Articles are very difficult as there are many special cases, but generally:
A/an – 1. A singular count noun when we either don’t know which particular one it is, or it doesn’t matter, referred to for the 1st time. ‘I saw a nice bicycle outside a shop.’ ‘I’m reading a good book.’
2. Professions / What someone is. ‘He is a teacher.’ ‘She’s a pessimist.’
The – 1. Singular or plural nouns when both speaker and listener know which noun is
being referred to. ‘The bicycle in front of the shop is nice, isn’t it?’
2. There is only one. The Atlantic Ocean / The Nile / the sun / The Louvre
3. The place the speaker generally goes to, or the logical place. The listener may not know which one, but can probably guess. I went to the bank. / He’s in the park. / I’ll meet you at the station.
4. Things/places that we all understand based on location. The weather is nice. / I can see the sea.
5. Most rivers, oceans, seas (but not lakes), hotels, museums, theatres, British pubs, newspapers (but not magazines). The Nile, The Atlantic, The Ritz, The National Museum, The Old Vic, The Times
6. With superlatives. The biggest … / The least interesting … / The second time …
[‘A’ followed by ‘the’ – the first time something is referred to we usually use ‘a’, but after that the listener knows which one it is, so we swap to ‘the’. I bought a new TV. The TV is a Sharp.]
Zero article – 1. We don’t use an article with plural or noncount nouns when talking generally. Cats are nicer than dogs. / I love apples. / Poverty is bad. / English is difficult.
2. We don’t use articles with meals. I had breakfast. / What’s for dinner?
3. We don’t use articles with travel methods. I came here by bus/bicycle/train.
4. We don’t use them with academic subjects or games. I study chemistry. / He plays tennis.
5. With don’t use articles with most countries (except with United .. of .. or Republic of..) , towns, streets, languages, magazines, named restaurants/shops, airports, stations, lakes & mountains, or some places we spend a lot of time in. – England, London, Oxford Street, Italian, Vogue, Tom’s Diner, Joshin, Heathrow Airport, Paddington Station, Lake Biwa, Everest, home, work, school, college, university, bed
Practice:
