Using definite and indefinite articles (the/a/an) in a thesis

English has two types of articles: definite (the) and indefinite (a/an). You can improve the articles that appear in your thesis by:

• not using unnecessary articles with plural nouns,
• not using “a” or “an” with uncountable nouns,
• using articles with singular countable nouns,
• correctly choosing “a” or “an” in front of an acronym,
• correctly deciding if an acronym for an entity needs “the,” and
• and correctly identifying if a country name needs “the.”

Avoid using unnecessary articles with plural nouns

If you are using a plural noun (such as students, criteria, or theses), you usually don’t need to use “the.”

Incorrect	Correct
The researchers have commonly found that	Researchers have commonly found that
The studies were undertaken to determine	Studies were undertaken to determine

The exception is if you want to distinguish that you are talking about a particular group of people or things.

Example	Explanation
This topic has been investigated by teams at many top universities. The researchers have commonly found that	You are talking specifically about work undertaken by certain teams (and not about researchers in general).
The department conducted numerous studies with the funding. The studies were undertaken to determine	You are referring specifically to the studies that were undertaken in this context (as opposed to studies in general).

Don’t use “a” or “an” with uncountable nouns

As the term implies, an uncountable (or mass) noun is something that normally cannot be counted (such as air, anger, information, knowledge, research, rice, and training).

Uncountable nouns cannot be accompanied by “a” or “an,” as it’s impossible to have one of these things. If you really want to talk about one of something, the easiest option is to replace the uncountable noun with one that is countable. Another option is to add a countable noun after the uncountable noun.

Incorrect	Correct alternatives
A research showed that	A study showed that A research project showed that
A training was held	A class was held A training course was held

Use an article (or other determiner) with a singular countable noun

Singular countable nouns (such as formula, participant, and professor) generally cannot stand on their own. If you are not using a possessive (e.g. my, your, her) or a demonstrative (e.g. this, that), you should use an article.

Incorrect	Alternatives
In interview it was revealed that	In his interview it was revealed that In that interview it was revealed that In the interview it was revealed that In an interview it was revealed that
We tested hypothesis before we	We tested our hypothesis before we We tested this hypothesis before we We tested the hypothesis before we We tested a hypothesis before we

Correctly choose “a” or “an” in front of an acronym

Most writers know that words starting with a consonant sound need “a” (e.g., a study, a participant, a European), while words starting with a vowel sound need “an” (e.g., an observation, an interview, an Ethiopian).

The same is true with acronyms (or initialisms), which are formed using the first letter of a series of words (such as SWOT for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats). When whether “a” or “an” is appropriate, focus on how the acronym would be pronounced. For instance, at first glance it might seem like “a HR manager” is right; however, given the way it is read, “an HR manager” is the correct choice.

Examples acronyms with a/an

Many employees earned an MBA or a PhD from an EU-accredited program.

After it creates an R&D department, the agency plans to apply for an FAO grant.

Having an HQ abroad can be difficult for a company with a HEPNET project.

Correctly decide if an acronym for an entity needs “the”

Acronyms that relate to organizations and countries have their own special guidelines when it comes to “the.”

The general test is whether an acronym would be read letter by letter (as in ADB) or pronounced as a word (as in NATO). Acronyms that are read letter by letter usually need “the”:

Examples acronyms with “the”

The headquarters of the UN are in the US.

Several delegations from the EU have visited the UAE.

In contrast, acronyms that are read as words normally do not need “the”:

Examples acronyms without “the”

The secretary-general of OPEC used to work at UNESCO.

Officials from FIFA are currently under scrutiny.

Correctly identify if a country name needs “the”

Most country names do not need an article. For instance, we say “The researcher traveled to Zimbabwe” or “The study was conducted in Thailand.” However, “the” is needed in the following circumstances:

Country rule	Example
When the country’s name includes a common noun, such as Federation,Kingdom, Republic, or State	the Central African Republic the Czech Republic the Democratic People’sRepublic of Korea the Dominican Republic the Kingdom of Bhutan the Republic of Korea the Russian Federation the United Kingdom
When the country’s name is a plural noun or contains a plural noun	the Bahamas the Federated States of Micronesia the Maldives the Marshall Islands the Netherlands the Philippines the Solomon Islands the United Arab Emirates the United States
By tradition	the Gambia

Note that when it comes before a country name, “the” does not need to be capitalized.