ENGLISH

HU-100
 a/an and one

• If a word starts with a vowel letter but begins with a consonant sound, we also use a:
e.g. A European a university

• We use an before words that begin with a vowel sound:

e.g. an Italian an orange

• These include words that begin with a silent letter “h”

e.g. an hour an honest child

• And abbreviations said as individual letters that begin with A,E,F,M,H,I,L,N,O,R,S or

X:
e.g. an FBI agent an IOU

• But compare abbreviations said as words:

A NATO general a FIFA official

• We use a/an (not one) to talk about a particular but unspecified person, thing or
event.

I really need a cup of coffee.

You never see a police officer in this part of the town, do you?
• We also use a/an, not one, in number and quantity
expressions such as:
Three times a year half an hour a quarter of an hour
A week or two a few a huge number of

• We use a rather than one in the pattern a… of…. with

possessives, as in:
She’s a colleague of mine.
That’s a friend of Bill’s.

• Before a singular countable noun one and a/an both refer

to one thing:
We’ll be in Canada for one year (or….. a year)
Wait here for one minute and I’ll be with you( or …..a
minute….)
• Using one in sentences like these gives a little more emphasis to the
length of time, quantity, amount, weight etc:

He weighs one hundred and twenty kilos! Would you believe it!
( using one emphasises the weight more than using a)

• We use one rather than a/an if we want to emphasise that we are

talking about only one thing or person rather than two or more:

Do you want one sandwich or two?

Are you staying only one night?

• We also use one in phrases such as one day, one evening, one spring
etc. to mean a particular, but unspecified day, evening, spring

Hope to see you again one day.

One evening, while he was working late at the office…
 Write a or an in the spaces.

1. ______ one parent family

2. _______ MP
3. _________ honorary degree
4. _________ OPEC meeting
5. ________ unpaid bill
6. ________ MiG fighter plane
7. ________ Euro
8. ___________ MA in Russian
9. __________ F grade
10. __________ NASA space launch
11. __________ U-turn
12. __________ heirloom
13. ________ SOS meeting
 Definite article ‘the’

The definite article the is used in several different ways

in English.

One use is with nouns (singular or plural, countable or

uncountable) that are specifically identified because the
listener or reader knows (or can assume) that only one
specific noun is being talked or written about:

Are my keys in the car?

(The speaker / writer assumes that the listener / reader

knows which car is being referred to.)

John can't hear you. He's in the shower.

(John can be in only one specific shower.)

Evita's son is in the first grade.

(Evita's son can be in only one specific first-grade class.)

• Another use of the happens when a non-specific noun
is mentioned more than one time: the first time
the noun is mentioned, a or an is used (because at that
point the noun is non-specific). After the noun has been
mentioned the first time, however, the is used (because
at that point it's clear which noun is being referred to,
so it's specific).

Example:
• Tony bought a computer yesterday. He paid for
the computer with money he earned by working
after school.
(e.g. The committee has approved a new policy. The policy...)
(A survey was administered to.... The results showed that ... )
A third use is related to the second: when a plural noun is
non-specific, either some, a number or other quantifier,
or zero article (no article) is used when the noun is
mentioned the first time, but the is used after the first time.

Examples:

Celina is wearing earrings. The earrings are small and round

and made of gold.

Someone sent Anna flowers yesterday. The flowers were

delivered just before noon.
• Use ‘the’ when you use ‘most’ as the superlative form
(e.g. The most critical step is...)

• Use ‘the’ when using ordinal forms to show order or number

(e.g. The first students to graduate were...; The last
students to leave...)

• Use ‘the’ when using words that specify a particular item

(e.g. The same student, the only essay)

• 5. Use ‘the’ for reference to an item that is understood by all

speakers
(e.g. the sun, the planets, the moon, the stars)

• When we talk about the things, which are unique_ there is only
one of them or one set of them:
(e.g. The world the sky the human race the
environment the sea the horizon)
Some uses of the word the do not have any rules
relating to their use and, unfortunately, such
situations are not always clear. For each instance
the usage just has to be learnt on a case by case
basis.
“The grass is always greener on the other
side of the fence.”
• The indefinite articles a and an are used to refer generally
to singular countable nouns. (That is, a or an will probably be
used when it isn't important to know which particular noun is being
referred to.)
• The indefinite article a, is the normal or neutral way of referring to
one thing. In other words the speaker or the writer has no specific
thing in mind when making the statement.
“I am looking for a book on communication.”

• The indefinite article (a, an) cannot be used with uncountable

nouns or with plural nouns.

• Use a, an when you first mention a singular countable noun.

• Use zero article when you first mention a plural noun or an

uncountable noun.
Compare the two sentences
I know a man who works with Julia.

(More than one man works with Julia. The sentence

doesn't make it clear which man is being referred to.)

Do you know the man who's talking to Julia?

(Only one man is talking to Julia.)

 Zero article
a. Water has got into my camera and damaged it.
b. There are examples of the present continuous tense on
page 34.

• We use zero article with uncountable and plural nouns when we

talk generally about people or things rather than specific people or
things.

• We might talk about a whole class of things in a general way (a) or

about and indefinite number or amount (b).

