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Taller Articles England Group Four

The document summarizes the rules for using definite and indefinite articles (a/an and the) in English. It explains that "a" or "an" is used for non-specific or unknown nouns, while "the" is used for specific or defined nouns. It provides examples for when each article is necessary or not necessary, such as with plural vs. singular nouns, ordinal numbers, proper nouns, etc. Exercises are included for the reader to practice applying the article rules.

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REINALDO CARVAJAL BALLESTEROS
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102 views4 pages

Taller Articles England Group Four

The document summarizes the rules for using definite and indefinite articles (a/an and the) in English. It explains that "a" or "an" is used for non-specific or unknown nouns, while "the" is used for specific or defined nouns. It provides examples for when each article is necessary or not necessary, such as with plural vs. singular nouns, ordinal numbers, proper nouns, etc. Exercises are included for the reader to practice applying the article rules.

Uploaded by

REINALDO CARVAJAL BALLESTEROS
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Articles

Indefinite (a or an) Definite (the)

Singular a dog (any dog) the dog (that specific dog)

an apple (any apple) the apple (that specific apple)

Plural some dogs (any dogs) the dogs (those specific dogs)

some apples (any apples) the apples (those specific apples)

(A) The Indefinite Article a /an is used


i. before a singular countable noun mentioned for the first time.
e.g., He has a blue suit.
Betty saw an owl last night.

ii. when the listener does not know which particular person or thing we mean.
e.g., Please give me a pen, Mary.

N.B. “a” is used before a noun beginning with a consonant sound.


e.g., a boy
a one-way road
a European
a uniform
“an” is used before a noun beginning with a vowel sound.
e.g., an egg
an hour
an MTR train

(B) The Definite Article the is used


I. to refer to a noun that has been mentioned before or that is known to both the
speaker and the listener.
e.g., He has a dog and a cat. The dog is friendly, but the cat is not.
The man you met just now is my uncle.

ii. before a comparative or superlative adjective.


e.g., Paul is the fatter one.
Compare: Paul is fatter than David.
Andrew is the fattest boy in our class.
iii. before an ordinal number.
e.g., The second chapter is very interesting.

iv. before a noun that is unique.


e.g., The sun rises in the east.

v. with some adjectives to talk about a specific group of people.


e.g., We should be more concerned with the poor and the sick.

vi. before musical instruments.


e.g., I started playing the piano when I was six.

vii. before names of buildings, mountain ranges, seas, rivers, certain countries
which start with UNITED or end in ‘s’, and groups of islands.
e.g., The Lee Theatre has been pulled down.
I really want to climb the Himalayas.
The Atlantic Ocean separates the United States from the United Kingdom.

(C) No article is used


i. with plural nouns or uncountable nouns in general.
e.g., Girls like to receive flowers.
Milk is good for both children and adults.

ii. before names of games, months, seven days of a week, festivals, languages
and meals.
e.g., John does not play football.
Mr. White is learning Chinese.

iii. before words like bed, church, hospital, prison, school, university, etc. when
these places are used or visited for their primary purposes.
e.g., They go to church on Sundays.
I go to bed at ten o’clock every night.

Exercise 1
Fill in the blanks with ‘a’ or ‘an’.
1. Johnny wants to make __a__ trip to India.
2. Remember to add _a_ ‘S’ if the word is plural.
3. The workers have formed _a _ union.
4. _an_ unusual thing happened last night.
5. China is such _a_ fascinating country.
6. _a_ Mr. Gray came to your office this morning. I haven’t seen him before,’ said the
secretary to her boss.
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7. He is such _an_ honorable man that I’ve ever met.

Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks with ‘the’ where necessary. Put a cross ( X ) if no article is needed.
1. Peter has just returned from _the_ States.
2. We are not going to _X_ school today. It’s a holiday.
3. We usually have _x_ dinner at 7 o’clock.
4. We went to Joe’s birthday party last night. _the_ food was nice.
5. Who is _the_ headmaster of this school, please?
6. We are spending our holiday in _the_ Philippines this summer.
7. My father plays _x_ tennis every Sunday morning.
8. It’s fun travelling by _x_ air.
9. Few people have been to _the_ Himalayas.
10. Visitor: Where’s _the_ office, please?
Girl: It’s on _the_ fifth floor.

Exercise 3
Add ‘the’ where necessary. The number in brackets tells you the number of articles you
should use.
1. (2) Pick up the book on the floor , will you ?

2. (2) I can’t open the moneybox . I’ve lost the key .

3. (2) Betty , write your name on the cover of the book .

4. (1) What is the price of this shirt ?

5. (2) I bought a dog and a cat yesterday. The Cat escaped last
night , and the dog keeps barking at me .

6. (1) Will you show me the ring on your finger ?


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7. (2) My car is missing . There are some bottles in the car . the
Bottles contain petrol .

8. (2) Answer the telephone , David . I’m washing the car .

9. (2) Mummy , the door handle of the car has come off .

10. (1) Mr. Chan’s car hit a tree yesterday . the Car was damaged .

EXERCISE 4

Fill in the blanks with ‘a’, ‘an’, ‘the’ or ‘X’.


1. He told us that he would be back in _a_ hour.
2. ‘Will you be free on _x_ Sunday?’ Winnie asked Paul.
3. Don’t hesitate to ask him for __the_ advice if you need it.
4. Her aunt lives on x_ Lamma Island, doesn’t she?
5. There’s _an_ U-turn ahead.
6. Mrs. Chan has _an_ 8-year-old daughter.
7. I have known the Lees for many years.
8. I can’t move this table. Will you please give me _a_ hand?

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