situations to help you avoid common mistakes with articles.

Articles with Abstract Nouns (anger, health, joy...)
Articles with Singular, Plural and Uncountable Nouns (dog, dogs, water...)
Articles with Country and State Names (the USA, Japan, Alaska...)

When to use a/an and when to use the

Generally, we use an article (or a word such as "Mary's" or "this") before a singular countable noun.

• There is a bag on the table.

The can also be used with many uncountable nouns (but don't use a or an).

• Please give me the tea now.

But how do we decide between a or an and the? The is used before a noun such as "table" when the writer and readers know which one, when there is only one, or when the noun is identified within the sentence.

• The milk truck arrives every morning at 6:00.
• Who is the mayor of Aspen?
• There's the woman who works at the library.

Compare the sentences above with these:

• A noisy truck goes by here early every morning. (It's just a truck, not any particular truck, and the writer is mentioning it for the first time.)
• He said he was the mayor of a small town. (The writer doesn't know or doesn't choose to identify the town.)
• We met an interesting woman at the library last week. (Again, this is the first mention of this particular woman.)