The Article - English Grammar

In the English language there are – just like in German – two articles:

• the definite article - "the"
• the indefinite article - "a" or "an"

The indefinite article a/an is principally used as in the German language. However, there are a few particularities in the English grammar!

Pronunciation: "A" or "AN"

Whether the indefinite article is “a“ or “an“ is dependent on the pronunciation of the word which follows after it:

• The indefinite article is "an", if the following word begins with a vowel.
  • an accident
  • an open window
  • an hour
• The definite article is "a", if the following word begins with a consonant.
  • a picture
  • a window
  • a uniform

Definite information about a person

Information regarding job, heritage or religion demands the indefinite article.

• Uncle Edward is a doctor.
• This year's exchange student is an Austrian.
• The new girl in my group is a Buddhist.

After specific words

One has to adapt the “reciprocal“ word order in the following cases: rather a, half a, what a, quite a, such a, once (twice) a, too (adjective) a

• Tom's grandmother won half a million dollars in the lottery.
• A snake is quite a dangerous animal.
• That's rather a stupid idea.
• You have such a nice voice.
• What a sad story!
• I visit my grandfather once (twice) a week.
• This is too serious a matter to laugh about!

Phrases with indefinite article

The most important phrases, which demand the indefinite article, are:

Usually, the definite article is used for definite issues. It occurs less frequently in the English language than in German, so be careful in dealing with “the“.
“The” is not used when we talk about things in general, but rather in special cases.