Articles in English: How to use ‘a’, ‘an’, and ‘the’ properly

i need to learn english

hoai tan

Good

Say Sopheak

you told that we need to use the article A for european so will be A eagle or An eagle

hednilton

it well be an eagle because we use a for consonant and an for vowel, and eagle started with vowel sound
I hope that I helped you ^_^

mohamed Abo Noktah

It depends on sounding so it would be An Eagle rather than A Eagle

balaganesh

It should be AN eagle because the word eagle starts on a vowel ..

lynn2029

il teach you is that ok?

Anes57YT

Hi James, nice to see you!
Regard to articles, we also often use “the” before plural nouns.
For instance: Both of the teachers are very good.
How we can exactly define when “the” is expected before plural nouns and when not?

Maxim

hi maxim,

sometimes you can use “the” before plural nouns and it is depend on the purpose you use it. well if someone uses “the” before a plural it reflect 2 things.

the plural noun specific.
the plural noun is a general thing.

otherwise please use “a” or “an” before the plural verb.make your attention on plural verbs which starts with vowel sound and at that time you must use “an” before noun. for other consonant sounds you should use “a” before plural verb.

dimuka

Hi,
Can I use articles before werb or adjective?
Thanks

Constantine

Hi!you can use article before adjective ,but pay attention if,noun comes after adjective,if it is not noun after adjective,you can not use, especially a,an(indefinite article)

Shalala

Hi James, nice to see you & your teaching.

Iam sorry to inform u that, iam not able to speak fluent english properly. Your Articles teaching video was very fine. Iam eager to know, if u can teach me, Quick methods of learning English Grammer. I thank u very much for you & your teaching video. now i got some idea about articles.

Thanking you,

Vinod

Vinod.R

hi !good question yaar!

sandy

Hi Maxim. In the case of the plural nouns you mentioned the rules are the same. If you noticed, you used “The” to indicate that you were talking about two specific teachers. Also, you know that I know who you are talking about. So the rules apply:

1. If you all people know who you are talking about use “The”
2. If who you are talking about is specific use “The”

James

Hi James. I am from India.
Why do generally people speak like “The United States of America and not “The India”?

Cheky Patel

Hi James! One question about using a/the. If I want to say “You are a great teacher!”, why shouldn’t I use “the”? I mean, I’m speaking about specific teacher. Or not?
And the same: you said “it was a good lesson”, but why “a” if you speak about this specific lesson? I just can’t understand this situations… Hope you’ll help! Thank you!

sunny.alice

Hi Constantine ,

To answer your question
1. you can only use articles a/an or the before nouns
2. because adjectives go before nouns and modify nouns you can use articles before adjectives that modify single nouns

Hey Vinod… I look forward to helping you learn english

James

Hi James i can’t understand this”To answer your question
1. you can only use articles a/an or the before nouns
2. because adjectives go before nouns and modify nouns you can use articles before adjectives that modify single nouns” , can you give me example ? And can you put quiz on this lesson ?

reema-hesham@hotmail.com

hay James is this for year 4 people cuz im a year 4 kid 10

Anes57YT

Hi James , glad to see u and your teacing.

would you please assist me on how to enhance my english fluency, but i have got good accent.the only thing is, how do i focus on my fluency.

Thanking you always in advance.

murali krishna

Hi Murali,

I am assuming you mean fluency in speaking. So here is a trick I teach my students:

1. Watch a movie. Put on the English subtitles.

2. Find a song that you like that has the subtitles on it.

3. Sing with the song while reading the subtitles.

4. Keep doing that until you can match the singer’s speed and match the pronunciation.

The reason this works is because singing is harder than speaking and requires a good ear to hear the words.

This will help with your fluency as you will have a greater ability to use and follow English.

I hope that helped.

James

this is A great idea! ;-)

ANA

hi james this nirmal nice too meet you
im here to ask you some tips to develop my knowledge

1.i like to speak english fluently,correctly and confidently but now only i started to learn english

2.i will be very nervous to speak english infront of people ,i dont have stage fear because i’am a dancer apart from that iam hesitate to speak

help me and give an some tips james thank you

REGARDS,
NIRMALKUMAR
INDIA
(nirmal1915@india.com)

nirmalkumar31

you are a great teacher :) thanks a lot

wael ibrahem

Cool. I am going to try this trick.

Abu Hasan Rumi

I’ll put into practice that, Thanks

Raphael910512

i love all your teachngs. really english is gift for from God. thank you

david christopher

Hello James! Thank you for teaching us. I have one question. Number of articles is equal to number of nouns in sentence. Is it right, or not ?

Ari

Hi James
Thanks too much for your helpful lesson. I really appreciate your effort
thanks again

Ahmed Hamza

Sorry for disturbing you, James. I’ve come up with the question concerning the use of articles here.

Could you assist me with this:

E.g. the situation: I’ve just talked to a person. I said good-bye to him and then say:

Thanks for a talk.
Thanks for the talk.

Thanks for a good talk.
Thanks for the good talk.

Which example in each of the pairs is the most suitable? Could you also explain it, if you please.

Sorry for burdening you again.
Thanks in advance.

John

Hi James. Before all I want to say thank you very much, because I am learning a lot with your classes. I have a question: I did not understand the cases where I have to use “an”. I got I have to use it when the next word begins with a vowel but I did not get the other case, about the sound of the next word. Could you explain me, please?

