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Definite and
Indefinite Articles
An African Safari
3
Focus on Grammar 5
Part III, Unit 8
By Ruth Luman, Gabriele Steiner, and BJ WellsCopyright © 2006. Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Trip to Kenya
Dear Marta,
We took ____ most wonderful trip last
month. We went on ____ great safari.
____ safari was in Kenya and we saw
____ lions and ____hippos up close!
____ experience was great. ____
only problem was my husband was
bitten by ____ mosquito, but since we
had taken malaria medicine beforewe came, ____ Dr. Matuka said
he would be okay.
Love, Gloria
Look at the
letter. Fill in
the blanks
with
a, an, the orno art ic le .
Explain your
answers to
a partner.
You will checkyour answers
at the end of
the
presentation.
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Indefinite Article 1
When we don’t have a particular person, place, or thingin mind, we use non-specific nouns. Use the indefinite
article a/an with non-specific singular count nouns.
I’d love to hold
a baby lion.
any baby lion;
no particular lion
in mind
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Indefinite Article 2
A noun is often indefinite the first time a speaker
mentions it. It is usually definite after the first mention.
1st Mention
2nd
Mention
We went on a safari
last year.
The safari was very
educational.
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Zero Article 1
Use zero article (no article) with non-specific plural
count nouns and non-specific non-count nouns.
Meerkats are very interesting
animals to watch.
Hippos feel at
home in water .
Non-Specific
Non-Count Noun
Zero Article
Non-Specific
Plural Count NounZero Article
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Generic Nouns
A noun is generic when it represents all members of aclass or category. There are three ways to use count
nouns generically.
2. A cheetah is a predatory animal.
1. Cheetahs are predatory animals.
zero article + plural count noun
3. Water is essential for all animals to survive.
indefinite article + count noun
zero article + non-count noun
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Zero Article 2
Use zero article before the names of people or their
titles, names of most countries, and habitual locations.
Kanika spends four days aweek at work and two days a
week in school.
Ambassador Mukasa was born in
Tanzania but spent most of his life in
Kenya.
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Practice 1Look at the sentences. Complete
them with an indefinite article or no
article. Explain your answers to a
partner.
Example: _____ zebra came right up to me! A
1. We stayed in _____ nice lodge. _____ game reserves
usually have lodges nearby.
2. That kind of bird is usually found in _____ Zambia.
3. Have you ever seen __ __ _ elephant up close?
4. This is _____ great vacation.
5. I would love to be _____ game warden.
6. A: Do you often see _____ warthogs at game reserves?
B: Oh, yes. There are some right over there.
a
an
a
a
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Definite Article 1
A noun is definite when we know the particular person, place, orthing being talked about. Use the definite article the with non-
count nouns and singular and plural nouns that are definite.
The vultures
have found
something to
eat.
Yeah, I see
them. Let’s
get closer
and take apicture.
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Definite Article 2
Use the definite article with nouns that describe
something unique.
Nanyuki, Kenya, is
located on the equator .
There is only
one equator.
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Definite Article 3
An adjective can often make a noun represent somethingunique. Examples of such adjectives are right, wrong,
first, only , and the comparative and superlative forms.
The first giraffe iseating.
That is the tallest giraffe I’ve
ever seen!
UniqueAdjective
SuperlativeAdjective
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Definite Article 4
The definite article is used with the names of publicplaces, some countries, and many geographical
regions or features.
I went to the
library tolearn more
about Kenya.
My friends from the Netherlands are visiting Tanzania this year. Kenya is located along
the Indian Ocean.
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Dear Marta,
We took ____ most wonderful trip last
month. We went on ____ great safari.
____ safari was in Kenya and we saw
____ lions and ____hippos up close!
____ experience was great. ____
only problem was my husband was
bitten by ____ mosquito, but since we
had taken malaria medicine before
we came, ____ Dr. Matuka said
he would be okay.
Love, Gloria
Practice 2Look at the letter again and fill in the
blanks. Did your ideas on article usage
change? Check your answers.
the
a
The
The The
a
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References
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education
and its licensors. All rights reserved.