ARTICLES
The 3 articles
in English are a, an
and the.
The learner has to decide noun-by-noun which one of the articles to use*. In
fact, there are 4 choices to make, because sometimes no article is necessary.
Native-speakers, of course, use the articles correctly without thinking.
English learners, on the other hand, need to have some guidelines for making
the right choice - particularly those learners whose own language does not have
articles, such as Japanese or Korean. The guidelines that follow here should help
students to a basic understanding of
English article use.
The most important first step in
choosing the correct article is to categorize the noun as count
or uncount**:
- A count noun is a noun that
can have a number in front of it: 1 teacher, 3 books, 76 trombones,
1,000,000 people.
- An uncount noun is a noun
that cannot have a number put in front of it: 1 water, 2 lucks, 10 airs,
21 oils, 39 informations. Once you have correctly categorized the noun (using
your dictionary if necessary), the following "rules" apply:
Uncount nouns
- You cannot say a/an with an uncount noun.
- You cannot put a number in front of an uncount noun. (You cannot make an uncount noun plural.)
- You use an uncount noun with no article if you mean that thing in general.
- You use the with an uncount noun when you are talking about a particular example of that thing.
Count nouns
- You can put a number in front of a count noun. (You can make a count noun plural.)
- You can put both a/an and the in front of a count noun.
- You must put an article** in front of a singular count noun.
- You use a plural count noun with no article if you mean all or any of that thing.
- You usually use a/an with a count noun the first time you say or write that noun.
- You use the with count nouns:
- the second and subsequent times you use the noun in a piece of speech or writing
- when the listener knows what you are referring to (maybe because there is only one of that thing)
- You use an (not a) when the next word (adverb, adjective, noun) starts with a vowel sound.
Note:
- The above rules apply whether there is or there is not an adjective in front of the noun.
- Some nouns can be either count or uncount, depending on the context and meaning:
- Do you have paper? I want to draw a picture. (uncount = a sheet of paper)
- Can you get me a paper when you’re at the shop? (count = a newspaper)
- Uncount nouns are often preceded by phrases such as: a lot of .. (luck), a piece of .. (cake), a bottle of .. (milk), a grain of .. (rice).
*
Instead of an article, the noun can also be preceded by a
determiner such as this, that, some, many
or my, his, our, etc.
Following
are some of the most important guidelines listed above, with example sentences:
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1. You use an uncount noun with no
article if you mean all or any of that thing.
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2. You use the with an
uncount noun when you are talking about a particular example of that thing.
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3. You usually use a/an
with a count noun the first time you say or write that noun.
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4. You use the with count
nouns the second and subsequent times you use the noun, or when the listener
already knows what you are referring to (maybe because there is only one of
that thing).
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5. You use a plural count noun
with no article if you mean all or any of that thing.
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6. The above rules apply whether
there is or there is not an adjective in front of the noun.
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Articles are usually characterized
as either definite
or indefinite. A few languages with well-developed
systems of articles may distinguish additional subtypes.
Within each type, languages may have
various forms of each article, according to grammatical attributes such as gender, number,
or case,
or according to adjacent sounds.
DEFINITE ARTICLE
A definite article indicates that its noun is a
particular one (or ones) identifiable to the listener. It may be something that
the speaker has already mentioned, or it may be something uniquely specified.
The definite article in English, for both singular and plural nouns, is the.
The
children know the fastest way home.
The sentence above refers to
specific children and a specific way home; it contrasts with the much more
general observation that:
Children
know the fastest way home.
The latter sentence refers to
children in general, perhaps all or most of them.
Likewise,
Give
me the book.
refers to a specific book whose
identity is known or obvious to the listener; as such it has a markedly
different meaning from
Give
me a book.
which does not specify what book is
to be given.
The definite article can also be
used in English to indicate a specific class among other classes:
The
cabbage white butterfly lays its eggs on members of the Brassica genus.
The definite article is sometimes
also used with proper names,
which are already specified by definition (there is just one of them).
For example: the Amazon, the Hebrides. In these cases, the definite
article is strictly speaking superfluous. Some languages also use definite
articles with personal names.
For example, such use is standard in Portuguese:
a Maria, literally: "the Maria". It also occurs colloquially
in Spanish, German and other languages.
INDEFINITE ARTICLE
An indefinite article indicates that its noun is not a
particular one (or ones) identifiable to the listener. It may be something that
the speaker is mentioning for the first time, or its precise identity may be
irrelevant or hypothetical, or the speaker may be making a general statement
about any such thing. English uses a/an, from the Old English forms of
the number 'one', as its primary indefinite article. The form an is used
before words that begin with a vowel sound (even if spelled with an initial
consonant, as in an hour), and a before words that begin with a
consonant sound (even if spelled with a vowel, as in a European).
