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 examples: 1. "I saw an elephant this morning."
2. "I ate a banana for lunch."
A and an are also used when talking about your profession:-
For examples: 1. "I am an English teacher."
2. "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).
DEFINITE ARTICLES - the ( determiner )
There are two ways to pronounce "the". One "thuh" and the other "thee".
You use the when you know that the listener knows or can work out what particular person/thing you are talking about.
For examples:
1. "The apple you ate was rotten."
2. "Did you lock the car?"
You should also 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..
No article????
We usually use no article to talk about things in general:-
For examples:
1. Inflation is rising.
2. People are worried about rising crime. (Note! People generally, so no article)
You do not use an article when talking about sports.
For examples:
1.My son plays football.
2. Tennis is expensive.
You do not use an article before uncountable nouns when talking about them generally.
For examples:
1. Information is important to any organisation.
2. Coffee is bad for you.