Articles English Grammar What are Articles n Articles

Articles English Grammar

What are Articles? n Articles are used to indicate whether or not we expect our listeners to know which things or people we are referring to; n Articles help to indicate particular people/ things or people/things in general. n For example, if I say, "Let's read the book, " I mean a specific book. If I say, "Let's read a book, " I mean any book rather than a specific book. n There are 2 types of Articles n Indefinite articles –A/An n Definite article - The

Indefinite Articles n n A/An –Indefinite Articles A/An is usually used when: ¡ ¡ ¡ n A person/thing is mentioned for the first time We refer to people/things unknown to our listener We refer to people/things which are general or not unique Examples: 1. 2. 3. Look! There’s a cat under my car. I am going to a party tonight. Would you like to eat a biscuit?

Indefinite Articles Contd… n n A is used before words that DO NOT begin with a vowel sound An is used before words beginning with a vowel sound Vowels V. S. Vowel Sounds n There are 5 vowels in the alphabet: A E I O U n Written vowels are NOT pronounced with a vowel sound all the time n The pronunciations of these vowels differ according to the word

Indefinite Articles Contd… Words beginning with a vowel sound: n Apple [ae] An apple n Umbrella [ah] An umbrella n Honest [au] (“H” is silent here) An honest man Words beginning with a written vowel but NOT a vowel sound: n University [you] A university n European [you] A European country n One [wa] A one-man band

Definite Article n n The –Definite Article The is used when: You are talking about a particular person/thing Your listener knows which person/thing you mean Examples n Quiet! Here comes the principal. n How did you do for the English test?

Rules for using Articles n RULE-1: Do not use singular countable nouns without articles n Countable nouns Nouns which can be counted individually. ¡ ¡ n E. g. Cat: one cat, two cats etc. Singular = one (e. g. cat); Plural = more than one (e. g. cats) In other words, you must use articles with singular countable nouns: ¡ ¡ I used to have a cat. But the cat ran away 2 years ago.

Rules for using Articles Contd… n RULE-2: Use a/an when talking about jobs people do. Example ¡ ¡ ¡ Jenny is a teacher. James is a lawyer. Ramesh is an Ophthalmologist.

Rules for using Articles Contd… n n RULE-3: A/An is used only with singular countable nouns. It is NOT used with uncountable nouns. Uncountable nouns Nouns which you cannot be counted individually. E. g. Water, sand, hair, air etc. Examples: ¡ ¡ Kate has a long hair. (Wrong) Kate has long hair. (Correct) Mandy has cat. (Wrong) Mandy has a cat. (Correct)

Rules for using Articles Contd… n RULE- 4: a) DO NOT use the when talking about something in general b) DO NOT put the in front of n n Plural countable nouns (e. g. vegetables, cats etc. ) Singular uncountable nouns (e. g. gold, milk etc. ) Examples: ¡ I love to eat vegetables and drink milk. ¡ Cats have claws. ¡ Gold is expensive.

Rules for using Articles Contd… n RULE-5: DO NOT use articles with sports/ games. ¡ ¡ n Some countable nouns are NOT used with articles in certain situations: ¡ ¡ ¡ n I like the Taekwondo. (Wrong) I like Taekwondo. (Correct) He‟s not home now. Are you in school? My uncle is in hospital. Nouns like these refer to typical activities known to both the speaker and listener and DO NOT require articles.

Use of Articles: Summarized Common noun or noun phrase Uncountable Countable Singular a/an (non-specific/ generic) the (specific) Plural the (specific) Ø zero (Ø) (nonspecific/generi c)

Rules for Using Articles n These categories of proper nouns do not require “the” Categories People’s names Cities and states Singular names of countries Months/days Streets Religious buildings Mountains Parks Lakes eg 1471/jc/dec 2008 Examples John Locke Bangkok, Negri Sembilan Indonesia, Australia May, Tuesday Pickering Street, Holland Road St. Andrew’s Cathedral Mount Fuji Hyde Park Lake Victoria

Rules for Using Articles n The proper nouns below require “the”. Categories Museums and galleries Buildings Highways Seas and oceans Rivers and deserts Periods and events in history Bridges Countries with United, Union, Kingdom, Republic Island groups ending in (e)s eg 1471/jc/dec 2008 Examples the Asian Civilization Museum the University Cultural Centre the Pan-Island Expressway the South China Sea the Mississippi, the Gobi desert the Dark Ages the Manhattan Bridge the United States, the People’s Republic of China the Philippines

Superlatives, Ordinals and Sole References n The definite article “the” is always used with the above categories. Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. (superlative) Statistics is the second most difficult subject. (ordinal) The main (only/sole/chief) reason I do engineering is to contribute to mankind. (sole reference)

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