Articles
Articles are words that help to introduce countable nouns and which hold a meaning
similar to the word 'one' or 'single', yet which are less specific.
There are only 3 articles in English
these are: 'A', 'an' and 'the'
Here are a few examples of how they are used.
He is a teacher.
She picked out an orange.
Bill sat on the chair.
As you can see from the examples, the words 'a', 'an' and 'the' help to introduce nouns that
we can count, i.e teacher, orange and chair.
We could have said he is teacher, however this makes us sound primitive
They also indicate that there is one of each of those nouns, however they do not specifically rule out that there could be a set of two or three or more of that item the way the word 'one' would, as the word 'one' specifically specifies the number.
Here are a few rules when using 'a', 'an':
1. Use 'a' for nouns that begin with a consonant.
e.g He is a teacher.
Sandy has a jar of peaches
The letters 't' and 'j' in the words 'teacher' and 'jar' are consonants, therefore we used the article 'a'.
2. Use 'an' for nouns that begin with a vowel.
e.g She picked out an orange
Janice took an apple to school
The letters 'o' and 'a' in the words 'orange' and 'apple' are vowels, therefore we used the article 'an'.
3. If there should be an adjective, an adverb or an adjective-adverb combination before the noun,
then apply the above two rules to the first letter of the adjective or adverb instead of the noun.
e.g He has a nice apple.
She wears a lovely dress
Bill enjoys an exquisite slice of cake.
Angie drives an odd car.
In the first sentence the word 'apple' starts with the vowel 'a'. However we wouldn't say
"He has an nice apple". So when applying the 3rd rule, we use the first letter of the adjective to tell
us which article to use.
The letters 'n' and 'l' in the adjectives 'nice' and 'lovely' are consonants, therefore we used 'a'.
The letters 'e' and 'o' in the adjectives 'exquisite' and 'odd' are vowels, therefore we used 'an'.
These are the main 3 rules that will get you by in most conversations.
There are some exceptions however so here are 2 more rules for 'a' and 'an':
4. For words like 'European' or 'University', that start with a vowel, but which sound like they are spelt
with a consonant, we use 'a' ( as if it was spelt with a consonant).
e.g
He studies at a university.
One wouldn't say "He studies at an university" even though the word university is spelt with the vowel 'u'. The article in these cases are given by the way the word sounds.
5. Similarly rule 5 is for words like 'hour', that are spelt with a consonant, but which are pronounced as if they are spelt with a vowel (in the case of hour it is pronounced 'ow-wer'), one must use the article 'an'.
e.g he is an hour late.
he is an honourable person.
The words 'hour' and 'honourable' are both pronounced with an 'ow' sound, hence the article 'an' is used.
'A' and 'an' are known as indefinite articles, because they help you to talk about a thing in general and not specifically.
e.g He owns a phone.
The subject in this sentence (he) owns a phone. It could be any phone and hence it is not specific.
Phew! Quite a few rules, but you'll learn them quickly.
Now try complete these sentences using 'a' or 'an'.
Articles are words that help to introduce countable nouns and which hold a meaning
similar to the word 'one' or 'single', yet which are less specific.
There are only 3 articles in English
these are: 'A', 'an' and 'the'
Here are a few examples of how they are used.
He is a teacher.
She picked out an orange.
Bill sat on the chair.
As you can see from the examples, the words 'a', 'an' and 'the' help to introduce nouns that
we can count, i.e teacher, orange and chair.
We could have said he is teacher, however this makes us sound primitive
They also indicate that there is one of each of those nouns, however they do not specifically rule out that there could be a set of two or three or more of that item the way the word 'one' would, as the word 'one' specifically specifies the number.
Here are a few rules when using 'a', 'an':
1. Use 'a' for nouns that begin with a consonant.
e.g He is a teacher.
Sandy has a jar of peaches
The letters 't' and 'j' in the words 'teacher' and 'jar' are consonants, therefore we used the article 'a'.
2. Use 'an' for nouns that begin with a vowel.
e.g She picked out an orange
Janice took an apple to school
The letters 'o' and 'a' in the words 'orange' and 'apple' are vowels, therefore we used the article 'an'.
3. If there should be an adjective, an adverb or an adjective-adverb combination before the noun,
then apply the above two rules to the first letter of the adjective or adverb instead of the noun.
e.g He has a nice apple.
She wears a lovely dress
Bill enjoys an exquisite slice of cake.
Angie drives an odd car.
In the first sentence the word 'apple' starts with the vowel 'a'. However we wouldn't say
"He has an nice apple". So when applying the 3rd rule, we use the first letter of the adjective to tell
us which article to use.
