6. Articles
An article precedes a noun. It is used to specify or define the noun.
There are only three articles - a, an (indefinite articles) and the (definite article).
We use a before nouns that start with consonants (a boy, a lion, a battle) and an before nouns starting with vowels (an apple, an eye, an umbrella).
Some other rules for indefinite articles are:
1) For acronyms, a/an is determined by the pronunciation (a US ship, a UN official, an MNC company)
2) We also take pronunciation into account. For instance, we say an honest man as the 'h' is silent (heir, hour, honest, honourable) and a European bank, a union, a unicorn (Europe, union and unicorn are pronounced as if they starts with y). We also use a before one (a one-legged man, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity).
Note that these are exceptions because of the pronunciation. For instance, we say a horse, a hair, an eye, an envelope, an umbrella, an ugly duckling, an owl, an object etc.
As the names imply, a and an refer to “any” noun, whereas the refers to a “specific” or “definite” noun. For instance, we might say the girl with a dragon tattoo to describe a specific girl, but not any specific tattoo. We also say the Ganges river or the state of Maharashtra as both of these are specific nouns.
The is also used before plural or uncountable nouns (the girls, the clothes, the army, the coffee). Note that we can use a/an/the before exact numeric forms (a dozen oranges, the loaves of bread, the cup of coffee).
We can also use words such as some instead of an article (I need some water, Can you give me some ice, This room needs some furniture, I could do with some sleep, etc).
Typically, we do not use any article before proper nouns (India, Maruti Suzuki, Kunal), but we can add the if there is a common noun preceding or following the proper noun (Avni the tiger, the Ganges river or the river Ganges). Sometimes, exceptions occur in case of plurals (the Mishras, the United States of America). Sometimes we need not add an article at all (We studied French in school, She loves baseball, She is good at math, We are going out for dinner, Empathy is invaluable in children, etc.)
In all cases, use the definite/indefinite rule to select a/an or the based on the context.
For instance,
I saw a sports car. The sports car was red in colour. (In the second sentence, we use the to refer to that specific car).
I am so hungry that I could eat a horse. (In this case, the speaker is referring to any horse – note that this is not to be taken literally, eating an entire horse is an exaggeration to drive the point.)
I met a German man. The German man was very funny. (In the second sentence, we use the to refer to this specific person).
After the long day, the cup of coffee tasted particularly good. (The narrator is speaking about a specific day, most likely the current day, and the specific coffee that she had).
Please give me the other hammer, this one is too small. (The speaker and the listener have two hammers with them. Since the speaker is using one, the listener can understand the specific hammer she is asking for).
I heard a fantastic song yesterday. (As of now, the listener does not know which song this was.)
She hit me with the football. (The narrator was hit with a particular ball)
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