She read a magazine about fishing. She read the article about summertime fly-fishing on the Snake River. A plural countable noun refers to more than one person, place, thing, or idea. After we decide a noun is plural and countable, we must determine if the noun is specific or non-specific. Only specific plural countable nouns have articles, and they always use the .
Apples grow in Washington.
The apples that grow in Washington are always excellent. The books for my chemistry class are more expensive than my car. A and an are never used with non-countable nouns. If the noun is general, representing an abstract concept, it will not have an article. If the noun is a specific, particular case of an abstract concept, it will use the article the .