She
had a house so large that an elephant would get lost without a
map.
The word some is used as a
functional plural of a/an. "An apple" never means more than
one apple. "Give me some apples" indicates more than one is
desired but without specifying a quantity. This finds comparison in Spanish,
where the singular indefinite article 'un/una' ("one") is completely
indistinguishable from the unit number, except where it has a plural form
('unos/unas'): Dame una manzana" ("Give me an apple")
> "Dame unas manzanas" ("Give me some apples").
However, some also serves as a quantifier rather than as a plural
article, as in "There are some apples there, but not many."
Some
also serves as a singular indefinite article, as in "There is some
person on the porch". This usage differs from the usage of a(n) in
that some indicates that the identity of the noun is unknown to both the
listener and the speaker, while a(n) indicates that the identity is
unknown to the listener without specifying whether or not it is known to the
speaker. Thus There is some person on the porch indicates indefiniteness
to both the listener and the speaker, while There is a person on the porch
indicates indefiniteness to the listener but gives no information as to whether
the speaker knows the person's identity.
PARTITVE ARTICLE
A partitive article is a type of indefinite article
used with a mass noun such as water, to indicate
a non-specific quantity of it. Partitive articles are used in French and Italian in addition to definite and
indefinite articles. The nearest equivalent in English is some, although
this is considered a determiner
and not an article.
French:
Voulez-vous du café ?
Do
you want (some) coffee? (or, dialectally but more
accurately, Do you want some of this coffee?)
See
also more information about the
French partitive article.
Haida has a partitive article (suffixed -gyaa)
referring to "part of something or... to one or more objects of a given
group or category," e.g., tluugyaa uu hal tlaahlaang 'he is making
a boat (a member of the category of boats).'[7]
NEGATIVE ARTICLE
A negative article specifies none of its noun,
and can thus be regarded as neither definite nor indefinite. On the other hand,
some consider such a word to be a simple determiner
rather than an article. In English, this function is fulfilled by no,
which can appear before a singular or plural noun:
No
man is an island.
No
dogs are allowed here.
ZERO ARTICLE
The zero article is the absence of an article. In
languages having a definite article, the lack of an article specifically
indicates that the noun is indefinite. Linguists interested in X-bar theory causally link zero articles to
nouns lacking a determiner.[8] In English, the zero article
rather than the indefinite is used with plurals
and mass nouns, although the word
"some" can be used as an indefinite plural article.
Visitors
end up walking in mud.
EXERCISE 1.
Fill in the blank with the appropriate article, a, an, or the, or
leave the space blank if no article is needed.
1. I want ____ apple from that
basket.
2. ____ church on the corner is
progressive.
3. Miss Lin speaks ____ Chinese.
4. I borrowed ____ pencil from your
pile of pencils and pens.
5. One of the students said,
"____ professor is late today."
6 Eli likes to play ____ volleyball.
7. I bought ____ umbrella to go out
in the rain.
8. My daughter is learning to play
____ violin at her school.
9. Please give me ____ cake that is
on the counter.
10. I lived on ____ Main Street when
I first came to town.
11. Albany is the capital of ____
New York State.
12. My husband's family speaks ____
Polish.
13. ____ apple a day keeps the
doctor away.
14. ____ ink in my pen is red.
15. Our neighbors have ____ cat and
____ dog.
Answer : EXERCISE 1
Correct answers are in
bold.
1. I want an apple from that
basket.
2. The church on the corner
is progressive.
3. Miss Lin speaks Chinese. (no
article needed)
4. I borrowed a pencil from
your pile of pencils and pens.
5. One of the students said, "The
professor is late today."
6. Eli likes to play volleyball. (no
article needed)
7. I bought an umbrella to go
out in the rain.
8. My daughter is learning to play the
violin at her school.
9. Please give me the cake
that is on the counter.
10. I lived on Main Street when I
first came to town. (no article needed)
11. Albany is the capital of New
York State. (no article needed)
12. My husband's family speaks
Polish. (no article needed)
13. An apple a day keeps the
doctor away.
14. The ink in my pen is red.
15. Our neighbors have a cat
and a dog.
EXERCISE 2.
Fill in the blank with the appropriate article, a, an, or the, or
leave the space blank if no article is needed.
1. I want ____ apple from that
basket.
2. ____ church on the corner is
progressive.
