Editors Wobbly Desk
The Classroom
Addictionary
The instructor enters the class juggling with balls to keep his brain in motion mode, not letting him drift into sleep mode easily.
Do you know how to use a, an and the?
Jobs
When we say what people’s jobs are, we usually use a/an.
He’s an architect.
She’s a scientist.
My grandmother was a teacher.
Singular nouns
We use a/an — the indefinite article — when we talk about something for the first time, or something that is part of a group or type.
I saw a good film yesterday.
Do you want a drink?
We use a when the word that follows it begins with a consonant sound. We use an when it’s followed by a vowel sound. This makes pronunciation easier.
She has a university degree.
It took me an hour to get home.
We use the — the definite article — when the listener already knows which thing we are talking about because it was mentioned before or because there’s only one of them.
I’m going to take the dog for a walk.
Have you seen the car key?
They go to the school next to the bridge.
Things in general
When we talk about things in general, we normally use a plural or uncountable noun with no article.
Birds eat worms.
Water freezes at 0°C.
Children need a lot of sleep.
Particular groups of things
When we talk about a particular group of things, we use the.
We went to the zoo and saw the kangaroos. (These are the particular kangaroos in that zoo — not kangaroos in general.)
