there are two types of articles which can be put in front ... · there are two types of articles...
TRANSCRIPT
Therearetwotypesofarticleswhichcanbeputinfrontofanoun:
Definite(the)and
Indefinite(some/a/an).
TheØ Thedefinitearticlethe isusedbeforeboth
singularandpluralspecificnounsthatindicateaparticularthingormemberofagroupandmaybeusedtorefertooneormanyofthesethings.
ex.:The teacherindicatesoneparticularteacher.A teachercouldrefertoanyteacher.
Ø Thedefinitearticlethemaybeusedtorefertooneormanyofthesethings.
ex.:Thedog wasseenrunningafterthecats.
Ø The isusedwhenthenouncannotbecounted.ex.:The coffeeIhadthismorningwastoosweet.ex.:The inkinmypenhasrunout.
Ø The isnotusedwithnon-countablenounsthatrefertosomethinginthegeneralsenseunlessthenon-countablenounismademorespecificbyamodifyingphraseorclause.
ex.:Coffeeismyfavoritedrink;the coffeethatIhadthismorningwasstale.
1.Torefertosomethingwhichhasalreadybeenmentioned.Example:Anelephantandamousefellinlove.Themouseloved theelephant's longtrunk,and theelephant loved themouse's tinynose.
2.Whenboththespeakerandlistenerknowwhatisbeingtalkedabout,evenifithasnotbeenmentionedbefore.Example:“Where'sthebathroom?” “It'sonthefirstfloor.”
3.Torefertoobjectsweregardasunique:Example:thesun,themoon,theworld
4.Insentencesorclauseswherewedefineaparticularpersonorobject.Example:Themanwhowrotethisbookisfamous.Myhouseistheonewithabluedoor.
5.Beforesuperlativesandordinalnumbers:Example:thehighestbuilding,thefirstpage,thelastchapter.
6.Withnamesofgeographicalareasandoceans:Example:theCaribbean,theSahara,theAtlantic
7.Withdecades,orgroupsofyears:Example:shegrewupintheseventies
ØThereisnoarticle:
Withnamesofcountries(ifsingular):
• Germany isanimportanteconomicpower.
• He'sjustreturnedfromZimbabwe.(But:I'mvisitingtheUnitedStates nextweek.)
Withthenamesoflanguages:
• French isspokeninTahiti.• English usesmanywords
ofLatin origin.• Indonesian isarelatively
newlanguage.
Withthenamesofmeals:• Lunch isatmidday.• Dinner isintheevening.• Breakfast isthefirstmeal
oftheday.
ØThereisnoarticle:
Withpeople'snames(ifsingular):
• John's comingtotheparty.• GeorgeKing ismyuncle.
(But:we'rehavinglunchwith theMorganstomorrow.)
Afterpossessivecase:• Hisbrother'scar.• Peter'shouse.
Withprofessions:• Engineering isauseful
career.• He'llprobablygointo
medicine.
Withtitlesandnames:• PrinceCharles isQueen
Elizabeth's son.• PresidentKennedywas
assassinatedinDallas.• Dr.WatsonwasSherlock
Holmes'friend.(But:theQueenofEngland,thePope.)
ØThereisnoarticle:
Withnamesofshops:• I'llgetthecardatSmith's.• CanyougotoBoots forme?
Withuncountablenouns:• Rice isthemainfoodinAsia.• Milk isoftenaddedtotea in
England.• War isdestructive.
Withyears:• 1948wasawonderfulyear.• Doyouremember1995?
Withthenamesofindividualmountains,lakesandislands:
• MountMcKinley isthehighestmountaininAlaska.
• ShelivesnearLakeWindermere.
• HaveyouvisitedLongIsland?
ØThereisnoarticle:
Withmostnamesoftowns,streets,stationsandairports:
• VictoriaStation isinthecentreofLondon.
• CanyoudirectmetoBondStreet?
• ShelivesinFlorence.• They'reflyingfrom
Heathrow.
Insomefixedexpressions,forexample:
• bycar• bytrain• byair• onfoot• onholiday• onair(inbroadcasting)• atschool• atwork• atUniversity• inchurch• inprison• inbed
SomeTheindefinitewordsomeisusedforplural
generalnouns(ex.:somestudents).
A andanØ Theuseofa andanindicatesthatthenounmodifiedisindefinite(no
particularmemberofagroup).Theyareusedwhenthenounmodifiedissingularandgeneral.
Ø Aandanareusedwhenthenouncanbecounted(ex.:avehicle,anapple).
Ø Placetheworda infrontofanynounreferringtoonethingwithinatypebutnotconstrainedtoonetokenthing.Inotherwords,usea foranyonedogbutnotnecessarilythatdog.ex.:Acat jumpedontomylap.
Ø Ifanamountisreferredto(suchasanyorone)thea isnolongerrequired.ex.:Anybox willdo.
Ø A precedessingularnounsthatbeginwithaconsonant(ex.:astudent).Exception#1: Whenasingularnounbeginswithavowelthatsounds likeaconsonant,a isused(auniform;u inuniformsoundslikeyoo).Exception#2: Anbeforeanhmute- anhour,anhonor.
Ø An precedessingularnounsthatbeginwithavowel(ex.:anaddress).
Ø Whenthearticleandthenounareseparatedbyanadjective,thearticlethatagreeswiththeinitialsoundoftheadjectiveisused(ex.:an Englishstudent;awrongaddress).
Ø Neithera/an ortheshouldbeusedwhenreferringtopropernamesunlessitispartofthename.ex.:GeorgewenttoCedarPoint.ex.:Kelly’sfavoritebookisTheLion,theWitch,andtheWardrobe.
Ø Whenapronounreplacesthenouninasentence,thea/anortheisnolongerneeded.ex.:Thecatcamerunning,oritcamerunning.
Ø Torefertosomethingforthefirsttime.Example:Anelephantandamousefellinlove.
Ø Torefertoaparticularmemberofagrouporclass:suchasthenamesofjobs,nationalities,religions,musicalinstrumentsanddaysoftheweek.Examples:Johnisadoctor.JohnisanEnglishman.SherlockHolmeswasplayingaviolin whentheycame.IwasbornonaThursday.
Ø Torefertoa“kindof,” or“exampleof” something.Examples:Themousehadatinynose.Theelephanthadalongtrunk.Itwasaverystrangecar.
Ø Withsingularnouns,afterthewords'what'and'such‘.Examples:Whatashame!She'ssuchabeautifulgirl.
Ø Meaning'one',referringtoasingleobjectorperson.Examples:I'dlikeanorange andtwolemonsplease.Theburglartookadiamondnecklace andavaluablepainting.