This document outlines rules for using definite (the) and indefinite (a/an) articles with nouns in English. It provides examples of when to use articles with singular and plural countable nouns, jobs, exclamations, frequencies, known entities, places, superlatives, idioms, generalizations, days/meals/months, and names of people/titles. Specific guidelines are given for rivers/seas, countries/unions, theaters/museums, singular entities, hospitals/schools/prisons, and names of individuals.

2.  With all singular countable nouns when you
mention it for the first time, it’s not known:
Ex: The house has a terrace.
 With jobs:
Ex.: I’m a teacher
 In exclamations:
Ex.: What a boring class!
 When talking about frequency or quantity:
Ex.: Twice a week, five euros a kilo

3.  When something is known because it’s been
mentioned:
Ex.: I saw Mike with a woman and the woman was
really beautiful.
 With places in a town:
Ex.: I went to the cinema, to the theatre
 With superlatives:
 Ex.: He’s the best teacher I’ve had in my life.
 With fixed lexical phrases:
 Ex.:The richer the happier
 With adjectives and countable nouns for things in
general:
 Ex.:The rich/the poor/ the polar bear is in danger.

4.  In generalizations:
Ex.: Women are more intelligent than men
Love is the most important thing in life.
 With some common place nouns after
at/to/from: work, home, school
Ex.: She’s not at home, she hasn’t come back
from school/work
 Before meals, days, and months
Ex.: I had lunch with her on Tuesday
 Before next/ last + days, week, etc.:
Last week I had an English exam, next week, the
teacher is giving us the results.

5.  1) Rivers, canals, seas, deserts, mountain ranges, island
groups (plural names):
Ex.: The River Danube flows into the Black Sea.
The Canary Islands and the Pyrénées are beautiful.
 2) Plural nouns of countries or those that are a union of
states, regions, etc.:
Ex.: the UK, the US, the Netherlands, the Czeck
Republic.
 3) names of theatres, cinemas, galleries, museums and
hotels:
Ex.: The British Museum, The Ritz and the Odeon
Cinema are famous places in London.
 4) When there’s only one of something:
Ex.: the sun, the moon, the Earth

6.  1) countries, cities, towns, continents,
regions, states, islands:
Ex.: He is from Hong Kong in China, Asia.
 2) individual mountains and lakes:
Ex.: Mount Everest is the highest mountain in
the world
◦ Lake Titicaca is in Bolivia
 3) roads, streets, parks, shops and
restaurants
Ex.: Harrods is in Brompton Road, not far
from Hyde Park.

7.  With school, university, hospital, prison, church :
 1) NO ARTICLE: when we think about the
institution and what they are normally used for:
Ex.: His husband is in prison for bank robbery.
My son is in hospital. He’s really ill.
 2) ARTICLE THE or A: when we talk about the
building or when we go as a visitor:
Ex.: The prison near my house is horrible.
I walk past the hospital every day on my way to
work.
I was at the hospital visiting my son (I’m not a
patient)

8.  NO articles:
 With names of people or titles (Mr., Mrs., Doctor,
Princess, King, Queen).
Ex.: Queen Elizabeth is one of the most
important queens in the history of Britain.
Doctor Quinn is very well-known in the country.
 BUT: ARTICLE THE with plural names of people:
Ex.: The Clintons are respected by the Americans.