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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