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Grammar – Articles – When to use A, AN, or no article
In this grammar lesson, I teach about one of the most common problems that new English speakers have. There are a couple of very basic grammar rules you can follow to help you know when to use “a,” “an,” or no article. Take the free quiz below to test your understanding of the lesson.
Related Lessons
English Grammar – SHOULD & MUST
English Grammar – How Often? – ALWAYS, USUALLY, OFTEN, SOMETIMES, NEVER
English Grammar – ALL & EVERY – What’s the difference?
Order of Adjectives – Speak and Write like a Native English Speaker
English Grammar – Comparative & Superlative Adjectives – Exceptions
Quiz
Test your understanding of this English lesson
Test your understanding of the English lesson by answering these questions. You will get the answers and your score at the end of the quiz.
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I feel like a live English class. Thanks a lot
fine, i clearify my concept about articles. can you please teach us the artice “THE”
hi, what is a mistake in the sentence : She likes to wear makeups. which is in the quiz?
We use “like + doing something” instead of “like + to do something”
Thanks a lot
Hey guys!!! I do really appreciate all classes you prepare to share with us. I always learn something new. keep this website and the way you do it.
Thanks engvid.com
Thank you very much! It was very useful for me. Now I’m searching for article “When to use A (AN) or THE”.
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why the video dose not work with me ?
can you upload it again please
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dear alex,please give me detailed explaination of prepositions : with, by, of & from.
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your explanation very clear and easy to understand.
my regards
I enjoy this test. Its help to correct my grammar.
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Hi Alex,
Just be nosie, in the clip, from 6:55 to 6:58, the way you read a, i, e, o, u sounds like vietnamese ;). Thanks for the lesson!
Thanks for your interesting lesson Alex
thanks you very much alex!!!
Thanks a lot, Alex! I enjoyed listening your lesson. I hope my son will enjoy as well.
It is excellent…..
Dear Alex,
Many thanks for your excellent lesson.
I was happy to find you lesson on this topic today. Although I think my English grammar is rather good I had never heard these rules before and so I have never been confident in speaking or writing of such kind of sentences. Could you perhaps explain me What is the difference between The and A/An?
Thank you once more.
Olga
Hi Alex! I am from Russia. I am got problems with construct a sentence!Please more information about it! Thanks a lot
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Hi ! thank u v much but in a last question i m not understand of the answer. ((an orange car))
Thanks for your interesting lesson Alex
Thank For all.
Yes. They are awesome. Thank you!
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thank you so much for providing us this lessons of english speaking.
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you use the most appropriate term to this team-’genuine’.
thanks for the lesson..
yes, all yours english lesson seem so interestting for myself but i’d would like to know where can i practice that kind of exercises? I mean grammar exercises, skills..and so on..any english teacher can answer me please ? thanks in advance
i am laesadi thnx u for this great lesons and u are great teachers i have exam tommorow thnx
Thanks , great lesson
it’s the best
thank’s for u
I made a mistake in last question, where I have chosen “She likes to wear makeups”. Word “makeups” is plural so we can’t use “a” article for it. So could anybody tell me what is wrong with it? Thanks.
Actually I see, Looks like it is a mistake itself. It’s a non countable noun makeup.
thank Alex!
thanks
i like the way you teach ! is just im a slow learner . i talk the test twice already ,first 1 correct,2nd two.
Thank you, its helpfull
now i can understand..
thakz to my great teacher alex..
thank you for this video. It is useful and I enjoy when I watched it.
thanks a lot
but where is the lesson for ( THE ) ??
Hi,
Normally we won’t be use the term “the” for an individual (person’s name) but it is applicable only for group of persons.
Hope this might help you!
Happy new year!!!
Warm Regards,
Mohammed Shahith (India)
Hello everyone!I hope you are enjoying English lessons.Wonderful teachers thank you alllllllllllllll.
Thanks! :)
thaks a lot for your help to learn english
amaziiiiiiiiiiiing and really thank u
thanks! amazing!
Thank you Alex
Dear Alex, I’m still confused with some words. I live in Singapore and we use short forms for long words. I have just read an article and it states this “An SCDF(Singapore Civil Defense Force) spokesperson said that the casualty was pronounced dead at midnight, minutes just after the incident.”
Why do we use an when it starts with letter “S”?
There is another article and it states this “An HDB(House Development Board) flat owner were mad with the constructors as they made a lot of noise in the morning almost everyday and that disturbed his sleep.”
Why do we use an when it starts with “H”?
And many of my teachers said this “Whoever gets an F9 for this test will need to go to remedial lessons.”
Why do we use an when it starts with “F”?
I hope you can correct me.
hey muhamed , the reason why we used ” AN ” because we have stands of words such as ” SCDF , HDB , GPS , and GPR so we have to use AN . it’s a basic rule .
hope i was able to help u .