See you

Alejandro (Bogotá D.C. Colombia)

alejandrot

I’m adil, i’m from algeria, thank you for your lesson but I ask you which article (a or the) used for pluriel or no
thank you…

adil_english

Bluse screen dowsnot show any thing sir

Arshad

I have a question. What answer is correct in this sentence “(The) cinema is a good way to relax” or “(-)Cinema is a good way to relax”? ( means non articles), and why?

Matt

Hi James. Firs of all thanks for videos. they help me when i learn english. I have a few sentences, which i need to know are they correct, can you help me to check them? ((my answer: a, an, the or – ))

“Excuse me, please. Can you tell me how to get to …. airport? (-)
“I’m going away for …. week in September (a)
“There were no chairs, so we had to sit on floor” (i put “the” next to “on”)

can you check them for me ? Thx for helping

batu.han

thank you

Aslam

Hi James, I don’t understand two things:
– Where can I put on the English subtitle?
– When must I use an, if the word begins with ‘u’ and ‘e’?

When I go to then form, I can not write.
Are another people with the same problem or is my browser not good?

I want to follow all the lessons, what is the best way for me?
Just follow the levels and watching all the clips?

Thank you

Dewen

Hi James,

I also have a question about the usage of articles that is not mentioned in the vid.
What about articles with enumerations. Is it common to use definite and undefinite articles with count nouns in long lists like for example:

On the table there is a pen, a book, a magazine, a piece of paper, a stapler, a notebook, and a key.

Thanks for your answer!

Patrik

HI everybody, could anyone help me to understand when “the” is avoid? thanks

juan manuel

i have some douts…which sentence is right(1) i wud lyk to learn the piano.(2)i wud lyk to learn a piano.one more thing what r the cases when the articles has not been used.

rahul

hi rahul,the piano is an instrument that use 4 playing music. it is known by evryone so (1) is correct.

narges

hi james!
wow!great!it really helped me a lot. i know now when/how to use these articles. great job…thanks..

ritchie

Video is great, but it would be great to get more explanation where exactly use it. I am from Czech, we are not using articles. I understood everything from the video but in the quiz is correct answer: A pen is on the table. So why is not there A pen is on a table… We are speaking first time about pen and first time about table aswell…its weird sometimes

Tomas

Please correct me if I am wrong:I’ll see you THE next Monday(ungrammatical sentence) and THE next Monday is a holiday.(grammatical sentence)

crissa

JAMES You are really doing a fine job.
I am a student and preparing for my exams, your English videos are really helping. I am trying to follow most of your lectures . Its only that I have some problems with phrasal verbs, how to memorize all their meanings.
For Now YOU ARE MY HERO…! PLS REPLY..!

Piush Kmr

hi james
ur teaching is really great especially the jokes inbetween.k here i am , i feel hard while reporting so pls send me t procedure of it wit some examples

logeshwaran

I am very happy with your lesson thanks.

LAYLAH

Hi James!I wanna say that your lessons is very usefull not only for me but also enoyher people who learn English.Thank you very much!!Ta ta for now

Emil Ibragimov from Baku

and buy the way the avatar don’t look like me)however it’s funny:)

Emil Ibragimov from Baku

How do you say/write it: a RN or an RN?

Bemag22002

I think it is “an” because the letter “R” starts with a vowel sound

ToanLee

I’m confused when I use a or an…with a vowel and consonants that sounds like the opposite. Which one is grammatically correct: a RN or an RN?

Beyem

If a word begins with a consonant letter, but sounds like a vowel, the article an should be used; an RN like in an hour. e.g. I waited for an hour.

I hope it helps.

Hi James, good teaching. Thanks.

cutie369

Hello James, your lesson is really understandable. Thanks. :)

By the way, I have a question about Articles. The other day, I was reading news paper and I found out one sentence, television, the Internet, the telephone. Why is there no the for television??? Why two of them got the while the other does not?? Please, let me know.

Thanks,

Anece.

anece

hi James’
what article do i use before the word Ear. i’m confused as the word starts with a vowel but does it take the vowel sound.
please answer this quickly. i’ve my exams following.
sorry to burden you.

thanks,

shilpa

I was nice lesson to me JAMES. can i have the more examples on it.
is it right.
Thanks to you with all my heart.

Kanan

JAMES I LOVE YOU!!…

Bariel

hi James, i have a question:
why we don’t say :”there is the book on the table” or “there is the book on a table”

kyu

ADD PRACTICE EXERCISE

raj

how exactly is “the” used? for example, what is the diferrence between these two sentences….1.doubt is the key to knowledge.AND
2.doubt is a key to knowledge?

ib student

Very good explanations James…

Could you tell me how can I know if the article “The” has to be or has to be omitted in a phrase?

Thanks in advance

curqmer

thanks james i realy understand

dounia

I really like the way you explained on this topic.You are a great teacher James.

sooner

I am hoping you will continue sharing of all the knowledge you gained because this is very helpful not only to me but to all viewers of your website..Thank you to all teachers shared their ideas especially to you teacher James.

sooner

thannks alot for these perfect video , and your way of teaching was very good an i like it

mahmoud rashad

i like this lesson butbi donot find the quize

doaaa77

I like your vedios. it helps me lot in my exams and in conversation.I have problems with SUBORDINATORS AND TRANSITION WORDS.If possible for u please give me some idia about that. I will be very thankfull for that my exam is on next monday.

