Use of Articles 'a', 'an', and 'the' in English - Basic English Grammar lesson

Articles:-

Article is a word (prefix or suffix) that is used with a Noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. Articles in English are 'A', 'An' & 'The'. There are two types of Articles - Definite and Indefinite.
'The' is a Definite Article whereas 'A' & 'An' are Indefinite Articles.

Definite Article - the (determiners) 

The is a Definite Article

• We use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.

For example:
    "She's got two children; a girl and a boy. The girl's eight and the boy's fourteen."

• We use the to talk about geographical points on the globe.

For example:
    the North Pole, the equator

• We use the to talk about rivers, oceans and seas

For example:
    the Nile, the Pacific, the English channel

• We also use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing.

For example:
    the rain, the sun, the wind, the world, the earth, the White House etc..

However if you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an.

For example:
    

"I could hear the wind." / "There's a cold wind blowing."

"What are your plans for the future?" / "She has a promising future ahead of her."

The is also used to say that a particular person or thing being mentioned is the best, most famous, etc. In this use, 'the' is usually given strong pronunciation whether or not it precedes a vowel

For example:
   
"Harry's Bar is the place to go."

"You don't mean you met the Tony Blair, do you?"

Note: The doesn't mean all

Indefinite articles - a and an (determiners)

A and an are the indefinite articles. They refer to something not specifically known to the person you are communicating with.

• A and an are used before nouns that introduce something or someone you have not mentioned before

For example

"I saw an elephant this morning."
"I ate a banana for lunch."

• A and an are also used when talking about your profession

For example

"I am an English teacher."
"I am a builder."

• You use a when the noun you are referring to begins with a consonant (b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y or z), for example, "a city", "a factory", and "a hotel".

• You use an when the noun you are referring to begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u)

Pronunciation changes this rule. It's the sound that matters, not the spelling.

Note: If the next word begins with a consonant sound when we say it, for example, "university" then we use a. If the next word begins with a vowel sound when we say it, for example "hour" then we use an.

We say "university" with a "y" sound at the beginning as though it were spelt "youniversity".
So, "a university" is correct.

We say "hour" with a silent h as though it were spelt "our".
So, "an hour" is correct.

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