I’m SOro from Egypt .
really awesome . I’m a new fan of EngVid and i loved it so much :) keep going
Hi Alex! I am from sri lanka I am got problems with construct a sentence!Please more information about it! Thanks a lot and i dont no how to listen you lessan.Pl. help me
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I love to learn english any one there to help me please.
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God Bless!
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from, South Korea
Engvid is a good website to practice English at home. Thank for providing such opportunity to those who willing to learn English online.
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i have watch all of your videos and i enjoy them very much.but the only thing makes me confused is the phrase “as well”.i don’t know how to use it.i really hope that you will help me to solve this problem.thank you very much
i came to know the usage of articles now. but i have a doubt ,when we have to use nor article
Hey Alex,
Thank you very much..
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Thank you very much.
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hi!im tehreem.i loved ur way of teaching English and i just want to ask u about the related video of using articals thatz why we say “a student”,s sound is not in vowels.so can u plz explain this also about the noun too.thankxx and God bless you.
Thanks :)
hi, what is a mistake in the sentence : She likes to wear makeups. which is in the quiz?
plz reply alex or anybody
it will be like
she likes to wear makeup. because makeup itself is a plural form.
she likes to wear makeup is the correct way to say this. makeup -means more then one. there is no such word as makeups.
I am a big fan thanks a lot for all your hard work, this is an outstanding project cheers from mexico
Engvid is the most wonderful website.
thanks,it’s interesting
Well, I do like what you are presenting. It’s interesting to my students. They enjoy it very much. Thanks a ton!
Lovely!!!! thanks…
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THANKS ALEX I OBLIGED TO YOU
Hi my teachers I say many thanks
Really,it’s very effictive for a beginner.thanks for all the groupe.
thanks.alex
Alex can you comment on the following sentence. Is the use of A is right here?
This is to inform you that we are conducting a interview for the post of Principal for our school at Ville Parley Hill,Newton.
Hi Jovial,
In this case you should use “an” because the word “interview” begins with a vowel sound.
Hi Alex thanks for great efforts I want to know about ‘the’ article
Thanks a lot for taking time and reading the post. I am pleased that you corrected me.
hi;
I’m really glad when I find this website because it’s benifit for any body want infomation on Grammar.
thanks guyes.
thanks alex for help learn english me
Hi Alex,could you explain it to me why article “the” had been used in the sentence?…. ” We should be polite to the old.” Thanks.
Hi joneru,
Seniors are a specific group of people, so you must use “the old” in the context of your sentence.
Hi Alex,how are you?Hope that you will always find.I’m just curious about the article “An” in this sentence….”An needle is tool used for sewing clothes.” Is it correct article that had been used in the sentence?
You need an article in this sentence, but it should be “a needle,” because “needle” begins with a consonant sound. Similar to “a stop sign,” “a car,” “a bottle,” etc.
what is the difference between consonant and vowels?
Assalamu Alaikum.
In English we have 26 letters i.e “A to Z”
In these 26 letters you may minus 5 letters i.e “a,e,i,o and u” these 5 letters are represents “articles” and remaining 21 letters are consonants.
Hope this allusion/note helps you.
Please revert back if you any doubts on this explanation.
Warm Regards,
Mohammed Shahith (India)
Hi,
In previous comment I have mentioned the word/term as article instead of “Vowels”. So please use/replace the word “vowels” on my previous comment wherever applied the word as “Articles”
My sincere apologies to you and entire readers.
Please get back to me if you have doubt on the above explanation!!!
Warm regards,
Mohammed Shahith (India)
usefull lesson thanks
great i can learn without a huge budget for it thanks its really helpful
from:phillipines
Than you so much for this lesson, very useful as usual
Sir Alex is a superb sir.
Thank you engvid! You guys are awesome. God bless you always!
i enjoy watcing this.
i have a new glasses is it correct how it will be the answer
Hi genaro,
“Glasses” is a actually a plural noun, so you do not need an article. You only have to say, “I have new glasses.” The same rule applies for words like “pants,” “shorts,” “underwear,” “socks,” “shoes,” and “clothes.”
Thanks! This is really helping me!!! Since I’m an autodidact in English Language (Is it correct?), I never learn English from the basics, it’s just happen like that, I can speak and understand English all of a sudden, but I still have a few problems about spelling and grammars, especially Sentences Structure. Again, THANKS!!!
Thanks alex!
Thanks for a good class. My family has a dog, if I am going to say that dogs, which article will use? Please kindly reply me.
You would say, “My family has a dog.”
Hi Alex! I want to ask about the vowel and consonant,that what is the vowel and consonant.I mean to say that how we could define it.thanks
Hi Simon,
The English vowels are A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y. Basically, any time your mouth makes those open sounds like “StAy,” “StOp,” “Airplane,” you are using a vowel sound. The other letters, like B, C, D, F, G, M, P, Q, and others are called consonants.
