1. ARTICLES
How to use articles:
There are three articles in English:
-The definite article the
-The indefinite article a/an
-The “zero” article
Examples:
My dream is to travel to the United States.
I’ve been a teacher since 2000.
I don’t like ( 0 ) tea.
Articles might be a potential problem for ELLs because
some languages have no articles, while others have
only the definite article, and some have the same
articles as English. The usage, however, is somehow
different.
2. ARTICLES
Some typical ELL errors:
1.Every family dreams about ??? comfortable and
luxurious house.
2.After reading this book, I can understand the nouns
and the verbs much better.
3.There are many reasons for being homeless,
including the low education, the natural disaster, and
the alcoholism.
4.??? United States of America is ??? huge country.
3. ARTICLES
Indefinite article a/an
We use the indefinite article a/an only before singular count nouns.
Example:
A penguin is a small black and white bird.
Rules:
1. Use a before consonant sounds.
a father, a gray feather
2. Use an before vowel sounds.
an idea, an absurd idea
3.Words beginning with the letters h and u require more attention.
a hat, an hour. The word hat begins with the sound /h/, but in the word
hour, the h is silent.
a university, an umbrella. The word university begins with the
consonant sound /y/, but umbrella begins with a vowel sound.
4. ARTICLES
Definite article the
Rules:
1.Use the when you talk about something specific:
The umbrella next to the door is not mine.
2. Use the when the speaker and the listener are talking about the
same specific item:
William, don’t forget to close the refrigerator.
3. Use the for the second and all the other references to the same
noun:
First reference: James and I bought a new computer last month.
Second reference: The computer lets us access the Internet really
quickly.
4. Use the with the superlative form of an adjective:
In a jewelry store, diamonds are the most expensive item.
5. ARTICLES
5. Use the for the names of countries that look plural:
The Philippines, The Netherlands, The United States, The soviet
Union, The United Kingdom
6. Use the for the parts of something. (Exception: parts of the body):
General: In a kitchen, there is a stove, a refrigerator, and a clock.
Parts: I went to Mary’s house last night. Her kitchen is beautiful. The
refrigerator is silver, the stove is black, and the clock above the door
has really big numbers on it.
7. Use the with the most bodies of water, except individual lakes.
The Mississippi River, The Pacific Ocean, The Great Lakes
8. Use the with geographic parts the globe and geographic areas,
deserts, etc:
The Middle East, The Gobi Desert, The South
6. ARTICLES
No article:
There are a few situations in which we use no article at
all. In these cases, many other languages require the
use of the, so a common ELL error is overuse of the.
Rules:
1.When you want to talk about a category or group in
general, use no article:
General: (____) Cats can be great pets.
Specific: The cats in the pet store are expensive.
2. Use no article before abstract nouns such as feelings
or ideas.
A person’s future success depends on (___) education.
(___) Patience is a virtue.
7. ARTICLES
What you ELLs should know:
1.Do not use a singular count noun without na article (or
other determiner):
a job, an apple, the reason.
2. Do not use a with a noun that begins with a vowel
sound:.
an hour, an honorable colleague.
3. Do not use the with a plural count noun that refers to
the whole category:
I don’t trust (___) politicians.
4. Do not use the with abstract nouns or ideas.
(___) Education is the most important thing in my life.
