2. Bibliography
Intermediate Grammar – From Form to Meaning and Use
Susan Kesner Bland
Oxford University Press
Grammar for English Language Teachers – With exercises and a Key
Martin Parrot
Cambridge University Press
Keys to Teaching Grammar to English Language Learners
A Practical Handbook
Keith S. Folse
Michigan Teacher Training
3. Articles
Let me ask you a question!!!
How articles are used within your native
language?
4. Articles
• Some languages have no articles at all:
Chinese, Japanese, and Russian.
• Arabic has a definite article.
• Some languages have articles that appear to
be equivalent to the articles in English, but
usages do not overlap exactly:
French, German, Spanish.
5. Articles
• So a common error for some language groups
learning English is to omit all articles because
their language have no articles.
• There is a very important rule in ENGLISH:
Use an article of any kind before a
singular count noun.
6. Reviewing COUNT NOUNS AND NON-COUNT NOUNS
Do you know the difference between COUNT and NON-COUNT
nouns Let's see some examples to review.
• Nouns that name things you can count are called count nouns.
Count nouns can be singular or plural.
a house some houses
a book ten books
my cousin my cousins
one reason reasons
7. Reviewing COUNT NOUNS AND NON-COUNT NOUNS
* Nouns that cannot be counted are called non-count nouns.
FOODS: sugar, rice, flour, salt, mustard...
LIQUIDS: milk, water, juice, coffee, oil...
IDEAS and FEELINGS:
honesty, importance, intelligence, peace, wisdom, love, hate (abstract
nouns)...
NATURE: snow, scenery, thunder, sunlight, hail...
COLLECTIVE WORDS:
luggage, furniture, advice, research, homework, clothing, fruit, vocabulary
makeup, money...
The word fruit is generally non-count, but the word vegetable is count.
Homework is non-count, but assignment is count. There seems to be no way
to predict whether a given word is count or non-count.
8. Articles in English
• Articles belong to the wider class of
'determiner', words or phrases that come at the
beginning of a noun phrase.
• Articles tell us something about quantity.
THE ARTICLES ARE
• Indefinite article: A or AN
• Definite article: The
• No articles
9. Articles in English
• a book an uggly elephant
• a beautiful girl an egg
• a car an old astronaut
• a rectangular table an apple
• the United States the clouds
• the Pacific Ocean the umbrellas
• the Earth the red books
• the Mississipi River the animals
10. Articles in English
• Articles signal whether the information is new or
familiar.
I ordered a steak and a salad. The steak was
great but the salad was awful.
I bought a shirt and a pair of pants. The shirt
is blue and the pants are gray.
I take my child to a park every afternoon.
Most of the times, I take him to the park nearby.
11. Articles in English
• Articles signal whether the information is
general or specific.
All of us have an umbrella. (general)
The umbrella next to the door is not mine.
(specific)
12. Articles in English
• Every time we use a noun we have to decide whether or
not to use an ARTICLE, and if we decide that an article is
necessary, we then have to decide which one.
• Sometimes no article is used:
I don't like coffee, but I love chocolate.
We are having ice cream for dessert.
• These choices are based on a complex interaction of factors
including meaning, shared knowledge, context and
whether the noun is singular, plural or uncountable.
13. GRAMMAR EXPLANATION
Indefinite Articles A and AN.
The indefinite articles A and AN are used ONLY
before singular count nouns that are not specific and are
being mentioned for the first time. Something
unexpected or something that our listener or reader is
unaware of.
Generalizations with A or AN plus a singular count
noun often take the form of definitions. They are used to
classify people, animal, and things.
• A locksmith is a person who makes and repairs locks and keys.
• A penguin is a small black and white bird that lives in the Antartic.
• An igloo is a dwelling that is made of ice.
• A tulip is a flower that grows from a bulb.
14. Indefinite Articles A and AN
• Use A before a noun or an adjective + noun that
begins with a consonant sound.
a boy
a tall boy
• Use AN before a noun or an adjective + noun that
begins with a vowel sound.
an intelligent boy
an idea
an absurd idea
15. Important observations!
Remember that words begining with the letters h or u can be
problematic. The use of A and AN depends on the begining sound of the
word, not its spelling.