Very informative! Thank you!! i wish more topics such as how to develop effective speaking skills…
Thanks for your help. Iwant more help.
Hi, Lecture I am a new student and just learn article A,An,or no article with you today. when i am studying this Grammar online and I thank that i really understand clearly than i had studied before. You are a good Teacher. Thanks
excuse me, I want lesson for plural.
thanks
this is the great way to leran english
thank you sir
well done / fabulous
really perfect.teacher’s fluency and ability is excellent. I don’t exaggerate….
ibrahim mintes from TURKEY
you are absolutely right
my friend who is an Eng. teacher gave your web address yesterday afternoon when its raining dogs and cats what’s called “April shower”
hello alex it’s challenging to teach zero article and the.e.g fish or the fish army or the army the answers change whether they refer specific groups or not
all the best
appreciate
hello evey body
thanx for teaching us grammar and really appreciate all the teachers who are indulged in this task.it is really helpful.keep it up.
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I liked it!
great!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you
This simply superb , can u briefly explain , about sounds of consonants & voewls , how to recognize ,when to use & special cases .Eventhough I can manage my english , still i am good at using an .pls.pls.pls.pls
Lol it’s a nice website. I love how they give u an option to chose ur answer. :)))
Very nice lesson thanks a lot teacher. I really enjoy listening and watching in this site.
I’m a little bit confuse with the sentences used in the quiz ‘Which of the following sentences is correct?’. Why did you use ‘is’ after the word ‘sentences’? Anyway, thanks a lot for the lesson.
I like to do these quizes. It helps me understand what I don’t know. Thank you engvid.
I visited your site and found it very good. I have trouble learning English, and website will help me a lot.
thanks
alex thank you your lesson is very useful and im getting information about english
I m not say something about this site. one word i have supper
Hey,
Is it okay to say “Apple is red.” ? Or only “Apples are red.” ?
Thanks for the amazing lessons btw :D
The apple is red in my mind.
Hello, I am just wondering that why “an orange car ” is correct in the last sentence of the quiz. I understand that if the noun starts with consonant, it has “a”. So in my opinion, a orange car is correct even it sounds wrong.
Very good lesson.
thanks.
I love all your lesson topics. Thanks!
you are the best Alex!!! We would like you even more if you could do video about “THE”
hi ALEX HOW R U? YOUR WAY PF TEACHING IS TOO GOOD Thnks ALEX
thank you
thank you! I like the way how you teachs. It helpes me alot, because I have a plan back to school after 20 years.GOD BLESS.
no one cares
I have searched to many sites to learn eglish but i never got any site like engvid. Its very useful.
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Hi Alex
When we use A/An and The
Thank you very much .
Hi dear Alex…really thank you for your useful points…they are very practical….have a nice time
Hi Alex
Your lessons are superb.Thank u for teaching English through functional method.Could u please explain the usage of “of with few examples and also the rule.
Thank you for good training.
thank you very much for all.alex,ronie,mohemed… great!from morocco
thank you again.
hi ronie ! i’m walking.it’s correct? and thank you
can you answer me alex?i’am walking it’s correct?
search for it. if it is common you will found many
Are you wearing wig? sorry for my curiosity
Awesome..thank u mr.Alex
thanx a lot engvid ..i love it ..
Thanks a lot, Alex. I have a question about the use of have and the noun after it. I read a sentence from a dictionary :
“Dogs have a very keen sense of smell.”
Why does it use a singular noun after a plural subject? Can I rewrite this sentence like this :
Dogs have very keen senses of smell.
Looking for your reply. Thanks
sense is singular
senses is plural
your dictionary wrong i gues. I can found in goolge
“Dogs have very keen senses of smell.”
only
AA I understand now.
senses of smell. it is like feelings about something I guess. more common “sense of smell”
Kindly, Give some lesson on prepositions like, Infact,Despite,although and sentences like “as a matter of fact and many more. Thanks
I got full score.
Your website is really helpful! God Bless you all!
I just found this impressive website earlier today and I have been ejoying and learing english in this fantastic, ineractive
way. I have say thank you guys you have done an amasing job. I hope millions of people like are benefiting.
mr alex i want to ask aquestion to you are you read me
ask this question
use an article
….family hotels are ….hotels which welcome…..parents and….children
Thank you very much Alex. I try to follow you for the other lessons.
very interesting
I’ve been here a few times and it appears like your articles get much more informative every time. Maintain it up I appreciate reading them.
hi alex. i’m a american who speaks perfect inglish. my inglish writing sucks and this sites helps me so much . haven’t been to school in so long will be going to college and need to take the sat test. i’ll be on this site more often. your a great teacher. you teach in a simple easy way and helps me to understand and pick things up quickly . thank you much Ana
You are excellent teacher who is able to teach student
Hi Alex.
today’ i’m useful day because of your lesson
you are awsome. have nice night.
your lessons are very interesting and useful for me. please,how can I use “speaking” and “listening”. thanks alot
Hi Reza,
Can you please elaborate your question little more so i can answer easily.
