Choose a, an, or the

Articles help a reader understand which thing you mean. Start with the difference between an unspecified item and an item that can be identified.

Introduce a singular countable item

“I received an email this morning.” The reader does not yet know which email you mean. “I booked a room” works in the same way.

Use a before a consonant sound and an before a vowel sound. The sound matters: a university, because “university” starts with a “y” sound; an hour, because the “h” is silent.

Refer to an identifiable item

“The email contains the meeting details.” Now you are referring back to the email you introduced.

You can also use the when the situation makes the item clear: “Please close the door.” The listener needs enough context to identify the door.

Notice general plurals and uncountable nouns

“Meetings take time” and “Feedback is useful” make general statements without an article. “The feedback you sent was useful” identifies particular feedback.

Your turn

Complete: “We have ___ hour to prepare for ___ interview we discussed.”

Show the answer

“We have an hour to prepare for the interview we discussed.” “Hour” begins with a vowel sound, and the second phrase identifies a particular interview.