Articles - Definite and Indefinite - a/ an/ the

Learnabout

articles:a/an/the

with

an apple?or the apple?

Articlesa/ an/ the

general rules:we only use articles with singular nouns ­ we

never write "a computers" or "an apples"

* there is an exception with "the" which we will

explain later!

"an" and "a"Follow the same rule: We use them before singular nouns whenthe noun is 'one of many' and it doesn't matter which one.

Vowels are: a, e, i, o, u but it is important to know the differencebetween a vowel letter and a vowel sound.

I'd like a banana.(There are many bananas in theworld and I want one - I don'tmind which one.)

Use "an" when the word after thearticle starts with a vowel sound.

"an" and what is avowel sound?

Most vowel letters make a vowel sound, but not always!

Here are some examples:

hour: starts with a vowel sound /a/

university: starts with a non-vowelsound /j/

Aaaa

"the"

Use "the" when:> the reader/listener knows which one> it is the second time you havementioned it (even for plural)> you are being specific> there is only one

I saw some children at thepark this morning. It wasbeautiful weather and thechildren were playing inthe grass.

"the" or nothing

When we talk about uncountable nounsin general we don't use 'the':eg. I like chocolate.But when we are being specific we do:eg. I liked the chocolate you bought inSwitzerland.

Proper nouns - including placeseg. Australia/ Canadabut countries that start with "united" or"republic" do use 'the'eg. The United Arab Emirates

Quiz: a/ an/ nothingCara is (1) ______ teacher on (2)______internet. She teaches using videoson (3) ______ Facebook to (4)______students from many countriesincluding (5) ______India, (6)______Vietnam, (7) ______Thailand and (8)______United Arab Emirates. She uses(9) ______whiteboard and (10)______iPhone to make (11) ______videos.(12) ______ whiteboard is very small!

AnswersCara is a teacher on the internet. Sheteaches using videos on Facebookto students from many countriesincluding India, Vietnam, Thailandand the United Arab Emirates. Sheuses a whiteboard and an iPhone tomake the videos. The whiteboard isvery small!