Articles

Basic uses and exercises

definite: The or indefinite: A or An

Basic uses: A or an is used before singular nouns when one does not have a specific person, place, thing, or concept in mind. Ex: an apple, a suitcase A is used before a word beginning with a consonant, or a vowel sounded like a consonant. Ex; a horse, a uniform An is used before words beginning with a vowel (a, e, i, u, o) or words beginning with a mute (silent) h. Ex: an umbrella, an hour

 The is used before singular, plural, and noncount nouns when one does have a specific person, place, thing or concept in mind. Ex: the apple, the apples, the fruit, the suitcase, the suitcases. No article is used before noncount nouns or plural nouns when one does not have specific persons, places, concepts, or things in mind. Ex: apples, fruit, suitcases

Guidelines for article usage

a. A dog makes a good pet.( a speaker is making a generalization) b. Dogs make good pets. (no article with a plural count when we make a generalization In a and b the speaker is talking about any dog, all dogs, dogs in general. Both a and b have the same meaning

c. I saw a dog in my yard. (not specific; means not two dogs or many dogs) d. I need a half hour to go to the office. ( a means one, it is also used to mean per), ex: a half (one half), a mile a minute (one mile per minute) an apple a day (one apple per day)

e. The sun went behind some clouds. (the is used when there is only one example of the thing or person, or when the identity of the thing or person is clear. f. The is used before expressions of time and position the morning the past the afternoon the future the front the middle the beginning the end

g. The is used before a singular noun that is used as a representative of an entire class of things (names of plants, animals, inventions, musical instruments, and parts of the body), ex: - The elephant is a huge creature - My favorite tree is the oak - Cathy can play the piano very well - Who invented the typewriter? - The brain is very complex

h. The is used before superlative forms of adjectives, ex: - the worst mistake - the most interesting idea

Guidelines for using the and no the

Use The
-With oceans, rivers, seas, gulfs, plural lakes: the Red Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the Great Lakes -With mountains: The Rocky Mountains, the Andes -With earth, Moon: the earth, the moon -With schools, colleges, universities when the phrase begins with school, etc: the University of Florida, the College of Arts and Sciences, the University of Andalas

Dont use The

-with singular lake: Lake Geneva, Lake Erie

-with mounts: Mounts Vesuvius, Mount McKinley -with planets, constellations: Venus, mars, orion, Earth - With schools, colleges, universities when the phrase begins with a proper noun: Santa Fe Community College, Coopers Art School, Stetson University, Andalas University

Use The
-with ordinal numbers before nouns: the First World War, the third chapter -with wars (except world war): the Korean War, the Crimean War -with decades and centuries: the 1960s, the nineties, the twentyfirst century -with quantity expressions: quantity expressions+of+the+noun ; many of the offices, some of the water, most of the commercials -before the name of a group of people or a nationality: The Swedish are proud of their ancestors, the Vikings -before the formal name of a place (usually containing the word of): the Republic of Indonesia, the city of Athens

Dont use The

-with cardinal number after nouns: World War I, chapter three

-with years, months: in 1960, in August -with quantity expressions without the phrase of the: many offices, some water, most commercials -before the name of a language: She learn to speak Swedish when she lives in Stockholm -before the informal name of a place: Indonesia, Athens

Use The
-before a noncount noun or a plural noun when it is followed by modifier: The rice that I bought today is in the bag; The trees in this park are mostly evergreens -before the name of a field of study followed by an of phrase: the art of Japan, the history of the twentieth century -with certain countries or group of countries with more than one word: the United States, the United Kingdom

Dont use The

-when noncount noun appear alone: Rice is a staple in many countries, Trees provide shade

-if used alone, or is preceded by an adjective: Japanese Art, history -with countries preceded by new or an adjective such as a directions: New Zealand, North Korea -with countries with only one word: France, Swedish, England -with continents: Europe, Africa -with states: Florida, Ohio,

Use The
-with historical documents: the Magna Carta, the Constitutions -with ethnic group: the Sundanese, the Aztec

