Grammar

articles : a, an, or the

Articles (The Usage of a(n), the or )

Using articles correctly is one of the most difficult grammatical tasks for non-native English speakers. There are four articles in English: a, an, the, and (no article), called zero article.

The three articles a, an, the are a kind of adjective. The is called the definite article because it usually precedes a specific or previously mentioned noun; A and an are called indefinite articles because they are used to refer to something in a less specific manner (an unspecified count noun). These words are also listed among the noun markers or determiners because they are almost invariably followed by a noun (or something else acting as a noun).

EXAMPLE
Try these examples: The sky was dark, the wind blew, the rain fell, at last, winter had arrived. The 15:45 was late again, the stationmaster paced impatiently, this was the forth time this week! The Earth is the third planet from the nearest star, namely, The Sun, we use the for these two bodies, interestingly, we dont use it for the other planets in our system.

first, lets compare

a and an
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we use before words which begin with

consonants
(b,c,d,f)
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a doctor a big car a girl

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we also use before when it sounds like the

word you and before

eu

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sounds like you

starts with

u = university
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a university

sounds like you

starts with =

eu
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a European city

we use before words which begin with

an

vowels

(a,e,i,o,u)

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Cultural Shared Knowledge Cultural shared knowledge applies to concepts that everyone in a certain culture knows. In the Westernized cultures, these include the television, the radio, the capital, the movie, the theater, the newspaper, the time (that is, the present hour), etc.
Exceptions: Many of these cultural concept nouns can also be single items for which we do not use cultural shared knowledge. Example: Theres a good movie on television (concept). Theres a clock on the television (object). I had a good time (an experience). I dont have time (abstract idea).

an apple an interesting film

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we also use before words that begin with a

an

silent

h
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silent h = hour

an hour
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hard h = house

a house
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Articles
Zero article

0
General references

Concept
When were referring to things in general, we dont need an article Holidays are so relaxing! Butter is very fattening

Concept
However... use NO article with We also

Most places names A group of states

I went to UnitedTown in Africa in 2007 The Cape States

A group of countries Months and years

Nicholas United Kingdom The was born in December 2007

The or Zero?
The ________ life of an immigrant is often very hard. ________ Life in the 21st century is changing fast. life
________Children children

grow up faster nowadays. The ________ children in my street are very noise.
________ love Love

makes the world goes round. The ________ love he had for his country was huge.
SB p 10 ex 3

Countable and uncountable nouns

It is necessary to decide whether most nouns are countable or uncountable. We can count books, elements, and hypotheses. We cannot count wood, air, and chemistry. Uncountable nouns can be made countable in several ways. SOLID and SPECIFIC INFORMATION have a piece of before the noun: a piece of wood a piece of information a piece of cake a piece of data a piece of advice a piece of furniture a piece of equipment a piece of research

next, lets compare

a/an and the

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Mary: I bought CD player and a TV yesterday. Joe: Was CD player expensive?

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the

we usually use with a noun to talk about a person or thing for the first time
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a/an

a CD player
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we usually use when we talk about the person or thing again

the

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the CD player = the

one that Mary bought
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however, there are some special uses of

a/an and the

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we use with prices, frequency and speeds

a/an

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prices
It costs 2

a litre
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frequency I drink about three cups of coffee

a day
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speeds Youre driving at ninety miles

an hour
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we use before hundred, thousand, and million

a/an

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a hundred people a thousand days

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we use

a/an for talking

about jobs
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Im a bank manager

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we use when there is only one of something

the

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May I turn on

the TV?
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Wheres Mary?
Shes in

the kitchen.
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we use

the with musical

instruments
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the guitar. Jane plays the violin.

I play
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Articles with proper nouns

Proper nouns are names or titles of distinct persons, places, or things. Since they are distinct, proper nouns occur only with the article the and , never with a(n). As a rule, names require the zero article whereas titles require the. Name Title President Bush the president of the U.S. Mr. Churchill the prime minister of England Secretary Schultz the secretary of state Dr. Lee the dean of the School of Engineering

People

Countries
Ukraine States Cities

China

the Peoples Republic of China the Ukraine Republic

the state of California the city of Taipei

California Taipei

Chart for Choosing the Correct Article ENTER NOUN Does this noun have a unique reference? no Is it a countable noun? yes Is it singular? yes Use a(n).

yes Use the

no
Use no article

no
Use no article and plural noun.
chapter 1 43

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