The letters 'n' and 'l' in the adjectives 'nice' and 'lovely' are consonants, therefore we used 'a'.
The letters 'e' and 'o' in the adjectives 'exquisite' and 'odd' are vowels, therefore we used 'an'.
These are the main 3 rules that will get you by in most conversations.
There are some exceptions however so here are 2 more rules for 'a' and 'an':
4. For words like 'European' or 'University', that start with a vowel, but which sound like they are spelt
with a consonant, we use 'a' ( as if it was spelt with a consonant).
e.g
He studies at a university.
One wouldn't say "He studies at an university" even though the word university is spelt with the vowel 'u'. The article in these cases are given by the way the word sounds.
5. Similarly rule 5 is for words like 'hour', that are spelt with a consonant, but which are pronounced as if they are spelt with a vowel (in the case of hour it is pronounced 'ow-wer'), one must use the article 'an'.
e.g he is an hour late.
he is an honourable person.
The words 'hour' and 'honourable' are both pronounced with an 'ow' sound, hence the article 'an' is used.
'A' and 'an' are known as indefinite articles, because they help you to talk about a thing in general and not specifically.
e.g He owns a phone.
The subject in this sentence (he) owns a phone. It could be any phone and hence it is not specific.
Phew! Quite a few rules, but you'll learn them quickly.
Now try complete these sentences using 'a' or 'an'.
articles
Gap-fill exercise
Fill in all the gaps, then press "Check" to check your answers. Use the "Hint" button to get a free letter if an answer is giving you trouble. You can also click on the "[?]" button to get a clue. Note that you will lose points if you ask for hints or clues!
Now its time to learn a few rules about the last article 'The'
The is called a definite article because it introduces a definite specific thing.
We use 'the' to talk about something that is already known to the listener, or something that was already mentioned, introduced or discussed.
Examples
I have a cat. The cat is black.
Do you own a car? Is the car blue?
The statement and question "I have a cat" and "do you own a car?" has already introduced that we
are talking about a cat and a car. The article 'the' helps us now to indicate that we are talking about that same specific car, that was mentioned in the first statement and question.
Sometimes the use of a phrase or clause after the article helps to introduce the item being talked about instead.
Example
Did you read the book I gave you?
Here we used the article "the" because the phrase "I gave you" helps to indicate which book is being spoken about.
However not all phrases and clauses help to introduce the item.
Example
He bought the house with a big backyard
He bought a house with a big backyard.
Here the use of "the" with the phrase "with a big backyard" help to tell that a specific house distinguishable by its big backyard was bought, therefore the article "the" was used.
In the next example "a" with the phrase "with a big backyard" tells the listener that a single house ( that could be any house) with a big backyard (which could be any backyard that is large) was bought.
This example helps to show us the differences between using the articles "the" and "a".
Now try completing the paragraph using the articles 'a', 'an' or 'the'
The is called a definite article because it introduces a definite specific thing.
We use 'the' to talk about something that is already known to the listener, or something that was already mentioned, introduced or discussed.
Examples
I have a cat. The cat is black.
Do you own a car? Is the car blue?
The statement and question "I have a cat" and "do you own a car?" has already introduced that we
are talking about a cat and a car. The article 'the' helps us now to indicate that we are talking about that same specific car, that was mentioned in the first statement and question.
Sometimes the use of a phrase or clause after the article helps to introduce the item being talked about instead.
Example
Did you read the book I gave you?
Here we used the article "the" because the phrase "I gave you" helps to indicate which book is being spoken about.
However not all phrases and clauses help to introduce the item.
Example
He bought the house with a big backyard
He bought a house with a big backyard.
Here the use of "the" with the phrase "with a big backyard" help to tell that a specific house distinguishable by its big backyard was bought, therefore the article "the" was used.
In the next example "a" with the phrase "with a big backyard" tells the listener that a single house ( that could be any house) with a big backyard (which could be any backyard that is large) was bought.
This example helps to show us the differences between using the articles "the" and "a".
Now try completing the paragraph using the articles 'a', 'an' or 'the'
Articles
Gap-fill exercise
Fill in all the gaps with either 'a' 'an' or 'the', then press "Check" to check your answers. Use the "Hint" button to get a free letter if an answer is giving you trouble. You can also click on the "[?]" button to get a clue. Note that you will lose points if you ask for hints or clues!
Do you think articles are useful? Are they necessary?
Leave your comments below!
Now its time to learn types of words!
Click this button to learn about antonyms!
Leave your comments below!
Now its time to learn types of words!
Click this button to learn about antonyms!