Articles

ARTICLES

• INDEFINITE ARTICLES : a, an

• NO ARTICLE

• DEFINITE ARTICLE : the • PRACTICE

ARTICLES

The indefinite article : ‘a / an’

1. A and an have exactly the same meaning. We use a in front of consonant sounds (a man, a year) and an in front of vowel sounds (an eye, an owl)

2. We can talk about people or things ‘in general’ with a / an or with the plural.

Instead of : Cats are domestic animals.

( cats in general )

We can say : A cat is a domestic animal.

( cats in general )

The use of ‘a/an’ when something is mentioned for the first time.

We use ‘a/an’ to introduce a person or thing for the first time. This shows that the listener or reader doesn’t know what we are referring to. After this first reference, we use ‘the’.

I watched a car as it came up our road. The car stopped outside our house and a man got out. The man was carrying a case in his hand. With the case in his hand, the man looked like a salesman.

The definite article : ‘the’

1. ‘The’ never varies in form whether it refers to people or things, singular or plural.

a) That’s the man we met last night.

b) That’s the shirt I bought yesterday.

c) They’re the men we last night.

d) They’re the shirts I bought yesterday.

h2. We use ‘the’ to refer to something that is known.

e.g. The man is my teacher.

3. ‘The’ can be combined with singular countable nouns (the book), plural countable nouns (the books), and uncountable nouns, which are always singular (the furniture).

4. We use ‘the’ to refer to ‘one of a kind’ :

the earth, the sea, the sky, the sun, the moon, the solar system, the planets, the galaxy, the universe

A 7.3 No Article

1. The is not used before plural nouns and uncountable nouns (in a general sense) :

2. Before (the names of most countries except if the country includes the word ‘Republic’ or ‘United’) :

Have you been to China?

The tourists will arrive from India.

He is going to Australia next year.

When are you leaving for New Zealand?

Dogs are faithful animals.

Trees give us shade.

Honesty is the best policy.

Tolerance is important in our country.

Articles

No ArticleA 7.3

3. Before (the name of a town ; city or state) unless if it is used as an adjective :

He comes from Penang.

Several players came back from Perak.

Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia

(In the above examples, Penang, Perak and Kuala Lumpur are used as adjectives and so articles are used in front of them).

Note : Where is the Penang bus-station?

He is a Perak player.

The Kuala Lumpur express coach will arrive soon.

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No ArticleA 7.3

4. Before the name of a game :

They love to play tennis.

We play football every day.

Children often play badminton.

The football coach is absent today.

Note : When the name of the game is used as an adjective we use an article :

He lost the tennis ball.

How much does a badminton racket cost?

Articles

No ArticleA 7.3

5. Before the name of a meal when it is used after the verb ‘have’ :

The lunch we are ate yesterday was expensive.

Note : When you refer to a particular meal, you normally use an article :

The breakfast you prepared was tasty.

Have you paid for the supper?

We have our breakfast at seven.

I often have my lunch at two.

When are you going to have your dinner?

Shall we have supper now?

Articles

No ArticleA 7.3

6. The is not used before words like school, prison, bed, church, town, market, home, when we think of these places as being used in the ordinary or usual way :

He goes to school punctually.

They were sent to prison.

I go to bed at ten.

Do you go to church every Sunday?

Are you going to town tomorrow?

My mother goes to market every morning.

My father is at home now.

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No ArticleA 7.3

They are going to paint the school.

Note : If these places are thought of in a special way, then the is used :

The Sultan visited the school.

The prison was destroyed.

The church they are going to build will cost RM500,000.

7. Before names of roads and streets except when the road joins two places :

A robbery took place in Bangsar Road.

An accident occurred at Beach Street.

Note : An accident happened at the 4th milestone of the Butterworth-Taiping road.

Articles

No ArticleA 7.3

8. Before diseases like :

chicken-pox

small pox

typhoid

malaria

tuberculosis

cholera

influenza

Articles

1. Who is oldest boy in this class? (To show superlatives)

2. Mr. Webb is going to United States soon. (The word ‘United States’)

3. This morning I saw accident. (Refer to something for the 1st time)

4. Please lend me dollar. (Refer to something for the 1st time)

5. He is in hospital now. (Refer to something for the 1st time)

6. Where is book I lent you yesterday? (Refer to something for the 1st time)

7. visitors would like to speak to headmaster of this school. (Refer to particular person)

8. doctor advised me to eat a lot of fresh fruits. (Refer to particular person)

9. Teachers told us to bring pencil each. (A means one)

Exercise

Articles

10. We are going to make trip to Penang Hill during holidays.

11. He lives in big city in Japan. (Name of country)

12. First she cleaned furniture then she washed dishes. (Refer to particular thing)

13. Yesterday accident happened in city. (Refer to A means one)

14. It was during second term holidays that I saw Prime Minister of India.

15. It is serious matter and we hope police will look into it soon. (Particular person)

16. Tell him news when you see him at railway station tomorrow. (Particular thing)

(A means one) (Refer to particular thing)

(Refer to particular holidays)

(Refer to particular person)

Exercise

Articles

17. Ali wants to learn how to play badminton, so he has bought badminton racket. (Name of games)

18. This is cheapest yet best typewriter in that shop. (Superlatives)

19. Sir, please give us example so that we can understand topic better. (Particular matter)

20. They went for swim in Muda River. (Name of river)

Exercise

Articles