• As an alternative to the + singular countable noun we can use

a plural countable noun to talk about a class of things:
Computers are an important research tool.
• Notice that if the is used with plural and uncountable nouns we
refer to a specific thing or group:
The computers have arrived. Where shall I put them?
The music was wonderful. I could have listened to the
orchestra all night.
• We use zero article with times of the day and night such as
midnight, midday and noon:
If possible, I’d like to finished by midday.

• We use the+ morning/afternoon/evening for a day which is

understood or already specified.
I’ll be there by the morning/afternoon/evening.

• We use by+ zero article to talk about means of transport

and communication, including
go/travel by car/bus/taxi/train/sea; contact/communicate by
post/email
I generally go by bus to work
• We often use zero article in patterns where repeated or related
words are joined by a preposition and used with a general meaning:
The government makes grants according to criteria that differ from
region to region.
Person to person, face to face, side by side etc
• We usually use zero article before the name of an individual person or
place.
However we use the_

When there are two people with the same name and we want to specify which
one we are talking about.

That’s not the Stephen Fraser I went to school with.

• When we want to emphasise that the person we are referring to is the

most famous person with that name. Used this way, the is stressed
pronounced as / ði:/
• Do they mean the Ronald Reagan, or someone else?

• With an adjective to describe a person, or another noun which tell us about

their job
the late Buddy Holly the artist William Turner

• When we talk about a family as a whole

The Robinsons are away this weekend.
Verbs
An intransitive verb has two characteristics. First, it is an action verb,
expressing a doable activity like arrive, go, lie, sneeze, sit, die, etc.
Second, unlike a transitive verb, it will not have a direct object
receiving the action.

There’s no word in the sentence that tells who or what received

the action. While there may be a word or phrase following an
intransitive verb, such words and phrases typically answer the
question “how”.

Most intransitive verbs are complete without a direct object.

•It rained.
The sentence above is complete. The subject “it” is followed by the
intransitive verb “rained.”

Intransitive verbs can be followed by a prepositional phrase or an

adverb to add to the thought being expressed, but they can never be
followed by a noun, which would act as the object of the sentence.

•It rained across the state.

•“Across the state” is a prepositional phrase adding to the sentence’s

meaning by answering the question “where did it rain?”.
Kinds of Intransitive Verbs
There are two kinds of intransitive verbs: linking verbs
and action verbs.

Linking Verbs

• Linking verbs do not express action.

• Here are several examples of linking verbs that are
intransitive verbs, followed by the appropriate
descriptors.

The cat was friendly.

The car is green.
John will be 20 in August.
A transitive verb has two characteristics. First, it is an action verb,
expressing a doable activity like kick, want, paint, write, eat, clean, etc.
Second, it must have a direct object, something or someone who receives
the action of the verb.
The direct object always answers the question “What?”

Look at the following examples of sentences with direct objects:

•I saw the Beatles in concert.

The subject “I” is followed by the verb “saw” and the noun “the Beatles”
which completes the sentence.

•We painted the old rocking chair.

“We” is the subject, followed by the transitive verb “painted” and the
direct object “rocking chair.”

The general sentence pattern of subject – verb – object is a foundation in

the English language. It’s one of the most frequently used, and one of the
most basic.

To write well, one must alter this structure to add variety and interest to
the text. Once student writers learn and master this basic pattern,
alterations to the pattern provide the beauty and originality of
sophisticated prose.
• Some verbs can be followed by two objects.
Usually, the first object (indirect object (IO)) is
a person or group of people and the second
object (direct object(DO)) is a thing.
• I read Suzanne( IO) a story (DO).
• He made himself (IO) a cup of coffee (DO).
• Some verbs can be transitive or intransitive, allowing us
to focus on either the person or thing performing the
action, or the person, thing affected by the action.
He’s ripped his shirt. (trans) His shirt has ripped.
(intrans)
• After some verbs we usually need a compliment. (a
phrase which completes the meaning of a verb, noun or
adjective
• The disease originated in Britain.

• Some verbs are followed by a preposition and then an

object.
• We had to deal with hundred of complaints.
Belongs??
Adhere to, differentiate between, incline to/towards,
specialise in.
• Some verbs, such as arrive, go, lie, sneeze, sit, and
die, are always intransitive; it is impossible for a direct
object to follow.

Other action verbs, however, can be transitive or

intransitive, depending on what follows in the sentence.

• Because of blood sugar problems, Rosa always eats

before leaving for school.

Eats = intransitive verb.

• If there is no leftover pizza, Rosa usually eats whole-

grain cereal.

Eats = transitive verb; cereal = direct object.

• Huffing and puffing, we arrived at the classroom door with only seven
seconds to spare.

• James went to the campus cafe for a steaming bowl of squid eyeball stew.

• Joshua wants a smile from Leodine, his beautiful but serious lab partner.

• To escape the midday sun, the cats lie in the shade under our cars.

• Around fresh ground pepper, Sheryl sneezes with violence.

• Alice cleans the dirty supper dishes with a napkin before Grandma loads the
"prewashed" items into dishwasher.

• In the evenings, Glenda sits on the front porch to admire her immaculate
lawn.

• Flipped on its back, the beetle that Clara soaked with insecticide dies under
the refrigerator.

• Antonio eats lima beans drenched in brown gravy.