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Articles

There are only three articles in English: a, an and the. There are two types of articles indefinite

'a' and 'an' or definite 'the'. You also need to know when not to use an article. Their proper use

is complex, especially when you get into the advanced use of English. Quite often you have to

work it out by what sounds right, which can be frustrating for a learner.

Indefinite articles - a and an (determiners)

A and an are the indefinite articles. They refer to something not specifically known to the person

you are communicating with.A and an are used before nouns that introduce something or

someone you have not mentioned before:-

For

example:

"I saw an elephant this morning."

"I ate a banana for lunch."

A and an are also used when talking about your profession:-

For

example:

"I am an English teacher."

"I am a builder."

Note!

You use a when the noun you are referring to begins with a consonant (b, c, d, f, g, h,

j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y or z), for example, "a city", "a factory", and "a hotel".

You use an when the noun you are referring to begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u)

Pronunciation changes this rule. It's the sound that matters, not the spelling.

If the next word begins with a consonant sound when we say it, for example,

"university" then we use a. If the next word begins with a vowel sound when we say it,

for example "hour" then we use an.

We say "university" with a "y" sound at the beginning as though it were spelt

"youniversity".

So, "a university" IS correct.

We say "hour" with a silent h as though it were spelt "our".

So, "an hour" IS correct.

(Lots of people get this wrong - including native speakers.)

2

You use the when you know that the listener knows or can work out what particular person/thing

you are talking about.

For

example:

"The apple you ate was rotten."

"Did you lock the car?"

You should also use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.

For

example:"She's got two children; a girl and a boy. The girl's eight and the boy's fourteen."

We use the to talk about geographical points on the globe.

For

example:the North Pole, the equator

We use the to talk about rivers, oceans and seas

For

example:the Nile, the Pacific, the English channel

We also use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing.

For

example:the rain, the sun, the wind, the world, the earth, the White House etc..

However if you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an.

For

example:

"I could hear the wind." / "There's a cold wind blowing."

"What are your plans for the future?" / "She has a promising future ahead of her."

The is also used to say that a particular person or thing being mentioned is the best, most

famous, etc. In this use, 'the' is usually given strong pronunciation:

For

example:

"Harry's Bar is the place to go."

"You don't mean you met the Tony Blair, do you?"

!Note - The doesn't mean all:-

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For

example:

"The books are expensive." = (Not all books are expensive, just the ones I'm talking

about.)

"Books are expensive." = (All books are expensive.)

No article We usually use no article to talk about things in general:-

 

Inflation is rising.

People are worried about rising crime. (Note! People generally, so no article)

You do not use an article when talking about sports.

For

example:

My son plays football.

Tennis is expensive.

You do not use an article before uncountable nouns when talking about them generally.

For

example:

Information is important to any organisation.

Coffee is bad for you.

You do not use an article before the names of countries except where they indicate multiple

areas or contain the words (state(s), kindom, republic, union). Kingdom, state, republic and union

are nouns, so they need an article.

For

example:

No article - Italy, Mexico, Bolivia, England

Use the - the UK (United Kingdom), the USA (United States of America), the Irish

Republic

Multiple areas! the Netherlands, the Philippines, the British Isles

Exercise 1 Complete the sentences with a suitable article.

1. I bought pair of pants and a shirt.-select-

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2. I saw car crash last week.

3. They are staying downtown.

4. I think man is very unfriendly.

5. I don't like soccer.

6. That is   issue between you and the boss.

7.  water is dirty. Don't drink it!

8.  price of gas keeps rising.

9. John moved to San Francisco.

10. Celine is French.

11.   amazing thing happened to me yesterday.

12. My friend doesn't eat red meat.

Exercise 2 : TaiwanThe Definite Article" (the), the Indefinite Article" (a or an) or the Zero Article" (-)

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Put the answer button to see the answer.

1. Taiwan was called "Isla Formosa" by ___ Dutch

2. ___ first Presidential election was March 23, 1997.

3. There are many ___ earthquakes in Taiwan every year.

4. Taiwan has ___ strong economy.

5. ___ Taipei is the capital of Taiwan.

6. Taiwan is ___ island.

7. ___ large mountain range runs down the center of Taiwan.

8. Taiwan is ___ industrialised country.

9. Taiwan is ___ tropical island.

10. ___ language and culture of Taiwan is Chinese.

11. Another name for Taiwan is ___ Republic of China.

12. Taiwan is ___ democratic country.

13. Chinese New Year is ___ important holiday in Taiwan.

14. Taiwan has ___ population of 22,000,000 people.

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15. ___ Tropic of Cancer crosses Taiwan.

Exercise 3

Complete the sentences with a suitable article.

1. Albert Einstein was   famous scientist.

2. Einstein was born in Germany in 1879.

3. Einstein won Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.

4. Einstein left his country and lived in States until he died in 1955.

5. Einstein is known for his theory of relativity.

6. German physicist, who discovered X-rays in 1895, was named Wilhelm Roentgen.

7. Roentgen won   1901 Nobel Prize.

8. Mandela was born in South Africa.

9. Mandela was first President elected in South Africa after Apartheid was revoked.

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10. Mandela was imprisoned for nearly 30 years for his anti-apartheid activities.

11. Mother Teresa was Roman Catholic nun.

12. Mother Teresa became famous for her hard work with poor.

13. She was   founder of order of nuns called the Missionaries of Charity.

14.  Mother Teresa lived in Calcutta, India.

15. Mother Teresa received her Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

Exercise 4: Fill in the blank with the appropriate article a, an, or the,or leave the space blank if no article is needed.1. I want ______ piece of chocolate cake.(any piece)2. Sara joined ______ basketball team. (the only basketball team atschool)3. Mr. Chen speaks ______ Chinese.4. Tonight will be ______ evening full of surprises.5. Enrique used to play baseball for ______ Houston Astros.6. ______ stain on my shirt is red. (specific stain)7. Her grandfather is such ______ honorable man.8. John is ______ United States citizen.9. ______ creativity is a nice quality to have.10.Kathy is ______ member of the Adult Literacy Council.11.President Bush lives in ______ White House.12.Stacey got a headache from all of ______ noise.13.We will get married in ______ Virgin Islands.14.I can’t wait to visit ______ Europe.15.Cyndi loves to play ______ softball.16.Jason held ______ door for Susan.17.Be sure to bring ______ umbrella in case it rains.(any umbrella)18.Juanita is expecting ______ baby.19.Albert likes to study ______ history.20.It will be ______ evening to remember.(one of other evenings that are alsoremembered)

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