Krim

You made a mistake with your sentence: “everyone knows what your talking about.” It should be “everyone knows what YOU’RE talking about. I think you are a good teacher but you have to be careful next time. :).. no offense meant. I like your teaching method by the way.. :)

Lee

Yup, I agree. Be careful, James!

engVid

hi James, I just signed up. Appreciate your time helping people to improve their language. I kind of speak very good english but I still need help :(. I always use find it difficult using articles although I understand the basic rule how and when to use them. However, I found it difficult in a bigger sentence such as “.. its impact on sanitation, the spread of diseases, the distraction of infrastructure…”. Do you the THE used in this sentence in two places is correct? Please could you explain. Thank you so much. Look forward to hearing from you.

mariya

I appreciate all your lectures. very informative..
Please explain there is and there are in relation to countable and uncountable nouns..

cathy

great video

kapax

i need to learn good english

RAO

Hi James,

I would greatly appreciate if you help me with the following:
‘In history’ – We use zero article, because noun is uncountable and non-specific.
‘In United states history’ – In this case noun is specific for me and i don’t understand why i can’t use ‘the’ article.
Thanks in advance.

sunnmy

Hello sir why we are not using an in the word university. Need a clear explanation if possible.keep up the good work.

harish

Hello sir why we are not using an in the word university. Need a clear explanation if possible.keep up the good work. sir also you did not said about what is an article

harish

Hi James thanks a lot for your lessons, could you please tell me when to use article the and when to do not do it, I will appreciate your help as soon as possible,

Thanks : )

Gab

hi james could help me about modal futuer and modal conclusions thanks:I will appreciay you !

bekele herego

Thank you very much,, This very useful to me^^

Bella

which article will be used

Kashmir is a/the beautiful place.

Michael

Hi, Magda
Is there any mistake in this sentence?
On 26th of this month my the whole family is going to celebrate the new baby’s birthday of my sister.
I’m talking with someone who knows the matter. Thanks in advance.

engfun46

It was a very nice lesson, but how can we use them in writing?

Laila Al Hamid

To Magda
I am not expert in English but I saw some mistakes on your sentences.
This is just my opinion: After ‘my’ you should not use ‘the’ article and also ‘whole’ should come front of ‘my family’

Ganaa

Hi Ganaa,

Thank you for your comment.

Magda

engfun46

Hi Jame you are so great!thankyou for your wonderful lessons!

Dawit

Oh, I’d like to have a test after the lesson about articles!!!

mrexox

Hi, why we use plural verb form after “A number of” and singular verb form after “The number of”. explain please

Muhammad Tahir

sometimes, we don’t use articles at all. When we do that?
It was a great lesson, by the way!!!

Muath

i need to learn excellent english, could u help me?

pradeep

The constrast on the board was too bad. I did not get rady what you wrote on the board. I sugest you do the class again uing better pen or reducing the light

CREBIO AVILA

thank you,
these lessons really helps me! :)
THANK YOU

Catherine

Hi James,
I have doubt whether I should use or not definite article in next example:
Have you ever seen ___ Everest?
Thanks in advance

jecap

In my language, Khmer, we don’t use article. Thanks for this article lesson, James.

Saak Sen

thank for your lesson !! :))

duangdahdah

Hi James,
can I ask you
how to know whether the sentence refers to what is the first time shows?
Tnx

Miroslav

Hi James,

I likeed your lesson!
Thanks

Jeff (from recife city in Brazil)

Jeff

hi James
why we do not use ‘the’ before Asia
when we say
I am living in Asia
Asia is specific n known all over the world
and why do we use the when we say
I am living in the continent of Asia
thanks

Shamaila

hi James, thanks for helpful lesson, and how about other cases of usage?
Thanks. Marina, Russia, Vladivostok

ladyremarque

hi james, thanks for this lesson

shakeel123

it’s helpful. thanks~

luxa

Good Video. Thanks.

yukardo

thank you @james:This was a great lesson.

englangstudent

Thanks a lot Teacher James. I love your accent, you are very clear and I really appreciate your help. Thanks since Guatemala

Perlita

please try to use a fresh marker next time
other wise it was fantastic

imran

Thank you for your teaching….

seher

Thanks for ur passion James!!

myunghn87

I was reading an English book and I have a question, can I say “AN MP3 PLAYER?”…why? ..the other question, is correct to say ” These are an umbrella and a dictionary?…

GREAT VIDEO MR JAMES

Ahmed Fathy

i dont know hoe to use these articles,i mean where a will com,and AN,the…could you explain it

sandhya

I still don’t know how to use the articles a and an, I’m confused, any help.

gaby123

thanks

tariq

As usual greet.

AMB

Thank you alot 8)

hanody

I just want to learn more English, but I’m a bit more concerned about learning IELTS. Please get me know everything regarding this. THANK YOU

Shahbaz Khan

hay james Is it possible to say an european?

bini

Hi i learned a lot after watching your videos. This is really a big help for me… can i ask your skype.. :)

Thank you very much ..:)

wesam

hi james first of all i would like to thank you i am 16 years old
mmm my english is verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry very very bad i have problems in present past future simple… and also i have problems in conversation with others soooooo i need help please;(

neb

Hi James,
first I wanna thank you for all your valuable video lessons. These articles have been haunting me and I thought it was time that I needed an expert’s help. When it comes to articles, it seems like everyone talks about general and specific things. I no longer have problems with them. But it seems like they are pretty often used regardless of those rules.
For example
1)the water vs water

2) get in line!! vs hold the line!

