A, An, and The are articles.

Articles are used before nouns.

The article
a is used
before singular countable nouns which begin
with
consonant sounds
b,c,d,f,g,h,j,k,l,m,n,p,q,r,s,t,v,w,x,y,z)
examples: a bag, a cat, a fan, a girl, a jug, a kettle,
a
lion,etc.
for words beginning with yu sound.
examples: a uniform, a university, a unit, a unicorn,
a
used car, a useful book, a useless
object,
a European, etc.

The article
an is used

* before singular countable nouns which begin with vowels

sounds ( a,e,i,o,u).
examples: an ant, an eel, an igloo, an orange, an umbrella, etc.
* for words beginning with silent h.
examples: an hour, an heir, an honest girl, an honourable man,
etc.

* for plural nouns

The article
the is
used

examples : the children, the pencils, the schools, etc.

* for countable nouns
examples : the smoke, the air, the water, etc.
* when there is only one such place or thing in the
world
Pole,

examples : the moon, the earth, the sun, the North

the South pole, the East, the West, etc.

* to refer to a noun that is mentioned the second

time.
examples : I bought a shirt. The shirt was cheap.
* for a specific person or thing
examples: The man standing under the tree is my
uncle.
* before superlatives
examples : the tallest, the fastest, the strongest, the
most beautiful, etc
* before names of certain countries, oceans and desert.
examples : the United States of America, the Atlantic
Ocean, the Sahara Desert, etc

Examination tips:
You dont have to use articles
before the nouns of people and
places, for example:
i) I met Alex last night.
ii) He studies in Japan.
before the names of games, for
example:
We like to play golf.
before the names of meals, for
example:
I eat fried chicken for lunch.