«A», «AN», «THE»DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE ARTICLES

By Ahmet Mesut ATEŞ

A) INDEFINITE ARTICLES

USES OF «AN» Singular countable nouns For generalizations Interchangeable with «ANY» Used with vowels

A-E-I-O-U

EXAMPLES They sit on an armchair. His mother is an optician. We had an exam yesterday. You need to shown an

identification. The program requires an update.

A) INDEFINITE ARTICLES

USES OF «A» Singular countable nouns For generalization Interchangeable with «ANY» Used with consonants

EXAMPLES I ate a persimmon for lunch. My grandfather was a lawyer. New teacher asked everyone a question. A policeman warned me about traffic. I have got a pink bow-tie. We saw a giraffe at the zoo yesterday. I am starting to a new book today. They are going to a movie.

A) DEFINITE ARTICLE

USES OF «THE» For unique objects – when

there is only one of the object in the world

For religious books

EXAMPLES The sun warms the earth. He watched the moon all night. There are many kites in the sky. My father knows the Prime Minister. The headmaster gave a speech

yesterday. My brother can read the Quran.

B) INDEFINITE ARTICLES

USES OF «AN» Used with vowel soundVOWEL SOUND: It is not a letter. Listen the words. They are written with «silent h». We don’t pronounce the letter «h». «Silent h» is found in

words of French origin.

EXAMPLES I waited him for an hour. Your uncle is an honorary

member. An honest person never lies. The king needed an heir.

B) INDEFINITE ARTICLES

USES OF «A» Used with consonant

sound.CONSONANT SOUND: It is not a letter. Listen the words. Words are written with vowels but pronounced with consonants.

i.e. university /juːnɪˈvəːsɪti/one /wʌn/

EXAMPLES There is a 1 in my school number. Jane teaches Physics in a university. There is a U-turn ahead. Children broke a utensil. We need a unanimous vote.

B) DEFINITE ARTICLE

USES OF «THE» 2nd time we mention a

noun When speaker and listener

both know the noun With ordinal numbers With superlative adjectives With famous buildings,

monuments.

With directions With country names including political

titles:«united», «kingdom», «federation»,«union», «republic»

B) DEFINITE ARTICLEEXAMPLES They bought a car. The car is parked in front of the house. You need to turn right from the third street on the right. The most famous dessert of Turkey is «baklava». When in France, we took photos on the Eiffel Tower. She didn’t see the Statue of Liberty. My relatives live in the North but I live in the South. Everybody emigrates to the West. I have a friend from the USA (the States, the United States of

America). Our new lecturer is from the UK (the United Kingdom). He lives in the Russian Federation now. They will join the European Union (the EU) next year.

B) HOW TO PRONOUNCE «THE»

Read it as /ðə/ (thuh) with consonant sounds.

Examples:He live by the lake.My brother fixed the window.He didn’t see the present.You cannot eat the pie yet.

Read it as /ðiː/ (thee) with vowel sounds.

Examples:You are the one and only person.«The eye of the tiger» is my favorite.Did you talk to the organizator?The apocalypse (the end) is nigh.

C) DEFINITE ARTICLEUSES OF «THE» With country names that include common nouns. With country names ending with plural –s With names of group of (small) islands For political regions With river names, sea names, names of mountain chains With newspaper names With family names For (specific) abstract nouns With adjectives to talk about groups of people For university names starting with the word «university» For transportation when not using «by» with the verbs

C) DEFINITE ARTICLEEXAMPLES The Philippines – assuming the islands in its official name The Bahamas, the Seychelles, the Comoros The Canary Islands, the Channel Islands, the Virgin Islands, the Turks and

Caicos etc. The Balkans, the Riviera, the Crimea (region not the country) The River Thames, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, the Rockies, the

Dolomites The New York Time, the Washington Post The Simpsons, the Rockefellers, the Starks, the Lannisters The love of a mother is hard to surpass. The rich doesn’t know how the poor lives. The University of Manchester, the University of Edinburgh Don’t use the metro on Sunday – it will be very crowded.

C) DEFINITE ARTICLEWHEN NOT TO USE «THE» People’s names Titles (when title is used together with name) Continents, countries (exceptions apply), cities and states Singular and big islands Mountain and lake names Names of days, months and special days Languages Elements General abstract nouns Sports Subjects of study

C) DEFINITE ARTICLEEXAMPLES I met the Clara last weekend. They have a meeting with the Dr. Susan. I love the Americas because the Canada is in there – my favorite city is

the Toronto. She is from the Australia. The Mount Everest, the Lake Superior, the Mount Ağrı She will visit us on the Monday. I will visit her on the Christmas. Everybody knows the English in northern European countries. The new found element is denser than the mercury. The freedom is worth dying for. I love the football but not the baseball. She studied the Law abroad.

References http://

www.cambridge.org/grammarandbeyond/uncategorized/2014/04/more-about-country-names-and-the

http://www.cambridge.org/grammarandbeyond/newsletter/2011/11/using-the-with-the-names-of-countries

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-Jkx670rT8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZDPFYFH41Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmR_CYJrz8o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlip6eSfuGs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4U0uLBATZI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Dl74Erx234 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seg9jEcWIo4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc5i5jnqM4g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zJQoQLCeNo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqrKMIrN8wQ