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Here are the rules for when to use "A, An or The":

The use of the indefinite article in English is often determined by how easy it is to say with the following noun; we say an umbrella but a union because the sounds of the first letters are different. It is more important to know the difference between indefinite and definite articles and when or when not to use them: 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. Do Use an article with bodies of water, lakes, 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. Read the following description 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, 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 centre 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! The The is pronounced with an e sound, as in bee or flea, before a noun or adjective beginning with a vowel or a vowel sound, so we would say: In the ark, the angry ants, the antelopes, the elephants, the iguanas, the ostriches and the unhappy hippos all knew that the hour had come. It was time to go to sleep The is pronounced with an er sound, as in mother, father, brother, before a noun or an adjective beginning with a consonant or a consonant sound, so we would say: The bank and the post office are in the High Street next to the university building. Now practise these sentences, each of which contains two pronunciations of the with the e sound and two pronunciations of the with the er sound. The Irish and the Welsh forwards were fitter and faster than the English and the Scots. In the qualifiers for the World Cup the Argentine team was the only one to win all their matches. Is this true? The FBI agent and the FIFA official were arguing about the best tickets for the Italy and the Brazil match. (Note that the F in FBI starts with a vowel sound, as in when or then, whereas the F in FIFA starts with a consonant sound as it is pronounced as one word) Neither the one-pound coin nor the two-pound coin could be used in the amusement arcade at the airport. (Note that the o in one is pronounced as a consonant sound as in won.) The RSPCA and the NSPCC are concerned about the protection of animals and the prevention of cruelty to children. (Note that the R in RSPCA starts with a vowel sound as in car or far and that the N in NSPCC also starts with a vowel sound as men or hen.) The RSPCA is the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the NSPCC is the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Did you notice how much easier it is to say the, as in see, rather then the, as in brother, when a vowel sound follows, the Irish, rather than the Irish? Note how the first pronunciation just flows off the tongue, whereas the second one doesn't. Note that all abbreviations said as individual letters that begin with A, E, F, H, I, L, M, N, O, R, S, or X are pronounced as vowel sounds. They are therefore preceded by the as in see and an, rather than a, see below. A / An   A is normally pronounced unstressed as er as in mother, father, brother. Can I use a pen or a pencil on this form? ~ A pen is best. You should use a ball-point or a fountain pen. If we wish to stress it, we can pronounce it as ay, as in say or day, though this is rather unusual: It was a breathtaking performance! It was a magnificent achievement! We might stress a in this way if the circumstances are unusual and we want to savour every syllable. A or an? Whether we use a or an depends upon the pronunciation of the following adjective or noun, not on the spelling. If the adjective or noun starts with a vowel sound, even if it is written as a consonant, we use an: What did you have for lunch today? ~ I had an apple, an orange and an enormous pizza. If you want to do an honest day's work you will need to be at your desk for longer than an hour and a half. An MP at Westminster paid for his lunch with an IOU the other day as he had neither money nor credit cards in his pocket. An MP is a Member of Parliament and an IOU is an I-owe-you. Note how in pronunciation the n in an flows on to, and almost becomes attached to, the following adjective or noun. An MP becomes a Nem P, an honest day's work becomes a nonest day's work. If the adjective or noun starts with a consonant sound, even if it is written as a vowel, we use a: A university education for a child coming from a one-parent family was unusual. A European network of contacts for a successful businessman is essential.

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