The Use A, An, and The

A, An, and The
Here are the rules for when to use “A, An or The”:
•a = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects) with consonants
She has a dog.
I work in a factory.
•an = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects) with vowels (a,e,i,o,u)
Can I have an apple?
She is an English teacher.
•the = definite article (a specific object that both the person speaking and the listener know)
The car over there is fast.
The teacher is very good, isn’t he?
•The first time you speak of something use “a or an”, the next time you repeat that object use “the”.
I live in a house. The house is quite old and has four bedrooms.
I ate in a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant was very good.
•DO NOT use an article with countries, states, counties or provinces, lakes and mountains except when the country is a collection of states such as “The United States”.
He lives in Washington near Mount Rainier.
They live in northern British Columbia.
•Use an article with bodies of water, oceans and seas -
My country borders on the Pacific Ocean
•DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about things in general
I like Russian tea.
She likes reading books.
•DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about meals, places, and transport
He has breakfast at home.
I go to university.
He comes to work by taxi.
Example:
I am from Seattle, Washington. Seattle is a city in the United States. It is near the border of Canada in the northwest corner of the USA. I live in a town called Olympia which is on the Puget Sound. I live in a house in a street in the countryside. The street is called “Bear Street” and the house is old – more than 100 years old! I am an English teacher at a school in the center of the town. I like books and taking photographs. I usually have lunch at school. I usually go home by car. We have all kinds of food in Olympia. I like Italian food very much. Sometimes, I go to an Italian restaurant in Seattle. The restaurant is called “Luigi’s”. Italian food is great!

Prepositions

PREPOSITIONS

IN	We use in with months – in May seasons – in winter country – in Greece city or town names – in New York times of the day – in the morning, afternoon or evening BUT at night!
ON	We use “on” with specific days – on Friday, on New Year’s Day, on April the 19th American English – “on the weekend OR on weekends”
AT	We use “at” with specific times – at 7 o’clock, at 6.15 at night specific places in a city – at school British English – “at the weekend OR at weekends”
TO	We use “to” with verbs which show movement such as go and come – He goes to school. She returned to the store. They are coming to the party tonight.

Example:

I was born in Seattle, Washington on the 19th of April in 1961. Seattle is in the State of Washington in the United States. That was many years ago… Now, I live in Leghorn in Italy. I work at the British School. I sometimes go to a movie on the weekend. I meet my friends at the movie theater at 8 o’clock or later. In the summer, usually in August, I go home to visit my family in America. My family and I go to the beach and relax in the sun in the morning and in the afternoon! In the evening, we often eat at a restaurant with our friends. Sometimes, we go to a bar at night.

Janet was born in Rochester on December 22nd at 3 o’clock in the morning. Rochester is in the state of New York in the United States. Now, she goes to classes at the university. She usually arrives in the morning at 8 o’clock. On (American) or At (British) weekends, she likes driving to her friend’s house in Canada. Her friend lives in Toronto. She usually arrives at 9 in

 the evening and leaves on Sunday morning. On

 Saturday, they often meet friends at a restaurant. At

 night, they sometimes go to a disco. In

 summer, in July for example, they often go to

 the countryside.