article usage 1231779397976340 1
Post on 25-May-2015
2.929 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
ARTICLE USAGEARTICLE USAGE
1/3/2009 Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 1
By: Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar http://www.kau.edu.sa/SBANJER
http://wwwdrshadiabanjar.blogspot.com
There are only two types of articles in the English
language:
1. Definite article; “the” and
2. Indefinite article; “a”/ “an”.
Definite Article: the
Indefinite Article: a
/ an
Articles
1/3/2009 2Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar
In a broad sense, an article is a type of adjective that
gives information about a noun.
Definite Article: the
Indefinite Article: a / anWhen do
I use
them?
Which
article?
1/3/2009 3Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar
It depends on what kind
of noun is being modified.
article?
• Nouns are generic, indefinite, or definite.
• Nouns are count or noncount.
• Nouns are singular or plural.
Kinds of Nouns
1/3/2009 Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 4
A generic noun represents a whole class of
things.
It is not a specific, real, concrete thing, but
rather a symbol of a whole group.
GENERIC NOUNS
Examples of Generic Nouns:
1/3/2009 Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 5
Examples of Generic Nouns:
A bird has wings.
A horse has four legs.
An apple is red.
USING A or Ø: GENERIC NOUNS
SINGULAR COUNT NOUN a) A banana is yellow.
PLURAL COUNT NOUN b) Ø Bananas are yellow.
NONCOUNT NOUN c) Ø Fruit is good for you.
A speaker uses generic nouns to make generalizations.
1/3/2009 Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 6
A speaker uses generic nouns to make generalizations.
In a) & b): The speaker is talking about any banana, all bananas,
bananas in general.
In c): The speaker is talking about any and all fruit , fruit in
general.
Notice:No article is used to make generalizations
with plural count nouns, as in b), and with
noncount nouns, as in c).
INDEFINITE NOUNS
Indefinite nouns are actual things (not symbols),
but they are not specifically identified.
Examples of Indefinite Nouns:
There is a table in the room.
I ate an apple.
1/3/2009 Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 7
I ate an apple.
The girl was wearing a hat.
Singular I ate a banana.
Plural count noun
(two, a few, several)
I ate some bananas.
Indefinite Nouns
1/3/2009 Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 8
Noncount noun
(a little, a lot of)
I ate some fruit.
USING A or SOME: INDEFINITE NOUNS
In a):
SINGULAR COUNT NOUN a) I ate a banana.
PLURAL COUNT NOUN b) I ate some bananas.
NONCOUNT NOUN c) I ate some Fruit.
1/3/2009 Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 9
In a):
the speaker is not referring to “this banana” or “that
banana” or “the banana you gave me”.
The speaker is simply saying that he ate one banana.
The listener does not know nor need to know which
specific banana was eaten.
It was simply one banana out of that whole group of
things in the world called bananas.
In b) and c):
Some is often used with
indefinite plural count nouns and
indefinite noncount nouns.
In addition to some, a speaker
might use two, a few, several, a
1/3/2009 Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 10
might use two, a few, several, a
lot of, etc., with plural count
nouns, or a little, a lot of, etc.,
with noncount nouns.
DEFINITE NOUNS
Examples of definite Nouns:
A noun is definite when both the speaker and
the listener are thinking about the same specific
thing.
1/3/2009 Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 11
Examples of definite Nouns:
Thank you for the apple you gave me.
I love to look at the moon.
The food I ate last night made me sick.
The banana I ate this morning was delicious.
I got the apples from the tree.
Singular
Plural
Definite Nouns
1/3/2009 Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 12
I got the apples from the tree.
The fruit from that market is inexpensive.
Plural
Noncount
USING THE: DEFINITE NOUNS
SINGULAR COUNT NOUN a) Thank you for the
banana.
PLURAL COUNT NOUN b) Thank you for the bananas.
NONCOUNT NOUN c) Thank you for the Fruit.
1/3/2009 Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 13
In a):
The speaker uses ‘the’ because the listener knows which
specific banana the speaker is talking about, i.e., that particular
banana which the listener gave to the speaker.
NONCOUNT NOUN c) Thank you for the Fruit.
Notice:‘the’ is used with both singular and plural count nouns
and with noncount nouns.
Use a and an when the noun is indefinite and singular. The rule is:•a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy•an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant
•a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins with a consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used)
1. Indefinite Articles: a and an
1/3/2009 Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 14
'y' sound, so 'a' is used)•some + plural noun: some girlsIf the noun has an adjective, follow the same rules, BUT use the first letter/sound of the adjective:•a broken egg•an unusual problem
•a European country (sounds like 'yer-o-pi-an,' i.e. begins with consonant 'y' sound).
2. Definite Article: the
The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific.
INDEFINITE vs. DEFINITE
NounIndefinite
(a or an)
Definite
(the)
•a dog •the dog
1/3/2009 Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 15
Singular
•a dog
(any dog)
•an apple
(any apple)
•the dog
(that specific dog)
•the apple
(that specific apple)
Plural
•some dogs
(any dogs)
•some apples
(any apples)
•the dogs
(those specific dogs)
•the apples
(those specific apples)
is not used with noncountablenouns referring to something in a general (indefinite) sense:• [no article] Coffee is a popular drink.
• [no article] Japanese was his native language.
• [no article] Intelligence is difficult to quantify.
The is used with noncountable nouns
1/3/2009 Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 16
The is used with noncountable nouns that are specific:• The coffee in my cup is too hot to drink.
• The Japanese he speaks is often heard in the countryside.
• The intelligence of animals is variable but undeniable.
Do not use the before:names of countries
names of cities, towns, or statesnames of streets names of lakes and bays
names of continents names of islandsDo use the before:
Saudi
Arabia
√√√√
XXXX
1/3/2009 Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 17
Do use the before:
names of rivers, oceans and seaspoints on the globe
geographical areasnames of deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas
Makkah
√√√√
1/3/2009 Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 18
top related