• a hat
• a house Observe that the words begin with the consonant sound h.
• a heroe
• a hospital
• an hour Observe that the word begins with a vowel sound because de letter h is
silent.
• an honest person
• a university Observe that the words begin with the consonant sound y.
• a unique name
• an umbrella Observe that the words begin with a vowel sound.
• an honest man
16. THE DEFINITE ARTICLE: The
There are several different situations in
which we use the definite article THE in English.
17. THE DEFINITE ARTICLE: The
1) Use THE when you are talking about something
specific.
• We decided to buy a car.
• The car we bought was red.
• The book that is on sale is on the counter.
• Please pass the pepper.
The listener can identify the nouns if the noun is unique
(there's only one).
• The earth revolves around the sun every twenty-
four hours.
• The capital of Italy is Rome.
18. THE DEFINITE ARTICLE: The
2) Use THE when the speaker and the listener
are talking about the same specific item.
• There are several packages in the car. I
need some help.
• I'II take one. Can you carry the others?
19. THE DEFINITE ARTICLE: The
3) Use THE for the second and all other
references to the same noun.
• Jane would like to buy a new book. (First
reference) But the book she had chosen is
very expensive. (Second reference)
• James and I bought a new computer last
month. (First reference) The computer lets us
access the Internet really quickly. (Second
reference)
20. ARTICLES
Complete the sentences with the correct article
(A, AN or THE):
• There is ____ football game and ____ concert
on Sunday. What time is ____ football game
going to start It is raining. You will need ____
raincoat and _____ umbrella. Where did you
put ____ umbrella?
• Do you have _____ baby-sitter? How much do
you pay _____ baby-sitter?
21. THE DEFINITE ARTICLE: The
4) Use THE with the superlative form of an
adjective, which means with the word most or
with the ending -est.
Superlative
• In a jewelry store, diamonds are the most
expensive item.
• My boss gets the most mail in our office.
22. THE DEFINITE ARTICLE: The
5) Use THE with the names of countries that look plural,
including countries that end in -s or have the words
united, union, republic, or kingdom.
the Philippines
the Netherlands
the United States
the Soviet Union
the Dominican Republic
the Republic of Angola
the United Kingdom
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
23. THE DEFINITE ARTICLE: The
6) Use the for the parts of something.
• General: In a Kitchen, there is a stove, a
refrigerator, and a clock.
• Parts: I went to Mary's new 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.
EXCEPTION: In general, we do not use THE for body
parts.
24. THE DEFINITE ARTICLE: The
7) Use THE with most bodies of water except
individual lakes.
the Mississipi River
the Pacific Ocean
the Mediterranean Sea
the Great Lakes (but Lake Michigan)
25. THE DEFINITE ARTICLE: The
8) Use THE with geographical parts of the
globe, and geographic areas, deserts, and
peninsulas.
the equator
the Middle East
the Gobi Desert
the South
26. THE DEFINITE ARTICLE: The
9) General statements with THE are frequently
used to refer to musical instruments.
• I used to play the piano, but now I only play
the violin.
27. NO ARTICLE
In English there are few situations in which we
do not use any article with a noun.
In these cases, many other languages require
the use of THE, so a common ELL error is
overuse of THE.
28. NO ARTICLE
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.
Sometimes we use a noun to make a general
statement about a whole class or group of
objects, events, or nouns. The noun represents all other
nouns of its classs or group. No articles are used with
them.
Spiders are insects.
I like rice.
29. NO ARTICLE
2) Use no article before abstract nouns such
as feelings or ideas.
Patience is a virtue.
3) General statements made with plural count
nouns without articles or noncount nouns can
express opinions, likes, and dislikes.
Opinion: Dogs make good pets.
Likes: I like spiders.
Dislikes: I don't like rice.
30. THIS TABLE SHOWS THE CHOICES WE
CAN MAKE
SINGULAR UNCOUNTABLE
PLURAL NOUNS
NOUNS NOUNS
a book
A or AN
an egg
[] books [] rice
No article
[] universities [] water
THE the book the books the rice
