1. Articles 1
There are lots of rules about the use of articles. Here we’ll concentrate on 3 golden rules. Most mistakes with articles are made
through breaking one of theserules.
1. When we say what people’s jobs are, we use a/an
 She’s an architect.
 He’s a doctor.
 My grandfather was a teacher.
2. Singular, countable nouns always have an article – a/an or the – or another determiner (my, your, this, that etc.)
Remember that we use theindefinite article - a/an - when we talk about something that is not definite.
 I saw a good film yesterday. The listener doesn’t know which film.
 There’s a man at the door. We don’t know who the man is.
 Do you want a drink? It’s not a particular drink.
… and we use the definite article - the – when we talk about something more certain.
 I’m going to take the dog for a walk. The dog is a pet – it’s not just any dog.
 Haveyou seen the car key? Speaker and listener know which car. It’s not just any car.
 They live in the house opposite ours. There’s only one house opposite. It’s not any house.
3. When we talk about things in general we usually use a plural noun or an uncountable noun with no article.
 Birds eat worms. NOT The birds eat the worms.
 Water flows downhill.
 Kangaroos live in Australia.
BUT We went to the zoo and saw the kangaroos. Theseare particular kangaroos – not kangaroos in general.
There are many other rules about articles but remembering these 3 golden rules will reduce the number of mistakes you make.

2. Articles2
In Articles1we lookedat the 3 goldenrulesof articles:
1.People’sjobshave a/an.He’sanarchitect.

3. 2.Singularcountable nounshave anarticle.That’sthe womanImet lastweek.
3.Thingsingeneral – no article.Catslike mice.
Here we lookat some otherrulesforthe use of articles.
Special places
•My son’sat universitybutmydaughterstill goestoschool.
•He was sentto prisonfor10 years.
•Nowthat winter’shere Ifinditdifficulttogetout of bed.
•I go to work bybus butI go home on foot.
In expressionswithanumberof placesthere isnoarticle aftera preposition.
These placesinclude:to/atschool,to/atuniversity/college,to/inchurch,to/in/outof prison,to/in
hospital,to/in/outof bed,to/atwork,athome.
NOTE: While we say‘goto school’and ‘goto work’etc, the expression‘gohome’hasneither‘the’nor
‘to’.
Transport
•I go to work bybus butI go home on foot.
•I hate travellingbytrain.
Modesof transport(bybus,by train,by car, by plane,bybicycle) don’thave anarticle.Notice thaton
footis different.
Geography

4. No article – continents(Africa,Asiaetc.) countries(France,Germany,Slovakiaetc - but the Slovak
Republic,the UnitedStates,the UnitedKingdom)towns&cities(Bratislava,Londonetc.)lakes(Lake
Victoria,Lake Balatonetc.) universities(OxfordUniversity,NitraUniversityetc.)
With‘the’ – seas& oceans(the Atlantic,the Mediterraneanetc.) mountainranges(theHimalayas,the
Tatras) rivers(the Amazon,the Danube etc.)
Otherexpressions
•I don’twatch televisionveryoftenbutIlistentothe radioall the time.
•I’ve got a headache.
•I’ve got a stomach-ache
•I’ve got a cold.
BUT
•I’ve got ‘flu.
•I’ve got earache.
•I’ve got toothache.
1. What is the differencebetweensentence stressand wordstress?
Checkyour answerInsentence stress,we thinkaboutwhichwordsare stressed,whereasinwordstress,
we thinkaboutwhichsyllablesare stressed.
2. Read the followingsentencesaloudtoyourself.Whichwordsare stressed?

5. Example:Theyare myfirstclass.
•That’s the one I’m teachingrightnow.
•I have a classof beginnersandanadvancedclass.
•I reallylike the morningclass.
Listenandcompare your stressedwordswiththe recording.
Checkyour answersThat's/ teaching/ now beginners/advancedmorningclass
•In English,articlesandothergrammatical itemstendnottobe stressedbecause theyaren'tthe
contentwordsand sodon't carry as muchmeaning.
3. Practice sayingthe example sentencesfromquestion2. Remembertoonlystressthe contentwords.
Recordyourself usingthe Vocarootool andlistenbacktocheck yourpronunciation.Compare your
pronunciationwiththe recordingabove.