These questions ask how English marks a new or non-specific person or thing, and how it names one person's profession or membership of a class. Begin with meaning and number; pronunciation matters only after you know that a singular indefinite article is needed.
Decide whether the noun is new and countable
Use a or an when you mean one member of a group rather than a particular member already shared with the listener. This commonly happens on first mention, after there is or there was, when any suitable member would satisfy the meaning, and when a singular countable noun names someone's profession or class. The same article is needed even when the speaker knows exactly which person or thing is meant; the important question is whether the listener can identify it from the conversation.
| Meaning and noun shape | Article decision |
|---|---|
| One new or non-specific countable person or thing | Use a or an. |
| One profession or one member of a class | Use a or an before the singular countable label. |
| A new non-specific plural countable group | Use no article. |
| A particular referent that speaker and listener can both identify | Use the; this is no longer simple first mention. |
Apply the decisions in order. First mark the noun as singular or plural and countable or uncountable. Next ask whether the listener can identify a particular referent. If it is singular, countable and non-specific, choose the indefinite article; then listen to the following word's first sound. A consonant sound takes a, while a vowel sound takes an. If the noun is plural and non-specific, stop after the number check and use no article.
The traps
| Temptation | How to reject it |
|---|---|
| Using the because the speaker personally knows which person is meant | Definiteness depends on shared identification. If the listener has no way to pick out that person, introduce the person with an indefinite article. |
| Leaving out the article before a singular profession | A singular profession is a singular countable label in English. After be or work as, it still needs a or an. |
| Putting a or an before a plural profession | The indefinite article has no plural form. A non-specific plural job label stands without an article. |
| Leaving a singular class label bare in a general statement | One creature or thing placed into a class still has a singular countable complement, so that class label needs a or an. |
Try it
Every shop had sold out after the storm, so I could not buy ___ umbrella anywhere in town.
- a
- an
- the
- (no article)
There is ___ enormous crack running down the back wall of the empty cottage.
- a
- an
- the
- (no article)
A colleague of mine keeps ___ bees on the flat roof of his office building.
- a
- an
- the
- (no article)