Unit 7 Grammar Presentation:Definite and Indefinite Articles

Based on the “Step 2 Grammar Presentation” on Page 108

Some languages have articles and some do not.

English has two articles:

The indefinite article a/an

The definite article the

It is difficult to know when to use an article and when not to.

It is also difficult to know which article to use.

Articles are especially difficult if your native language does not have

them.

Most Asian languages have no articles. Russian doesn’t have them,

either.

Most European languages have articles, and so does Arabic.

The languages that have articles vary in the ways they are used.

The indefinite article a/an is only used with a singular count noun:

He saw a statue at an exhibition.

I ordered a book from a site online.

He saw a statue at an exhibition.I ordered a book from a site online.

I am talking about non-specific things.

I’m not telling you which statue or which book.

I’m not telling you which exhibition or which Web site.

Compare:

I ordered a book from a site online.(I am talking about a non-specific thing.

I’m not telling you which book.)I ordered the book for this class from the Web site that the teacher recommended.(I’m telling you the specific book and the

specific Web site.)

We also use a/an with a generic (=general) meaning, when we are

defining or describing something in a general way:

A statue is a three-dimensional figure.

A drawing or a painting is two-dimensional.

Compare:The three-dimensional work on the left

is a sculpture; the two dimensional work on the right is a painting.

(I am explaining and even picturing the specific things I am talking about.)

I use the definite article the to talk about a specific thing.

For example, I always use it with a superlative like best or most:

This is the most boring class I ever took.

He bought the best computer he could find.

I use the when I am identifying something:

The rain forests (that are) in South America are being cut down.

(Which rain forests am I talking about? The ones that are in South

America.)

I can use the with a non-count noun when I am identifying the

kind that I am talking about:

The stone from that quarry is very soft.

(Which stone am I talking about? The stone that is from that quarry.)

I sometimes use the with a singular noun to mean all of those things:

The computer is a great invention.(= Computers are a great invention.)

The dog has a more highly developed brain than the cat.

(=Dogs have more highly developed brains than cats.)

I can use the with a plural noun to mean all of those things in the

world:

The rain forests are in danger everywhere.

(Note: it also OK to use no article in this sentence.)

Proper nouns for geographical features and landmarks usually use

the:

She crossed the Sahara, visited the Pyramids, and sailed down the Nile.

Here are some of the common situations in which we use a noun

with no article:

With a plural count noun, when I am speaking in a non-specific way,

for example:

Easter Island has many impressive statues.

(Clue: don’t use an article when you have many or some.)

With a non-count noun, when I am talking in a general way about a

substance:

The statues are made of stone.

Stone is an important building material.

With a plural count noun, when I am making a general statement

about a group of things:

Statues are made in all shapes and sizes.

People’s names have no article.

Cities, states, countries and most other place names have no article:

Ms. Johnson spent a year on Easter Island. She also worked in Egypt and

Hawaii. She now lives in New York City.

The story of Dr. Hatanaka, someone your teacher knew years ago when

she lived in Japan.

Dr. Hatanaka was born in Japan.

When he was a young man, he left Japan and went to study at Harvard University

in the U.S.

Then he went to an American medical school, and became a surgeon in the U.S.

He married an American woman.

Years later, they went back to live in Tokyo, and he had both Japanese and English-speaking patients. He and his wife

always spoke English together, even in Tokyo.

Dr. Hatanaka’s English was almost perfect! Just an accent and occasional problems with unusual idioms, and …

problems with articles.

One time, we were eating peanuts. He said, “What’s this?”

I said, “a peanut.”

He opened it and said, “What’s inside?”

I said, “two peanuts.”

He divided one in two. “And this?”I said, “half a peanut.”

He said, “That’s why I give up.”

However, work through Unit 7, and do the best you can!