Pronunciation of articles in English [View all]

Native English speakers pronounce definite and indefinite articles in approximately the following way without ever thinking about it, but ESL learners must be taught these rules:

“the” (2 pronunciations) | ði, ðə |
before vowel and consonant sounds, respectively, except that the former is sometimes used for emphasis regardless of the following sound.

“a” | eɪ, ə | before consonant
“an” | æn, ən | before vowel