I assume that the best thing I can do with them
is to just memorize them but I am wondering if
you have any other idea to make it any easier.
thank you

Uram Jeong

hi James, I am chaminda from sri lanka Going to seat for IELTS General Exam in Next Month help me for Writing and Reading Module and How to Prepare for IELTS good Marks. Give me Your Opinions & advice Please help me

jmckumara

Hi , James , I want to ask of you. can you give us some paragraphs for this subject? and can you write all example in the blackboard? please, James, you are awesome teacher and you are awesome teachers in this world. thank you very much for help.

hudhayfah27

Hi James.May i have your skype id plz if possible.Realy i like your teaching techniques and style

Mano

u cool. i like ur lessons.
P.S. as i know flyers is a hockey team,isnt it? lol thanks

7sammy7

its such a nice artical i really appreciate your effort thanx ….

shweta

Hi. me again. i know there’s a lot of comments flooding in and you’re probably busy answering some but just like others i’m confused. someone told me the difference between “the”(pronounced as duh) and “the” (pronounce as deeh) depends on the first letter of the next word. example.
– the (deeh) elephant is old.
– the (duh) food is expired.

is this right? again, thanks for the help.

bambiecruz

He makes a mistake on his reference to the Flyers as a baseball team, but as teaching it is 9.5 out of 10. He explains it better than I can, and I have been teaching this or trying to for 30+ yrs!

Haralambos

thanks james

fatima

Hi James,
I teach English in a secondary school in Toulouse, France.
I like the way you explain the present simple. Do you do the same thing with the present be-ing and the present perfect ?
About “the article”, could you tell me, how do you explain “what a beautiful day”. Thanks.
Best regards

Isabelle Chancé

also want o learn english

zara

Hi James,

My teacher told me that I can use “the” for plural. Is it correct?
I’m not sure. When do I use “an”?
I use “an” when the words begin with the “vowel”.
Why do we use “a” for European or University? When do I use “a” instead “an” for the words begin with the vowels sound?
Thank you so much :)

Arvin

because european and university are not begin with vowel

John

Hi James, this website and the lessons presented by you and other teachers have helped me to improve my grammar. I would like to request you to explain the use of ‘THE’ where required and not required with some examples that would help remember. Thanks!

Shree

Hey, James, I think your teaching way is different from the other one. I like your style! Little suggestion: I think you have to make a quiz in your vid!

priozky1purba

I noticed you wrote in one sentence “Everybody knows what YOUR talking about” and in other “Everbody knows what you are talking about”.What is the difference between YOUR and YOU ARE here ? :S

Eng-101

I have noticed you wrote in one sentence “Everybody knows what YOUR talking about” and in other “Everybody knows what YOU ARE alking about”.What is the difference between YOUR and YOU ARE here ? :S

hitherto

:S “your” was a typo! It should be “you are” or “you’re”.

engVid Moderator

i am not able to understand a, an , hte

dipak

I recently read somewhere that we can’t use an article before an adjective if the adjective is followed by a abstract noun…how far is this correct…any exceptions to this rule…?
e.g. A great misrey resented upon them.
OR Great misery resented upon them.

aditya

Can i say?

Where is the pen?
if i want to find MY pen.
or
Where is a pen?
if i want to find ANY pen.

Sergey

hello sir i hope you’re fine .i want just to know why we can say : i live in the united states .however we can’t say i live in the algeria .what is the difference between the two ?.thank you

pitchouna

Thank you too much teacher James,

You are a good man.

attafy

hey man?nice lesson

azoo

Thanks James you this lesson Really Help Me :D

sarah94

What kind of article do I have to use before the plural nouns?Thanks in advance!

Inad

hi James,
I still confuse when to use ‘a’ and ‘the’. if i said that past tense more prefer to use ‘a’, is it correct ? example ; He ate a bowl of rice yesterday. My mother gave me a doll yesterday. And what about L-license ? why must to use an L-license ?

mariya

Hi everyone,

Our teacher gave us this site and I am very happy to listen and learn from James’s vidio. Thank to you! Articles a bit confusing and I am trying to understand them well :)

Arzy

thaaaaaaaanks

gadosh1414

Mr. James thank you very much

this vedio is really helpful

hmr2012

We are a student.
We are students.
Which one is the correct sentence.

Dine

How to use “The” or “a” When we are talking about Group, Company or Team. Can we consider them as a singular noun and use them?

Shafni

good job my dear

suhaib

Hi,
ı really,ı want to learn English.But how??
please help me…

Derya

how con i use a ,an ,on,inthe,and with

Ahmad Zaki

HI James
when i try to open these video
it’s show “This video is currently unavailable”. why?

digvijay08

i need learning English please help me

abdo

I used to be recommended this website through my cousin. I am not certain whether this put up is written via him as nobody else realize such distinct about my difficulty. You’re wonderful! Thank you!

blackjack

THANK U VERY MUCH JAMES

SHYAMALA

This is awesome ! :D

casslynct

a cat is an animal: indefinite, non-specific
I was bitten by a big cat last night: Indefinite article, specific (not any cat)
The cat that bit me last night was big: Definite article, specific object.
The rule that says first time you should say ‘a’, and second time ‘the’ is not correct, as you can use the indefinite article for specific things. ‘I saw a great guitar last night’ indefinite. specific.
‘the guitar I saw last night was great’ definite and specific. Get it? we can use ‘a’ for specific objects. Understand that and you have come a long way to cracking the articles.

