What is an Article? Articles seem so easy, but it is extremely difficult to teach.

"A", "An", and "The" are all articles. It is easy to explain the difference between them, but it is difficult to explain when they are used. "A" and "An" have the same meaning. They are both indefinite articles. They are only different depending on what word or sound is following. Here is a brief explanation. You should use "A" when the following word starts with a consonant. "A dog..." "A boy..." "A building..." "A hamburger..." You should use "An" when the following starts with a vowel sound. "An eagle..." "An umbrella..." "An elephant..." "An awesome book..." "The" is a definite article. The difference is if the noun or subject you are talking about is specific or not. Examples are the best way to understand the difference, so let's take a look. If you say, "I am going to a library to study", then the person you are speaking with does not know which library. If you say, "I am going to the library to study", then the person you are speaking with knows the specific library you are going to. "I am going to a coffee shop" (No specific coffee shop) "I am going to the coffee shop" (A specific coffee shop both the speaker and listener knows) Here is a slightly different example, but still using the same concept of specific or general. "I am going to sit in front of one of the computers in the lab" "I am going to buy a computer" Although the computer in the lab can be one of many computers, the correct article is "the" because it is still a specific computer that exists in the lab. However, if you say you are going to buy a computer, you cannot use "the" unless you already have the computer specified. Buying a computer can be any brand, type, or size so it is very general. Therefore, you must use "A" in this type of sentence. Here is another type of example: "The heat wave is unbearable" "I heard a heat wave is coming" The difference between these two sentences is that the "heat wave" is specified in the first sentence, and not specified in the second sentence. In the first sentence, the heat wave is already present and both the speaker and listener knows that the heat wave they are talking about is the one they are currently experiencing. The second sentence is referring to a future heat wave that is not specific. When and When NOT to use an article One common rule to keep in mind is that articles are not used when referring to a name. "Turn right at the burger store" "Turn right at McDonalds"

"The boy was running very fast" "Mike was running very fast" Another example of when not to use an article is when referring to general things in conversation. "Too much alcohol is bad for you" "Cigarettes can cause lung cancer" When you are referring to sports, you do not need an article. "I love playing badminton" "Football is a dangerous sport" In most cases, you don't need an article when referring to a country except when the name is referring to multiple countries or regions. For example, if you say England or Scotland, you don't need an article, but if you are referring to The United Kingdom, then you do need an article. Grammar rule 1 When you have a single, countable English noun, you must always have an article before it. We cannot say "please pass me pen", we must say "please pass me the pen" or "please pass me a pen" or "please pass me your pen". Nouns in English can also be uncountable. Uncountable nouns can be concepts, such as 'life', 'happiness' and so on, or materials and substances, such as 'coffee', or 'wood'. Grammar rule 2 Uncountable nouns don't use 'a' or 'an'. This is because you can't count them. For example, advice is an uncountable noun. You can't say "he gave me an advice", but you can say "he gave me some advice", or "he gave me a piece of advice". Some nouns can be both countable and uncountable. For example, we say "coffee" meaning the product, but we say "a coffee" when asking for one cup of coffee. Grammar rule 3 You can use 'the' to make general things specific. You can use 'the' with any type of noun plural or singular, countable or uncountable. "Please pass me a pen" any pen. "Please pass me the pen" the one that we can both see. "Children grow up quickly" children in general. "The children I know grow up quickly" not all children, just the ones I know. "Poetry can be beautiful"- poetry in general. "The poetry of Hopkins is beautiful" I'm only talking about the poetry Hopkins wrote. More uses of articles in English Rivers, mountain ranges, seas, oceans and geographic areas all use 'the'. For example, "The Thames", "The Alps", "The Atlantic Ocean", "The Middle East". Unique things have 'the'. For example, "the sun", "the moon".

Some institutional buildings don't have an article if you visit them for the reason these buildings exist. But if you go to the building for another reason, you must use 'the'. "Her husband is in prison." (He's a prisoner.) "She goes to the prison to see him once a month." "My son is in school." (He's a student.) "I'm going to the school to see the head master." "She's in hospital at the moment." (She's ill.) "Her husband goes to the hospital to see her every afternoon." Musical instruments use 'the'. "She plays the piano." Sports don't have an article. "He plays football." Illnesses don't have an article. "He's got appendicitis." But we say "a cold" and "a headache". Jobs use 'a'. "I'm a teacher." Countries We don't use 'a' if the country is singular. "He lives in England." But if the country's name has a "plural" meaning, we use 'the'. "The People's Republic of China", "The Netherlands", "The United States of America". Continents, towns and streets don't have an article. "Africa", "New York", "Church Street". Theatres, cinemas and hotels have 'the'. "The Odeon", "The Almeira", "The Hilton". Abbreviations use 'the'. "the UN", "the USA", "the IMF". We use 'the' before classes of people. "the rich", "the poor", "the British".

Articles in Advance What is an article? Basically, an article is an adjective. Like adjectives, articles modify nouns. English has two articles: the and a/an. The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns; a/an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns. We call the the definite article and a/an the indefinite article. the = definite article a/an = indefinite article 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.

