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When to Use 'A,' 'An,' or 'The'
Use "the"
Title
Names of Countries
a president
a doctor
a queen
Non-specific
a country
the president
the doctor
the Queen of England
Names of Continents
Non-specific
Use "the"
the
the
the
the
South Pole
West
South
North East
Non-specific
Russia
South Africa
Holland
Canada
Great Britian
England
a continent
President Kennedy
Dr. Yang
Queen Elizabeth
Africa
Asia
Europe
North America
Western Europe
a city
a state
New York
Paris
Washington
Exception:
an ocean
a river
a sea
a desert
Use "the"
Names of Lakes
the
the
the
the
the
the
Pacific Ocean
Mediteranean Sea
Potomac River
C & O Canal
Atlantic Ocean
Painted Desert
Non-specific
6/28/2015
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If you are not sure what article to use with a noun, use the basic questions on the following chart as a guide. Here below are the example of Article; and for your information, in each details as well as sentence example, the group of (black) bold word(s) tha
Questions
1. Common/Proper:
Is it a common noun or a proper noun?
It is a common noun
2. General/Specific:
Does the reader know which thing(s) you mean?
3. Count/ Non-Count:
Can the noun be counted in English?
6/28/2015