Warm Regards,
Mohammed Shahith (India)
THANK YOU IT S GOOD PROGRAM
I DO NOT WATCH THIS LESSON, NOW I DO
you are the best teacher i have ever seen
why the following statement is wrong
“She likes to wear makeups.”
Makeupis a non-count noun, so we don’t add the ‘s’.Very very good.
i like english but i can’t learn english why?
Aloha! thank you very much , then I will eat cookies
delicious!!
Thank you! Your classes are very useful and I am sure it’s not only me who enjoying your classes :)
Thank you Alex, you are excellent
thank you alex.
Hi Alex! I’m from Viet Nam and I’m trying to study English. Thanks for your lessons. I have a sentence ” We went to a cafe the movie and had a coffee”. Coffee is Uncount Nouns, so, why do we use “a coffee”. Please help me. Thanks!
thank you again!! I really appriciated your effort in explaining your new lesson. excellent!
Hi, alex thanks for giving suitable examples in every lesson.
Hi Alex! Im a fan of your’s….very informative lesson..thanks a lot…..
thanks….
my family has a dog…..
I can’t understand it…
It should be..MY FAMILY HAVE A DOG…
COULD U EXPLAIN ME? PLEASE….
THANKS A LOT…THE BEST PAGE TO LEARN ENGLISG
We say “my family has” because, while there’s several people in a family, the subject of the sentence is one family.
(However, this doesn’t always apply in British English.)
THANK YOU TEACHER ALEX FOR USEFUL INFORMATION GOD BLESS YOU
wow I got 5 out of 5 , but I am still facing music while using Article. Therefore, you please expound it deeply.
thank u sir,
and best wishes
That is very good engVid Team! you are excellent and hope you leave more details for Article
A good lesson!
hii my teacher told me ” YOU USED IN FRONT OF accont plurals naun “the” Please help me because i M CONFUSE OF THAT.
Open O Sesame !
Hi Alex , This is Raja from India. I don’t have that much of knowledge in English, while i’m speaking in English with my friend , My team members and others i’m getting a lot of grammatically mistake ,How to reduce Grammar mistake .
nice lesson helpful to all i think..
thanks
The quiz helped me to concentrate when to use the articles a, an, and the
Dear Alex,
Thank you for the quiz.
Dear Alex,
Please tell me with which countries we should use the article “the”.
Thanks in advance.
There will be a lesson on this in the future. In the meantime, you can google “countries with ‘the’”!
It is the Best site in the world.It has just made English a lot more easier and quiet enjoyable for me.Thanks to all the teachers of this site who are helping everyone to learn English in an interactive way.You all are awesome.
I can not understand thi sentence:why we can not put a/an in the second part I hope you have a lovely time and good weather
Hi Mina,
“Weather” is a non-count noun and doesn’t use an article. :)
Wow 5/5!
Posso fazer perguntas em portugues?
Hello Alex. Thanks for helping. I really appreciate it. I wish you good health and happiness. You are an excellent teacher.
Take care.
Hi, Alex! Thanks for the lesson! =) In case of such words as hat or hexagon, do we need to use a or an? I heard that both are possible. ‘A’ would sound more common to me as a non-native speaker.
I would appreciate your reply.
dear Mr Alex
many thanks for this excellent explaination
please Mr
where can we use a instead of an with words which begin with vowels ?
#5454/1,modern housing complex,manimajra,chandigarh.
Kindly mail the results free of post.
Beneath the rose lies the serpent.(komment)
thanks for your teaching it was very useful for me
today I only see you more easy lesson
but was useful
I’m sorry not is “see”, it’s “saw”… XD
Hi everybody, I want to know if it´s correct to say for example: I am student, or you are father of 2 kids. If we can omit the article a or an or the. I´m looking forward to hear about you.
Hi Bienymal. No, It’s not grammatically correct to say, “I am student.” Nor, “You are farther of two kids.” It makes sense to say, “I am a student.” And it makes sense to say, “You are a father of two.” If the first word after the article begins with a vowel you have to use ‘an’. Example, “I would like to have an apple.” -I hope this helps.
You are my best English teacher
Thank you so much. I was confused, but now I understand it well:)
Thanks Mr Alex. The only thing I’m slightly baffled about is whether or not ‘the’ is an article and if so, does it make sense to say, “I like to drink the water.” or “I like to drink the water that she gave me.”
thanks Alex. how can i say a university or an university?