Articles

a, an / the

The words a/an and the are "articles". We divide them into "indefinite" and "definite"

like this:

indefinite

articles

definite

article

a

an

the

We use "indefinite" to mean not sure, not certain. "Indefinite"

is general.

We use "definite" to mean sure, certain. "Definite" is

particular.

When we are talking about one thing in general, we

use a or an. When we are talking about one thing in

particular, we use the.

Think of the sky at night. In the sky we see millions of stars

and 1 moon. So normally we would say:

I saw a star last night.

I saw the moon last night.

Look at these examples:

a, an the

I was born in a town.

John had an omelette for

lunch.

James Bond

ordered adrink.

We want to

buy anumbrella.

Have you got a pen?

The capital of France is Paris.

I have found the book that I

lost.

Have you cleaned the car?

There are six eggs in the fridge.

Please switch off the TV when

you finish.

On this page we talk only about the difference between

"a/an" and "the" with singular, countable nouns.

Of course, often we can use a/an or the for the same word. It

depends on the situation, not the word. Look at these

examples:

We want to buy an umbrella. (Any umbrella, not a

particular umbrella.)

Where is the umbrella? (We already have an umbrella.

We are looking for our umbrella, a particular umbrella.)

This little story should help you understand the difference

between a, an and the:

A man and a woman were walking in Oxford

Street. The woman saw a dress that she liked in a shop. She

asked the man if he could buy the dress for her. He said: "Do

you think the shop will accept a cheque? I don't have a credit

card."

THE MODAL VERBS

are can, could, may, might, shall, should, will and would.

The modals are used to do things like talking about ability, asking permission

making requests, and so on.

Ability:

We use can to talk about someone’s skill or general abilities:

She can speak several languages.

He can swim like a fish.

They can’t dance very well.

We use can to talk about the ability to do something at a given time in

the present or future:

You can make a lot of money if you are lucky.

Help. I can’t breathe.

They can run but they can’t hide.

We use could to talk about past time:

She could speak several languages.

They couldn’t dance very well.

We use could have to say that someone had the ability/opportunity to do

something, but did not do it:

She could have learned Swahili, but she didn’t have time.

I could have danced all night [but didn't].

Permission:

We use can to ask for permission to do something:

Can I ask a question, please?

Can we go home now.

could is more formal and polite than can:

Could I ask a question please?

Could we go home now?

may is another more formal and polite way of asking for permission:

May I ask a question please?

May we go home now?

We use can to give permission:

You can go home now if you like.

You can borrow my pen if you like.

may is a more formal and polite way of giving permission:

You may go home now, if you like.

We use can to say that someone has permission to do something:

We can go out whenever we want.

Students can travel free.

may is a more formal and polite way of saying that someone has

permission:

Students may travel free.

Instructions and requests:

We use could you and would you as polite ways of telling or asking

someone to do something:

Could you take a message please?

Would you carry this for me please?

Could I have my bill please?

can and will are less polite:

Can you take a message please?

Will you carry this for me please?

Suggestions and advice:

We use should to make suggestions and give advice:

You should send an email.

We should go by train.

We use could to make suggestions:

We could meet at the weekend.

You could eat out tonight.

We use conditionals to give advice:

Dan will help you if you ask him.

Past tenses are more polite:

Dan would help you if you asked him.

Offers and invitations:

We use can I… and to make offers:

Can I help you?

Can I do that for you?

We can also use shall I …

Shall I help you with that?

Shall I call you on your mobile?

We sometime say I can ... or I could ... or I’ll (I will) ... to make an offer:

I can do that for you if you like.

I can give you a lift to the station.

I’ll do that for you if you like.

I’ll give you a lift to the station.

We use would you like (to) ... for invitations:

Would you like to come round to morrow?

Would you like another drink?

We use you must or we must for a very polite invitation:

You must come round and see us.

We must meet again soon.

Obligation and necessity

We use must to say that it is necessary to do something:

You must stop at a red light.

Everyone must bring something to eat.

You can wear what you like, but you must look neat and tidy.

I’m sorry, but you mustn’t make a noise in here.

We use had to for this if we are talking about the past:

Everyone had to bring something to eat.

We could wear what we liked, but we had to look neat and tidy.

Plural Nouns

You may know that a noun identifies a person, place, thing, or idea.

A singular noun names one person, place, thing, or idea, while a plural noun names more than one person, place, thing, or idea.

There are a few basic rules to remember when it comes to turning a singular noun into a plural noun.

1. Most singular nouns need an 's' at the end to become plural.

These are the easy ones. You can just add an 's' to alien, taco, or skateboard, for example, and you instantly have aliens, tacos, and skateboards.

There's a second rule for nouns that end with certain letters.

2. Singular nouns ending in 's,' 'ss,' 'sh,' 'ch,' 'x,' or 'z' need an 'es' at the end to become plural.

So, if you have a secretive, alcoholic octopus drinking wine from a glass behind a bush, and you decide that one of those just isn't enough, you'd have two octopuses drinking from glasses behind bushes.

The same would be true for a crutch, a box, and a blintz, which would become crutches, boxes, and blintzes.

Note that some singular nouns ending in 's' or 'z' require that you double the 's' or 'z' before adding an 'es.' For example, a really bad day might involve you having not one pop quiz, but two pop quizzes.