ARTICLES (A, AN, THE) [art or ^] STEP 1: DEFINITION STEP 2: PRACTICE EXERCISES STEP 3: LEARNING MORE

STEP 1: DEFINITION

The articles A, AN, THE are called determiners or noun markers. Here are some guidelines: 1. A and AN are indefinite articles used to introduce a new noun (first mention) or a noun used in the general sense: Maria bought a new car. It's a brand new day. An is used in front of singular count nouns beginning with vowel sounds: an essay, an hour, an umbrella 2. THE is a definite article used in front of singular or plural nouns that:

occur in some set expressions (idioms):

It's the same story (lesson, way, message). One of the musicians can play the flute.

precede most countries that end in a plural noun and countries made up of states/provinces/other countries:

the United States the Russian Federation

precede the names of oceans, seas, gulfs and rivers:

The The The The

Pacific Ocean Mediterranean Sea Gulf of Mexico Mississippi River

precede specific nouns that are easily identifiable because they refer to a unique object or are modified by superlative adjectives:

The sky is blue and the sun is shining. The computer that you are using needs more software. She's studying the Indonesian language. Is this the right answer or the wrong answer?

occur in expressions of time and ordinal numbers:

She is the first (second, third, last) person to get the right answer.

have already been introduced (second mention) or are defined in the context of the sentence:

Note the first and second mention from "The Fox and The Crow," one of Aesop's fables:

One day, a hungry fox was walking along a path when he saw a crow sitting on a branch of a tree, eating a piece of cheese. The fox wanted the cheese, so he said to the crow, "Mister Crow, you have such a beautiful voice. Would you please sing a song for me?" Flattered, the crow opened his mouth to sing the song, and the cheese fell right into the mouth of the clever fox.
Errors in article usage occur when students incorrectly add or omit A/AN/THE.

Incorrect:

Correct:

She is working for Spanish radio station. An apple a day is good for you.

She is working for a Spanish radio station. An apple a day is good for you.

He's living in United States. Everyone has to arrive on the time. An earth rotates around a sun. It's the worst movie I've ever seen. TOP STEP 2: PRACTICE EXERCISES

He's living in the United States. Everyone has to arrive on time. The earth rotates around the sun. It's the worst movie I've ever seen.

Practice 1 - Recognizing article errors in sentences Practice 2 - Recognizing article errors in paragraphs STEP 3: LEARNING MORE For more information on articles, follow these links: http://ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/determiners/determiners.htm#articles http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/a.html http://www.vnn.vn/vnn4/practice/grammar/article.htm http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/DETERMINERS2.cfm

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