ARTICLES
I have both good news and bad news regarding articles.
Let me give you the good news first. There are only three articles in English
language: a, an, and the.
Here, the indefinite
articles are “a” and “an.” The definite article is “the.
The bad news is that their proper use is complex, especially
when you get into the advanced use of English. Quite often you have to work it
out by what sounds right, which can be frustrating for a
learner. You also need to know when not to use an article.
The Indefinite Article
A and an are the indefinite articles. They are used before
singular nouns that introduce something or someone you have not mentioned
before.
They are really the
same article, but we say 'a' when the noun we are referring to begins with a
consonant, or consonant sound (b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t,
v, w, x, y or z)
- "a city" [si-tē]
- "a factory"
[ˈfak-t(ə-)rē]
- "a university"
[yü-nə-ˈvər-sə-tē]
Did you notice how the
article is pronounced? - "ə" - Yes, it's the schwa again!
You might hear it
pronounced "eɪ", we do that when the article is stressed.
For example:-
"I said you could
have a gummy bear, not two!"
You use 'an' when the
noun you are referring to begins with a vowel, or vowel sound:
- "an apple" [ˈa-pəl]
- "an elephant"
[ˈe-lə-fənt]
- "an
hour" [ˈau̇(-ə)r]
It's really the sound that matters, not the spelling, and if an
adjective gets in the way, it takes over from the noun.
For example:-
My husband sent me an
SMS.
My husband sent me a
nice SMS.
(Lots of people get
this wrong - including native speakers.)
We also use the
indefinite article when talking about our profession.
For example:-I'm a
teacher, but I prefer to think of myself as an English helper.
The Definite Article
We use' the' when we are talking about a particular thing, or we
have already mentioned the thing we are talking about.
For example:-
This is the information
about the definite article.
We also use it to talk about geographical points on the globe,
some countries, rivers, oceans, seas, and before certain nouns when we know
there is only one of a particular thing.
'The' is also used to
form the superlative.
For example:-
What is the best way
to learn English?
There are two ways to
pronounce "the". One is
"thə" and the other "thee".
No Article
We do not need an
article to talk about things in general.
'The' does not mean
all.
For example:
"The
books are expensive." (Not all
books are expensive, just the ones I'm talking about.)
"Books are expensive." (All books are expensive.)
|
Inflation is rising.
People are worried about rising crime.
(Note! People generally, so no article)
|
You do not use an
article when talking about sports.
|
Example:
My son plays football.
Tennis is expensive.
|
You do not use an
article before uncountable nouns when talking about them generally.
|
Example:
|
Information is important to any organisation. Coffee is bad for you.
|
You do not use an
article before the names of countries except where they indicate multiple areas or contain the following
words: state(s), kingdom, republic, union...
|
Example:
|
No article - Italy, Mexico, Bolivia,
England
Use the - the UK
(United Kingdom), the USA (United States of
America), the Irish Republic
Multiple areas! the Netherlands, the Philippines, the British
Isles
|
Summary
When you look at all
the variables, I think you will agree that you need to develop a feeling for
articles.
Quite often you have
to work out what is correct by what sounds right, which can be frustrating for
a learner, but it's an important aspect of learning English.
Don't worry about it
too much. If you work on it, and practise lots, pretty soon you will know the
right article to use.