Crespo

Hi James,Best description about Article.Thanks

bhawna

hi james ,could you please explain report speech .
thank you

Ahmed

Hi, could You explain me please “what seems to be THE or A problem?” Which is grammatically correct, because we can use “A” as, for example, i do not know what kind of problem it is. And we can use “THE” as it can be specific thing. Google says that only “THE” will be correct in any case. Is it so? Thank You!

Tim

hi,in my essay written about the cons and pros of an iPad,my professor said that I don’t need any article before “iPad”, why?

mimi

Hello James,

My name is Milos and am a Serbian. I’ve been in the States for three years. I like watching your videos, you guys are really doing a great job! I have a question about this video. At some point you wrote: “Everyone knows what your talking about”. The keyword is “your”. I know that contraction for “you are” is “you’re” but till now I thought that “your” as a contraction for “you are” is a grammar mistake. I guess this is just another acceptable contraction in a written English. How about official written English and business English?

Thank you,
Milos

Milos

Hello James, that video was fantastic. I really like the way you teach english, i’m a student english and this page is a Goldmine for me !

wellingtonnathaniel

Hello James,

My name is Milos and am a Serbian. I’ve been in the States for three years. I like watching your videos. You guys are doing a really good job!

I have a question about this video. At some point you wrote: “Everyone knows what your talking about”. Can you please tell me why you used “your” instead of “you are” or the contraction “you’re”.

Thank you,
I look forward to your response
Milos

Milos

HI, I have question about gender nouns. Is there any grammatical explanation for identifying neuter, masculine or feminine nouns? I know some nouns which are easy to know what types of nouns they are related to. For example, actor and actress ( masculine; feminine). But how to identify the type of other nouns? Thanks in advance!!

Sean

Hi James,

I appreciate you taking time out of your day, to assist those who are diving into English.

I do have a quick question, and it cold have been a slight oversight on your behalf.

You mentioned at the beginning of the lesson that a, and the are used in the case of singular items/object. However, the can be used with singular & plural.

Besides that, good lesson. Take care!

Jay

James!!!
please help me with the usageof “the” and “thee”(the)…

sniggz

hi! can you tell me what’s proper, “may we ask for an immediate repair or may we ask for immediate repair

Juliet O. Molina

im are a student.
thanks for your

haidari

hi i need the article elephant management in spanish

isabella

hi James thank you v much this is great way to teach

reebaalmas58

it was nice watching this session :)Thank u Jame for your teaching.

Shiva kumar

Hai James . i saw your article session its good , but i need more about the usage of a and an .

kanikarthi

Where is quiz for this lession? I really like this lecture~

BianLLy

please help me how to speak and write good english

JOSEPH CHANDA

Thanks , could any of the people here can help me by doing periodic voice chat through skype or any other media to imptove our listening and englinsh speaking , my skype is. mohammed.unaros Thanks.

mohammed80

i am having a exam tomorrow and the exam is an ‘o’ level exam, how can i improve my English to at least pass my composition writing?

zzk

Thank You for lesson.

panithan

Helpful lesson. Thank you.

kumarikaren

thanks for you all

jihad

Thank you James,I had a wonderful time listening to your video….it was really awesome and informative….Thank you so much once again….

Suja

the water temperature in the tank or water temperature in the tank? (I mentions the tank before)

xsle

I leave my mail if I want to know

berenice

Hi James,

Thanks for your teaching. My question is when we use without a/an or the. For example, when I’m talking about education system, I’m hesitated to use the or without ‘the’ education system.

Thanks,

Kayla Pham

thank you

shashank

Hello sir,
Please tell me where article “The” should not be used.

Thanks!

sanjay kumar

Hi james :
I’m sorry .I don’t understand one part .
when we use (a) and (an) i am confused

thank u
your student : khaled

khaled6188

same here! :(

Carlo

That’s how teacher’s should teach….awesome sir….
please tell me the exceptional cases where ‘the’ should not be used.
Thank you!!!

jully

useful! let,s talk in english on skype adrian.cb

adic

i like this guy . he’s so cool

aqilsyahmi

sir,i have to learn about would,how to use it,

vishal

Teacher, Where is “the” quiz?
Thanks

davidandika

thanks

sobeer

Please! Help me to fix this grammar.
In connection with this, the computer technology is free from hassle and a manual system is becoming automated system that correspond the need of the people.

Julius

that’s very useful,thank you too much :-)

fati

hi james i want 2 ask a doubt on the usage of ‘the’ word ( ‘the’ is not used in front of words like school,office etc but we use sentence like ‘she went to the office’ like that hear we using ‘the’ in front of words like office why we using ‘the’ in front of the ward like office why

sumanth

Thanks alot

ibrahim32919

I am still having problems using “an”. Can your explanation focus more in using “an” in a sentence. Thank you. :)

Carlo

thanks that was a good lesson about articles

koni

Hi James everything understood…nice explanation…thanks a lot

argenis

Hi James, thank you for all your lessons:) They really helped me, but I have a question, why did you say “That was A good lesson”, instead of that was The good lesson? All people know what you were talking about and lesson is specific. Thank you.

Alina

Hey, could you please help me to check this following sentence.

My heart had told me to re-check what I have learned about math, but I hadn’t listened so I fault in my examination.

