English | articles and determinents

1. ARTICLES AND DETERMINERS

2. ARTICLES

3. ARTICLES
• First the good news:There are only three articles
in English: a, an and the.
• There are two types of articles indefinite 'a' and
'an' definite 'the'. You also need to know when
not to use an article.
• The bad news is that 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.

4. A) Indefinite articles - a and an
• 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."

5. • 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.

6. NOTE!
• If the next word begins with a consonant sound when we
say it.
– For example:
"university" then we use a.
• We say "university" with a "y" sound at the beginning as
though it were spelt "youniversity".
So, "a university" IS correct.
• If the next word begins with a vowel sound when we say it.
– For example:
• "hour" then we use an.
• We say "hour" with a silent h as though it were spelt "our".
So, "an hour" IS correct.

7. B) Definite Article - the
• 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.”

8. • 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?"

9. • The doesn't mean all:-
– 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.)
NOTE!

10. No article
• We usually use no article to talk about things in
general:
– For example:
• 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.

11. • You do not use an article before uncountable nouns
when talking about them generally.
– For example:
• Information is important to any organization.
• 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), kingdom, 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

12. DETERMINERS

13. DETERMINERS
• Determiners are used in front of nouns to
indicate whether you are referring to something
specific or something of a particular type.
• Determiners are different from pronouns that is
a determiner is always followed by a noun.
• The definite and indefinite articles a/an/the are
all determiners.

14. • You use a specific determiner when people know
exactly which thing(s) or person/people you are
talking about.
– The specific determiners are:
– For example:
"The dog barked at the boy.“
"These apples are rotten.“
"Their bus was late."
Definite article : The
Demonstratives: This, that, these and those
Possessives: My, your, his, her, its, our and their

15. • You use general determiners to talk about
people or things without saying exactly who or
what they are.
– The general determiners are:
The indefinite articles: a, an
a few
a little
all
another
any
both
each
either
enough
every
few
fewer
less
little
many
more
most
much
neither
no
other
several
some- For example:
"A man sat under an umbrella.“
"Have you got any English books that I could have?"
"There is enough food to feed everyone."

16. Either and Neither
• Either and neither are used in sentences concerning a
possible choice between two items.
• Either can mean one or the other (of two) or each of
two.
– For example:
I've got tea and coffee, so you can have either. (One or the other)
The room has a door at either end. (Both)
• Neither means not the first one and not the second
one.
– For example:
Neither of the students were listening.

17. • http://www.englisch-
hilfen.de/en/exercises/pronouns/possessive_d
eterminers.htm
• http://www.manythings.org/fq/1/9995.html
• http://a4esl.org/q/h/mc001-ck.html
• http://a4esl.org/q/h/9901/cw-articles.html