Dont use The

-with sports: baseball, tennis -with abstract nouns: freedom, happiness -with general areas of subject matter: sociology, mathematics -Holidays: Christmas, Easter

Exercise 1
Directions: In the following sentences supply the articles (a, an or the) if they are necessary, leave the space blank. 1. 2. Jasons father bought him ___ bicycle that he had wanted for his birthday. ___ Statue of Liberty was a gift of friendship from ___ France to ___ United States. Rita is studying ___ English and ___ math this semester. ___ judge asked ___ witness to tell ____ truth. Please give me ___ cup of ___ coffee with ___ cream and ___ sugar. ___ big books on ___ table are for my history class. No one in ___ Spanish class knew ___ correct answer to ___ Mrs. Perezs question.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

8. ___ Lake Erie is one of ___ five Great Lakes in ___ North America. 9. ___ Mount Rushmore is the site of ___ magnificent tribute to ___ four great American Presidents. 10. ___ Declaration of Independence was drawn up in 1776. 11. ___ Civil War was fought in ___ United States between 1861 and 1865. 12. ___ Florida State University is smaller than ___ University of Florida. 13. Louie played ___ basketball and ___ baseball at ___ Boys Club this year. 14. Rita played ___ violin and her sister plays ___ guitar. 15. Last night there was ___ bird singing outside my house. 16. Scientists hope to send ___ expedition to ___ Mars during ___ 1980s. 17. Phil cant go to ___ movies tonight because he has to write ___ essay.

18. What did you eat for ___ breakfast this morning? 19. There are only ___ few seats left for ___ tonight musical at ___ university. 20. ___ chair that you are sitting in is broken.

Exercise 2

Directions: Choose the one answer that best completes the sentence. If no article is appropriate (or required), select (D) 1. ___ eagle is the national bird of the USA. (A) A (B) An (C) The (D) 2. ___ Nantucket island is a superb spot for watching the eclipse. (A) A (B) An (C) The (D) 3. The cat is ___ beautiful animal, but its intelligence leaves much to be desired (A) a (B) an (C) the (D)

4. We loved ___ Lake Geneva especially in the fall. (A) a (B) an (C) the (D) 5. Families like ___ Rockefellers have become synonymous with wealth. (A) a (B) an (C) the (D) 6. Mrs. James did not arrive until sometime in ___ late afternoon. (A) a (B) an (C) the (D) 7. ___ University of Chicago has an excellent law school. (A) A (B) An (C) The (D) 8. Western art of the 19th century shows the influence of ___ Far East. (A) a (B) an (C) the (D) 9. ___ Finland is known for its beautiful forests and seacoasts. (A) A (B) An (C) The (D) 10. ___ Air and Space Museum has the highest attendance record of all the museums in the world. (A) A (B) An (C) The (D)

Directions: Decide if the underlined word or phrase is used correctly. If so, mark it C for Correct. If not, mark the sentence X and rewrite the underlined expression, correcting the mistake. ___ 1. That was one of the best novels I have ever read._______ ___ 2. I cant find the Volume Three of the encyclopedia._______ ___ 3. You can see the stars more clearly from the country than from the city._______ ___ 4. How do I get to airport from here?_______ ___ 5. Tom has a idea he wants to tell you about._______ ___ 6. The invention of the elevator made skycrapers possible._______ ___ 7. The water is necessary for all life._______ ___ 8. Some of photographs are overexposed._______ ___ 9. There is a radio antenna on a roof of this building._______ ___ 10. Larry works here only three days of the week._______

Exercise 3

___ 11. About the third of my country is very mountainous._______ ___ 12. You can expect a package to be delivered to you in a near future._______ ___ 13. He attended an university in California._______ ___ 14. A first time I went to Japan was about ten years ago._______ ___ 15. I think humor is an important quality in anyone._______ ___ 16. Water in the tea kettle is boiling._______ ___ 17. The receptionist said I would have to wait a half hour to see Dr. Bingham, but I actually had to wait a hour._______ ___ 18. You can find vegetarian restaurants in the most big cities._______ ___ 19. Do you speak French very well?_______ ___ 20. He studied the business administration._______