Here's another way to explain it: The is used to refer to a specific or particular member of a group. For example, "I just saw the most popular movie of the year." There are many movies, but only one particular movie is the most popular. Therefore, we use the. "A/an" is used to refer to a non-specific or non-particular member of the group. For example, "I would like to go see a movie." Here, we're not talking about a specific movie. We're talking about any movie. There are many movies, and I want to see any movie. I don't have a specific one in mind. Let's look at each kind of article a little more closely. Indefinite Articles: a and an "A" and "an" signal that the noun modified is indefinite, referring to any member of a group. For example: "My daughter really wants a dog for Christmas." This refers to any dog. We don't know which dog because we haven't found the dog yet. "Somebody call a policeman!" This refers to any policeman. We don't need a specific policeman; we need any policeman who is available. "When I was at the zoo, I saw an elephant!" Here, we're talking about a single, non-specific thing, in this case an elephant. There are probably several elephants at the zoo, but there's only one we're talking about here. Remember, using a or an depends on the sound that begins the next word. So... a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy; a car; a bike; a zoo; a dog an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant; an egg; an apple; an idiot; an orphan 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); a university; a unicycle an + nouns starting with silent "h": an hour a + nouns starting with a pronounced "h": a horse In some cases where "h" is pronounced, such as "historical," you can use an. However, a is more commonly used and preferred. A historical event is worth recording. Remember that these rules also apply when you use acronyms: Introductory Composition at Purdue (ICaP) handles first-year writing at the University. Therefore, an ICaP memo generally discusses issues concerning English 106 instructors. Another case where this rule applies is when acronyms start with consonant letters but have vowel sounds: An MSDS (material safety data sheet) was used to record the data. An SPCC plan (Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures plan) will help us prepare for the worst. If the noun is modified by an adjective, the choice between a and an depends on the initial sound of the adjective that immediately follows the article: a broken egg an unusual problem a European country (sounds like 'yer-o-pi-an,' i.e. begins with consonant 'y' sound) Remember, too, that in English, the indefinite articles are used to indicate membership in a group: I am a teacher. (I am a member of a large group known as teachers.) Brian is an Irishman. (Brian is a member of the people known as Irish.) Seiko is a practicing Buddhist. (Seiko is a member of the group of people known as Buddhists.) Definite Article: the The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or particular. The signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular member of a group. For example: "The dog that bit me ran away." Here, we're talking about a specific dog, the dog that bit me.

"I was happy to see the policeman who saved my cat!" Here, we're talking about a particular policeman. Even if we don't know the policeman's name, it's still a particular policeman because it is the one who saved the cat. "I saw the elephant at the zoo." Here, we're talking about a specific noun. Probably there is only one elephant at the zoo. Count and Noncount Nouns The can be used with noncount nouns, or the article can be omitted entirely. "I love to sail over the water" (some specific body of water) or "I love to sail over water" (any water). "He spilled the milk all over the floor" (some specific milk, perhaps the milk you bought earlier that day) or "He spilled milk all over the floor" (any milk). "A/an" can be used only with count nouns. "I need a bottle of water." "I need a new glass of milk." Most of the time, you can't say, "She wants a water," unless you're implying, say, a bottle of water. Geographical use of the There are some specific rules for using the with geographical nouns. Do not use the before: - names of most countries/territories: Italy, Mexico, Bolivia; however, the Netherlands, --- the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, the United States - names of cities, towns, or states: Seoul, Manitoba, Miami - names of streets: Washington Blvd., Main St. - names of lakes and bays: Lake Titicaca, Lake Erie except with a group of lakes like the- Great Lakes - names of mountains: Mount Everest, Mount Fuji except with ranges of mountains like the Andes or the Rockies or unusual names like the Matterhorn - names of continents (Asia, Europe) - names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key West) except with island chains like the Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands Do use the before: - names of rivers, oceans and seas: the Nile, the Pacific - points on the globe: the Equator, the North Pole - geographical areas: the Middle East, the West - deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas: the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula Omission of Articles Some common types of nouns that don't take an article are: Names of languages and nationalities: Chinese, English, Spanish, Russian (unless you are referring to the population of the nation: "The Spanish are known for their warm hospitality.") Names of sports: volleyball, hockey, baseball Names of academic subjects: mathematics, biology, history, computer science

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 ESL 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 youre 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: 1. You use an uncount noun with no article if you mean all or any of that thing. I need help! I don't eat cheese. Do you like music? 2. You use the with an uncount noun when you are talking about a particular example of that thing. for the help you gave me yesterday. I didn't eat the cheese. It was green! Did you like the music they played at the dance?

Thanks

3. You usually use a/an with a count noun the first time you say or write that noun. Can I borrow a pencil, please? There's a cat in the garden! Do you have an mp3 player? 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). Where's the pencil I lent you yesterday? I think the cat belongs to the new neighbours. I dropped the mp3 player and it broke. Please shut the door! 5. You use a plural count noun with no article if you mean all or any of that thing. I don't like dogs. Do they have children? I don't need questions. Give me answers! 6. The above rules apply whether there is or there is not an adjective in front of the noun.I don't eat German cheese. Can I borrow a red pencil, please? There's an extremely large cat in the garden! I don't like small, noisy children. This page contains short, generalized information about this enormously complex aspect of English grammar. For more detailed information, consult a good reference work such as Swan's Practical English Usage. And do not worry too much about article mistakes - only very rarely will they cause your listener or reader to misunderstand you!