3. Miss Lin speaks ____ Chinese.
4. I borrowed ____ pencil from your
pile of pencils and pens.
5. One of the students said,
"____ professor is late today."
6 Eli likes to play ____ volleyball.
7. I bought ____ umbrella to go out
in the rain.
8. My daughter is learning to play
____ violin at her school.
9. Please give me ____ cake that is
on the counter.
10. I lived on ____ Main Street when
I first came to town.
11. Albany is the capital of ____
New York State.
12. My husband's family speaks ____
Polish.
13. ____ apple a day keeps the
doctor away.
14. ____ ink in my pen is red.
15. Our neighbors have ____ cat and
____ dog.
Answer : EXERCISE 2
Correct answers are in bold.
1. I want an apple from that
basket.
2. The church on the corner
is progressive.
3. Miss Lin speaks Chinese. (no
article needed)
4. I borrowed a pencil from
your pile of pencils and pens.
5. One of the students said, "The
professor is late today."
6. Eli likes to play volleyball. (no
article needed)
7. I bought an umbrella to go
out in the rain.
8. My daughter is learning to play the
violin at her school.
9. Please give me the cake
that is on the counter.
10. I lived on Main Street when I
first came to town. (no article needed)
11. Albany is the capital of New
York State. (no article needed)
12. My husband's family speaks
Polish. (no article needed)
13. An apple a day keeps the
doctor away.
14. The ink in my pen is red.
15. Our neighbors have a cat
and a dog.
EXERCISE 3.
Write the following paragraphs, inserting a, an,
and the
where needed.
1. I have horse of my own. I call
her Pretty Girl. She is intelligent animal, but she is not thoroughbred horse. I
could never enter her in race, even if I wanted to. But I do not want to. She
is companion, for my own pleasure. I took her swimming day or two ago.
2. Horse knows when he is going to
race. How does he know? His breakfast was scanty. (He is angry about that.) He
does not have saddle on his back. He is being led, not ridden, to grandstand.
He is led under grandstand into unusual, special stall. Horse is nervous.
Sometimes he does not know what to do when starting gate flies open and track
is before him. If he does not begin to run instantly, other horses are already
ahead of him. During race, when he sees another horse just ahead of him, he
will try to pass him. Sometimes jockey holds him back to save his energy for
last stretch. Eventually horse gets to run as fast as he can. Exercise boy,
watching owner's favorite jockey riding horse he has exercised day after day,
says nothing. Secretly, he is planning for day when he will be jockey himself,
and his horse will be first to cross finish line.
3. Most people have fewer hours to
give to time-consuming activities of clubs than they used to have, but most
people in small town belong to club or two. One of clubs is likely to be social
and benevolent organization, such as Rotary or Elks. Business people are likely
to belong, also to either Kiwanis Club or Lions. Such business people's
organizations may meet as often as once a week in one of private dining rooms
of town's leading hotel for lunch. They have good lunch, hear good program, and
continue their fundraising program for worthy organization, such as local
hospital.
Answer : EXERCISE 3.
Correct answers are in bold.
1.
I have a horse of my own. I call her Pretty Girl. She is an intelligent
animal, but she is not a thoroughbred horse. I could never enter her in a
race, even if I wanted to. But I do not want to. She is a companion,
for my own pleasure. I took her swimming a day or two ago.
2.
A horse knows when he is going to race. How does he know? His breakfast
was scanty. (He is angry about that.) He does not have a saddle on his
back. He is being led, not ridden, to the grandstand. He is led under the
grandstand into an unusual, special stall. The horse is
nervous. Sometimes he does not know what to do when the starting gate
flies open and the track is before him. If he does not begin to run
instantly, other horses are already ahead of him. During the race, when
he sees another horse just ahead of him, he will try to pass him. Sometimes the
jockey holds him back to save his energy for the last stretch.
Eventually the horse gets to run as fast as he can. The exercise
boy, watching the owner's favorite jockey riding the horse he has
exercised day after day, says nothing. Secretly, he is planning for the
day when he will be a jockey himself, and his horse will be the first
to cross the finish line.
3.
Most working people have fewer hours to give to time-consuming activities of
clubs than they used to have, but most people in a small town belong to a
club or two. One of the clubs is likely to be a social and
benevolent organization, such as the Rotary or Elks. Business people are
likely to belong, also to either the Kiwanis Club or the Lions.
Such business people's organizations may meet as often as once a week in one of
the private dining rooms of the town's leading hotel for lunch.
They have a good lunch, hear a good program, and continue their
fundraising program for a worthy organization, such as a local
hospital.
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