INDEFINITE ARTICLE

ARTICLE
English usesa/an as the primary
article only for singular count nouns.
* donotuse indefinite article a/an withplural
nouns.
a is usedwhen the next word starts with a
consonant
an is used when the next word starts with a
vowel(a,e,i,o,u).

no particular person,place or thing in

mind
Eg:
He wants to buy a statue
She wants to buy a car
He wants to buy an aeroplane

Usea/anto refer to something for

the first time.
Would you likea drink?
I've finally gota good job.
I have an idea.

REPRESENT all MEMBERS OF A

GROUP-gENERIC
A statue is a 3-dimensional figure
John is a doctor.
Mary is training to be an engineer.

 A noun is often indefinite the first

time a speaker mentions it.It is
usually definite after the first
mention.

Zero Article (No Article)

Non-Specific

Generic

Plural Count Nouns

Easter Island has

Statues are made in
impressive statues. all shapes and sizes.

Non-Count Nouns

The statues are

made of
stone.

Proper Nouns

Mrs. Johnson spent a year on Easter

Island. She worked in Egypt and Hawaii.
She now lives in New York City.

Stone is an
important building
material.

Use zero article (no article) with The island used to have tall
indefinite
plural
count
nouns,
trees.
indefinite non-count nouns, names of Platinum and gold are valuable
people, names of most countries, and
minerals.
Mr. Haidzir is a psychologist.
habitual locations.

A noun is generic when it represents

all members of a class or category
of persons, places, or thingsgeneric nouns talk about things in
general.
Three common ways to use nouns
generically are

Zero article + plural count noun

Zero article + non-count noun

Computers and machines that do

calculations
and
process
information.
Water is essential for survival.

DEFINITE ARTICLE
When a noun is DEFINITE for BOTH speaker
and listener, use the article THE
Examples:
unique things e.g. The Sun, The Earth, Moon
places e.g. the bank, the library, 1B
Hypermall
the Grand Canyon
body parts e.g. the eye, the brain
The brain is the seat of
intelligence.

DEFINITENESS
The children know the fastest way
home.
Children know the fastest way home.
Give me the book.
Give me a book.
A girl gave me the book.
The girl gave me a book.

EXERCISE TIME!!!

EXERCISE 1
Fill in the blanks with a, an, or the where necessary. Leave a blank if no article is needed.

Disaster at Sea: Many Lives Lost

April 16, 1912.

The Titanic

a British steamer, sank in

the North Atlantic last night after hitting

an iceberg, disproving its builder's claims that it couldn't be sunk. The

ship was on its maiden voyage

from Southhampton, England, to ........... New York City. More than 1500 people perished, in large part
because ........... lifeboats were felt to take up too much deck space, and there were only 20 of them.

EXERCISE 2

Identify each boldfaced word or phrase as non-specific (N), definite (D), or generic (G)

1. The clarinet was invented around year 1700.

2. My parents bought me a trumpet when I started band in middle school.

3. The moon is Earth's only satellite.

4. Water is an extremely valuable commodity in desert areas.

5. In my view, we need to help the poor in whatever way we can.

6. The man who is giving the lecture is my next-door neighbor.

7. The ship was hit by an iceberg on its maiden voyage.

8. There's water all over the kitchen floor.

EXERCISE 3
Circle the letter of the underlined word or phrase in each sentence that is not correct.

1. One of the most famous inventions in the human history is the wheel.
A
B
C
D

A B C

2. The CEO of the company lives in big house in the suburbs.

A
B
C
D

A B C

3. Journey is a three-hour trip if the traffic and the weather are OK.
A
B
C
D

A B C D

4. The plan to built a extensive monorail system is a citizen-initiated proposal.

A
B
C
D

A B C

5. The extinction of the dinosaurs is still a matter of debate in scientific community.

A
B
C
D

A B C