January ananda

hello james.
will u help me..i want to learn english

angelswati

“you’re”

Unagi

Hi James,
First of all, thank you for creating this video.
No one, I repeat no one has ever simplified the usage of “the”.
My query: Financial analyst roles in ‘the’ market or Financial analyst roles in market?

Hope you’ll resolve my query at the earliest.

Avadhut

Let’s go to Dhaka for lunch on Friday.
Let’s go to Dhaka for lunch at Friday.
which one is correct

Gazi

what is article?
use of article?

saad

the lesson was very good and the teacer was excellent

ashiz

Hey ,
First of all i would like to thank for your help , you’re lesson was really useful . Second , I have a quistion . What about countable and non countable nouns , should we use articels with non countble nouns? what about ” advice” ?
please reply me :)
thank you a lot

niveen25o

your lesson **

niveen25o

Quiz please!!! hugs!

Rodrigues

Hi james, do we say a exercise book or an exercise book?

Laura

thanks 4 the lesson :)

ottomanart02

Thank you James and engVid.com !
I’d like people here to help me that I could not hear several words.
In the begining, James said that
Hi I’m James, I was just reading that philadelphia xxxxx. There are American xxxx team, they won a baseball game, in fact they won the biggest baseball game ever world series.

Please let me know them.thank you!

cage

very good!

harleydias

thank you for the video

naifa

Thanks James^^

ea9436

I am glad am here. I have a lot to learn here.

moniyi

I am glad a to be here, I have learnt a lot here. Please ,Could you help me with lessons on parts of speech? Thanks.

moniyi

Just saying Thanks here !

carvalhery

help me to learn english well pleasss

osaid1

Hi James. I like your pedagogy. I am preparing for business school entry exams and there they check the student comprehensively. I have seen books explaining the usage of articles over 4-5 pages. It explains to use “the” before this and not before that. Like use before rivers but not before lakes. What’s that all about? Is it more about our understanding or we need to learn it all?

saumitra

James hi,I’m in tention plzzzzzzzzzzzzzz help me my bigggg problem is spell I can’t spell the spellings plzzzzz teach me my exam is on 26 of June 2013 plz help me

preetu

Thanks for the lesson, I have started with this classes and I promise are very interesting

sanyube

Thanks for the tip!!!

jazmin1022

sir,give us more quiz……..for practice? suggest any book for practice? plz
reply must

sachin5454

Great, thank you!

znamensky

Thank you very much.

mahmoh

Thanks

winsmith

thank you very much. this very informative.

cool.Lei

thank you very much. this is very informative.

cool.Lei

thank you very : )

amajecal

i want to learn more

Catherine

To create an appointment in Microsoft Exchange Server.

Is article required before Microsoft Exchange Server in above sentence for U.S. writing?

nileskum

Nope! When you’re talking about apps/computer programs, you don’t need to use “the”. “Open the file in Photoshop”, “We talked over Skype”, “Try downloading Firefox”, etc.

engVid Moderator

Good lesson

Samsamah

hi, James.
the word student, goes with a or an?
thank u

ALEKSANDER

hi james im struggling with grammer im not learning anything i took esl class 6 times i don’t knoe what should i do my teacher tells me i have alot of mistakes in writing in college

emanuel510

very useful

Mohd Adil Ansari

Thanks

Skyblue

Firstly thank you very much for teaching!
Please explain why we use “an FM radio” not “a FM radio”, or “an PM” but “a PM”?

Vietitalia

Because we say each letter for “FM” and “PM”, so it sounds like “eff em” and “pee em”. So “FM” starts with a vowel sound — the “e” — and so we use “an”.

engVid Moderator

Thanks a lot.

cgaticav

thnx alot james

priya bector

thank you !!

oussa

Hi friend, I want to drink a glass of wine but i don’t know which of the of the wines i like more.

pafsilipoclub

Hi Mr.James.I am Sri Harsha.I want to know whether an article is used before proper nouns or not.

sri harsha

Hi James :)
I did not understand WHAT you talked about the article “an”. Can you explain to me, please! I still can not quite understand when people talk in english.

Thanks! :)))

lailaboliveira

Hi James
can you give me the right answer of this question:
*fill the space using ( a/ an/the /no article )…?
1-she took ——-sandwich and ——–piece of cake , but she didn’t eat ——–cake
#I think that the first space is (a), the second is ( a )and the third is (the)
* thanks*

safimatafi

Hello James,
Are there any exercises here on your website related to your lesson? It has been very useful for me, better than any other grammar book I use for teaching English to my Italian students! Thanks in advance for your reply. bye
Silvia

silviani83

Hi james
Why not there a quiz for your lessons??

Mounerrah

A few of the lessons don’t have quizzes!

engVid Moderator

Hi James, thank you for this lesson. I don’t understand which article I have to use before Peugeot,Citroen, BMW …
Thank you for your answer

Alachim

nice lession

hariprasad

Good lesson i like it

zarai

Daniel gave a coconut to (the) elephant

the above one is correct or not. Or before elephant (an) should be used?

mohan1991prabu

Hi James,
thanks a lot for your lesson
bye

cep62

Hi James,

I’d like to thank you for your job here. It has been helping quite a lot all of us that need or want to learn english the right way. I have a question to you. University and European have you/your sound. Are these the only exception in usage of an?

Raphael Claudino

why should we use “a” before university, union and europe?

