Monday, January 14, 2013

Articles - a / an, the & no article

1. We use a / an with singular nouns - He was reading a book.
>  We use an before vowel sounds (a,e,i,o,u) - an apple, an interesting film, an hour.

2. We use a / an when it isn't necessary to make clear which particular thing we are talking about.
>  When I arrived John was reading a book.

3. We use a / an to talk about people's jobs - Jim is an engineer.

4. We use a / an to describe people or things.
>  They have a beautiful house.
>  John is an old friend of mine.

5.  We use the with singular or plural nouns.
>  The book.
>  The books.

6. You can use the with uncountable nouns (uncountable nouns do not have plural forms).
>  The water is in the fridge.

7.  Do not use a / an with uncountable nouns.

8.  We use the when it is clear which person we are talking about.
>  Jean was reading a book. She closed the book.
>  Anna likes music, but she doesn't like the music that John plays.
>  Mike has gone to the shops. (the local shops)
>  She's in the kitchen. (the kitchen in the house)
>  I must go to the bank. (the bank where I keep my money)

9.  We do not use the before plural nouns when we are talking about something in general or uncountable.
>  Do you like vegetables? ( any vegetables)
>  You must have a good education. (any education)

10. We do not use a or the before names of languages, meal periods, the names of cities, most countries and streets, and the names of airports, stations, single mountains or lakes.
>  She speaks Spanish.
>  She lives in Amsterdam in Holland. (However, we do say the USA, the United Kingdom)
>  What time will lunch be?
>  We leave from Heathrow Airport.
>  The house we are looking for is on Oxford Street.

Articles - part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeSmPmI6FuE
Articles - part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_puu1H62rVE

If you still need help, ask you teacher.


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