[English] indefinite vs. definite articles

Articles are so difficult for me. It is inevitable to make mistake when writing a research paper. It is also a problem always mentioned by reviewers, including my supervisor as well. It is so bad!

Besides, I also took a test from British Council. The result is no surprise. Only 7 in 12 are right.

Below is a summary from references for a/an and the articles.

Reasons to use the indefinite (a/an) article before a noun

• countable nouns but doesn’t know exactly which one
  • I would like an apple.
• one of a group
  • I am a student in the university.
• a job or position
  • I am a software engineer.
• all things of the kind
  • A computer has a CPU. (All computers have a CPU.)

Reasons to use without articles before a noun

• plural nouns
  • Many softwares are developed to increase the productivity at work.
• uncountable nouns
  • Information can be encoded into different formats in a computer.
  • Life is harder today than …
• continents
  • Africa, Asia, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe and Australia
• languages
  • Chinese, English, French etc
  • She is fluent in French.
• specific year
  • She was born in 1989.

Reasons to use the definite article before a noun

• only one
  • The earth/the sun/the moon
• before superlative adjective
  • She is the most beautiful girl in our class.
  • She is the best person I ever met.
• only one in that place
  • The button on the right window is blue.
• already mention it
  • This work presents a new approach to address the model checking issue. The approach is …
• all things referred by a noun
  • The elephant is really a big animal. (Elephants are really big animals.)
• musical instruments
  • I can play the piano.
  • The guitar is a popular musical instrument.
• refer to a system or service
  • The police is on the way.
  • I am listening to the radio.
  • How long does it take by the bus?
• with adjectives to talk about groups of people
  • The poor
  • The rich
  • The elderly
  • The disabled
• no article with names
  • London is a big city.
  • Jane Austen was an English novelist.
  • We are from China.
• names of countries contain Kingdom, States and Republic
  • the United Kingdom
  • the United States
  • the People’s Republic of China
• names of counties are plural
  • the Netherlands, the Philippines
• geographical features
  • the Atlantic, the Arctic Ocean, the West Lake, the Panama Canal, the Himalayas
• newspapers
  • The Times, The Sun, The Daily Mail
• famous buildings or works of art
  • the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall, the Mona Lisa
• organisations
  • the United Nations, the Red Cross
• hotels, pubs and restaurants
  • the Grand Budapest Hotel
  • no article if it’s the owner’s name: Hilton Hotel
• families
  • the Smiths
• decade/era
  • For people born in the 1960’s,

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