Bhavani Prabhakar

Sir why did you said “a lesson” in the end since you and i both knew about which lesson you were talking about.

singhujjwal

Thanks

Abdul Qayum

Thanks James =D I got it….

stephanie27

Thank you for your teachng

abdiMohamed

thank you very much for this lesson. I’m looking for explanation regarding the choice between a or an before “h”. Is there any rule about it?

elise2144

thank you so much your great teacher

asmasaud

you are the best teacher (Mr E) !!!

Mohamedthabet

James: You are my favorite ESL teacher, but there are a few problems with this lesson. First, “the” is used with singular AND plural nouns. For example: “The pens are in the desk.” Second, not an ESL problem, but I’m sure you know that the Philadelphia Flyers play hockey, not baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies play baseball.

TJDMBA

The third lesson is good, thanks James.

Lorenza79

Thank you.

Abdulrahman55

hi,
please explain where not to use articles.

bhargav07

A and an for general things.
An for vowels
A and an for not everyone knows what you talking about
The for specific and for everyone knows what I talking about .
Is this right ?

zaynab Rafiq

thank you so much . I know them but i have forgotten all this articles because here is nobody speak English

Zakaria88

thank you teacher James…^^

aphilak SNV

hi, James! Why did you say “it was A good lesson”? We all know what was you talking about, why didn’t you say “it was THE good lesson”? I can understand all of English tenses but articles are so hard for me((

Alexys

When can we use articles with plurals?

fikiz

[…] https://www.engvid.com/articles-in-english-how-to-use-a-an-and-the-properly/ for information about the correct use of articles “a”/”an” (general nouns) […]

Syllabus Fall 2014 | Teach the Prof

thanks James a lot ;) your lessons are very helpful and interesting – dont get bored wathing it

umonia

thank you for teach me sir

opik1234

a and an used for singular and the for singular and plural

daliodeejay

thanks dear

zohir honggar

It was very usueful, thanks !

carolingus

Hi James! Thank you very much for your lessons..as an English teacher for students from 8 to 12 is very helpful have your suggestions!I also have to say that I love your way to fool around! :-)

simonaelia

This is very helpful

Jay Lim

‘a’ general things / everyone not knows
‘the’ specific things / everyone knows

Jay Lim

Thank you for this lesson teacher, you the beast.

sk8ivan

Hi james, thanks a lot for your classes, they are great. Im new here and I want to ask you why some native speakers pronounce the article ” the” a little different, when you say “the” the “e” word sounds like the “a” word in “apple” some people pronounce the “e” word like “ea” when you say “eagle”.I hope you understand my question. Thanks again for the lesson. Bye

Ark2015

Thank you

Noe Jung Ho

Hi James

the light reflects off the blackboard and not seen what you write. thank you very much

adrianlarez

Hi James !!! I look at your lessons with great pleasure, because you understand all the details and are explained !!! You can be attributed to one of the best teachers (as Roni Adam) on your site !!! Good luck James in your business !!!!! My assessment of your lesson 10/10!

Vladkabatkovich

hi can i find a frind who practice english with me online

Mhaimido

hi James

I have a Query when we use Articles(a,an,the) what we will call it an adjective or something else?

singhraghav

I mean to say that which parts of speech is the Article.

singhraghav

thank you it is a good video

mina eldeeb

That lesson cleared up my mind! I love the way you teach, is so dinamic :)

yasmin19

thank you

wael ibrahem

Hi James! Thanks again for this awesome lesson. I greatly appreciate your efforts! Btw, I have a question about “the”. How to pronounce the word “the” if the next word begins with the vowel sound, like for example (1.Look at the igloo.) I’m looking forward to your reply. ;)

Shelae

your classes in engVid are very cool ,excellent

octaviofc

James you are awesome.thanks alot

Walid Moussa

thank you *_*

juud al7rby

Salam juud al7rby

Can i use wahid muwanas isme ishara for jama salim of ghair aqil in Arabic language?

janice.brinker

thank you :)

abaliena

Hey were is the quizz.

sandra.e

Hi, sandra.e
Few video in this site don`t have quizzes)

igorSolopchuk

You are te best thank You some much!!

Gomes Jackson

Hi James, great class. I would like to know others exception rules for use the article a, for example: a university, a european, a…?

Thank you for your colaboration

jpromero

thank you *_*

kornnope

thanks man

Aboela

very well

grelectric

HI JAMES you’r great teacher

adilou

Thanks James. thanks for your explanation.

Maryam Zaky

Thank you sir, it was helpful.

Angaria

Thanks for video

khoakhongcome

It was a useful point. Thanks.

Maliban

Hi James ,
What is the correct sentence:
-James is a general manager.
Or James is the general manager.
Please help me

Aisha

James is a general manager.

Caelum

What about exception like “University”. People usually say “a” instead of “an”

Dauphinhab

Thank you! Have you got a forum? I’ve got many questions about articles. For example: Where is the theatre? or Where is a theatre?

Caelum

Thanks

zhongting

This was a good lesson

CavFanatic23

Hello James. Thanks for development everyone person in study English.

Mansur386

you can not use articles for plurals and uncountable nouns but, we could use “the” with uncountable nouns
Am I right ?

AhmedAlfarsi

hye james, help me to explain this. i got this phrase wrong.
> I’d rather live in the country than in
the town.
corrected answer is :-
> I’d rather live in the country than in
a town.

