This document discusses the use of articles, quantifiers, and determiners in English. It explains that these words provide information about nouns and are used before nouns. The document then examines specific uses of articles like a, an, and the; quantifiers like some, any, many, and much; and determiners like this, those, each and every. Examples are provided and exercises are included for the reader to practice using these grammatical elements correctly.

1. Unit 4 – Articles, quantifiers and determiners

2. We use articles, quantifiers and
determiners before nouns,
e.g. people, places, objects or ideas.
They tell us something about the noun.
Let’s look at:
1. When to use a, an or the.
2. When to use a noun without an article.
3. When and how to use quantifiers and determiners.
When do we use
articles?
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3. I went to see a band
yesterday. It’s the band I told
you about. They’re really good!
The sun is shining! Let’s go
for a walk.
Function: articles
Look at these sentences. How
many articles are there?
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The sun is shining! Let’s go
for a walk.
Anne Marie is a journalist.
She works for a newspaper.
There’s no food in the fridge.
We need to go to the
supermarket.
My French friend also
speaks Italian and German.
Canada is a beautiful
country. It has lots of lakes
and mountains.
John plays the piano
really well.
ten
Now look at the
highlighted nouns (with
and without articles).
Match them with the uses.
with jobs
with plural, countable nouns to
talk about something in general
when there is only
one of something
with most
countries
when it is clear
which one we are
talking about
the first time we talk
about something
with languages
with musical instruments
1
I went to see a band
yesterday. It’s the band I told
you about. They’re really good!
5
4
Anne Marie is a journalist.
She works for a newspaper.
7
Canada is a beautiful
country. It has lots of lakes
and mountains.
8
9
My French friend also
speaks Italian and German.
3
John plays the piano
really well.
2
There’s no food in the fridge.
We need to go to the
supermarket.
6
the second time we
talk about something

4. Form and function: articles
Now listen to
how your
teacher
pronounces
these words.
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The sun is shining! Let’s go
for a walk.
Anne Marie is a journalist.
She works for a newspaper.
I went to see a band
yesterday. It’s the band I
told you about. They’re
really good!
There’s no food in the fridge. We
need to go to the supermarket.
My French friend also
speaks Italian and German.
Canada is a beautiful country.
It has lots of lakes and
mountains.
John plays the piano
really well.
a
with singular nouns
that start with a
consonant (b, c, d, etc.)
with singular nouns
that start with a, e, i, o,
u
when there is only one
of something
with plural countable
nouns when talking in
general
before u when we
pronounce it /ju:/
(e.g. a uniform)
before h when it is
silent (e.g. an hour)
when it is clear which
person/thing we are
talking about
with uncountable
nouns when talking in
general
with jobs
with musical
instruments
with languages
the first time we talk about something
the second time we
talk about something
with most countries
Be careful!
Some countries
do have articles
(e.g. the USA,
the UK).
When do we use
quantifiers and
determiners?
no article
an
an the
Complete the
table with the
correct
articles.

5. negative
positive
Form and function: quantifiers
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Look at the
words in bold in
these
sentences. Put
the sentences in
the correct
circle (the first
one is done for
you).
plural
countable
uncountable
plural
countable
uncountable
There are some fantastic
cafés in my town.
I need some money for
the bus.
I haven’t got any pets.
We don’t have any milk.
The newspaper report
didn’t give a lot of
information.
Would you like a few
sweets?
There aren’t many days
left until the holidays.
Now look at the
underlined
words. Which
one is used for
small quantities?
a few

6. in negatives
(and questions)
with
uncountable
nouns
in negatives
(and questions)
with plural
countable
nouns
Form and function:
quantifiers
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in positive
sentences
in negatives
and questions
to talk about quantity when we
don’t know the number or
amount
with
uncountable
nouns to talk
about a small
quantity
with plural
countable
nouns to talk
about a small
quantity
in positive
sentences to
talk about a
large quantity
any
a little
some
(how) many
a lot of
(how) much
a few
Now put the
quantity words in
the correct place in
the table (the first
one is done for
you).
We use how much
and how many in
questions.
We usually use a lot of (not much/many) in positive
sentences with plural countable nouns and uncountable
nouns, e.g. We’ve got a lot of fruit/biscuits.

7. Form and function: determiners
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Look at the determiners
in the table and match
them with the uses.
this, that, these,
those
Those customers are waiting to pay.
each, every They cleaned each room in turn.
all, all the, all of I’ve read all (of) her books.
both, both of He can write well with both (of) his hands.
last, next We only moved here last month.
to refer to specific things
or people
with two plural countable
nouns
with singular countable nouns
with uncountable nouns or
plural countable nouns
to refer to periods of time
Let’s
practise!

8. 1. When I was younger I wanted to be…………footballer, but now I’m learning…………guitar. I want to be in…………band.
2. A: Do you like…………rock music? B: No, I prefer…………hip hop.
2. Alex went on a trip to…………Paris last year. He saw…………Eiffel Tower and visited…………Pompidou Centre.
2. A: How can you speak…………English so well? B: I have a good friend from…………USA and we speak it all the time.
2. Do you want to have…………apple or…………banana with your lunch?
Practice activities
Complete the gaps using a/an, the or no article.
a
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the a
a
an
the
the the
[-] [-]
[-]
[-]
Choose the best options to complete the sentences.
1. A: There isn’t some/any bread. B: Yes, there is. I bought some/any this morning.
2. This guidebook has much/a lot of practical travel advice.
2. There are a few/a little seats left on the flight, but not many/much.
2. I didn’t spend much/many money while I was studying because I found a lot of/any cheap places to shop.