Joan88

Hi! Thank you for grammar lesson. I know that you are trying to do better your lessons, but for me this video seems too easy. Could you make some exceptions for Articles, as I have some douts in using Article in some cases.

nurly100

hii James,
I’m weak in IELTS tasks 2 as well as grammar. how can i improve it? could you please give me any tips.

Usman ilyas

Thanks James!!!!

Aline Matos

Thanks,James!
You´re a very good teacher.

Glaucia Ferreira

Thanks James!

Dinesh

It’s a good choice to know and remember how to use the article in English. Thanks.

angardiobel

James correct me if isnt true we use an for vowel sound

Dayoungdas

sir i have a question that is
sorry,i……….reach here earlier because of the traffic on the highway.
use model , i am thinking that it should be would not but the answer in book is could not.

nemesis

thank you very much, this was a very helpfull lesson

Marcello

thank you James you good teacher

nuradin

Hi James, thank you for the above lecture. Your teaching style is so simple and understandable.

ashishzaware@gmail.com

Good day! I would be very grateful, if will help to understand the articles. Why in the sentence “The activities of our company in the design, construction and operation of mountain-ski complex facilities are aimed at the discharge of the obligations set forth in the environmental policy” before design, construction and operation, discharge, obligations,environmental policy is the definite article? I think that the article before the above words are necessary in order to indicate that these words are nouns, and not other parts of speech (e.g., verbs), but why is used the definite article? And another question, is it always in front of the enumerations, such as “in the design, construction and operation of” article indicated only before the first of the enumerated words? Thank you in advance for your help!

karina4949

Which one is correct?
I am going to hospital or I am going to the hospital

younus123

I am going to hospital

Hadi@ 333

Dude, that’s not a pen, it’s a whiteboard marker.

behew

is there a quick quiz for articles ??

hania elaraby

Very good and simple explanation,Now I can improve english grammar again!!

Arlindo Ferreira

I need to learn english to very good.

Toey mine

Tmanks James!! that is fantastic lesson . so you reminded me when I taught this lesson at my school for the 3rd level .

Hadi@ 333

Thank you James so much.

khaled

Hi James!

If you were my teacher, I’m an amazing English speaker. I like the way how you teach, and you’re funny no one gets bored in your lessons.

Appreciate your help James. Hope to chat with you.

God Bless….

Marlon23

Thank you James

kheireddine007

thank you very much your explanation was pretty helpful.but i have question
how many articles English language does it have are they only two or three
i mean a,an,the usage of middle one is different that one work withe (a,i,o,u,e) am i right ?

Rebaz omer

Thank you teacher very useful lesson

Hamse jama

THANK YOU

sar1998ah

Hi James, I need your help. I have some questions like is correct to say: 1. A robot at Stanford University has used tools to successfully assemble a bookcase.
2.A robot at Stanford University has used tools to successfully assemble the bookcase.
3.The robot at Stanford University has used tools to successfully assemble the bookcase.
4.The robot at Stanford University has used tools to successfully assemble a bookcase.

danield99

Hello James,
Thank you for the lesson!

Alengra

thanks a lot

N.zahiri

I dot understand when I use AN…

JessAvella

james why you don’t let a quiz

hichamrif12

You are a great man. When can I watch a new video on your website?

Rezajohn

Thank you a lot!

Jonathas Wilhem

thanks!

shihai182

I hope i can speak eng properly

xxre2600

i’m confusing
with the sentences i’m going to home or i’m going home.because i learnt from ronnie.

juzmine80

I have never heard about that thing, that article “a” is used with word University , I was sure that “an” is right :)
Thank You !

1Sofia1

Hi James,I really love your video :)). But my english is not good and I want to ask you how to improve it. And how to learn it. Thanks so much.

kudononame123

Leave one

Layla. 123

Thank you, James!

JJulian

SIr, Also appreciate if you could explain how to use words such as little, small in a proper way( please correct me if the way of asking the question is incorrect )

sudaspc

Monkeys live on or in trees?

M.zeb

Hello, you said that a and the are use for singular things but sometimes i see forms like this”the words, the favourites”. And i dont understand it. Can you explain?

Queenie1

awesome tutorial.

Ayan55555

Hi Jame, May i ask you? should i learn the words first or grammer first ? thank for yours reply!!!!!!!

ChomreounKH

Thank you!

tarkung1912

This clip is very beneficial!. Thank you :D.

sopranonuey

we need to know more about articles specially the

Hamada kubati

Oh
My
God
Finally after really long time, I understood it.
Thank you very much, James!!!

JadeHarley

need more details in an

pravesh shivakoty

Nice lesson

Patchouko

Good jod

Patchouko

Thanks

Ammar Mahram

Hi James, thank you for lesson , please what are the plural verbs?

aahmaad

Hi James thank you for lesson please what are the plural verbs?

aahmaad

thank you so much, master

Yousef ataya

Thanks James and Engvid!

realrobintisoy

thanks

Rana

Thanks!!!
This is first time for me to use engvid.

Abdul Salam Qaderi

Welcome to engVid, Abdul!

We have many years of videos to watch! You can search for videos by level, topic, and teacher using the English Lesson Finder.

Some lessons also come with downloadable resources, like lists of words.

All our teachers are on YouTube, and there are playlists for different levels and topics. And if you want to know whenever a new lesson is uploaded, you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

If you have any questions, just ask! Have fun ?️

engVid Moderator

hi James can you explain the difference between the words such as remind vs remember and miss vs lose and so on