Topic: Articles Instructor: Anthony Schmidt

Topic: Articles

Instructor: Anthony Schmidt

THE PUKYONGHERAL

DWriter’s

Workshop

Hi…

Articles

Zombies are scary. I saw a zombie movie last week. The movie was really scary.

Articles are the most common yet most difficult words in the English language. There are many rules. Today we will cover some of them.

Plural, general = zero article

singular, general, unknown = a

singular, specific, known = the

A Simple Article Flowchart__ zombie at Starbucks

attacked me.Q: Is “zombie” count or non count?A: One zombie. Two zombies. Count.

Q: Is this a specific zombie?A: No. It could be any zombie. It’s general.

Q: How many zombies are there?A: There is only 1.

A zombie at Starbucks attacked me.

A Simple Article FlowchartA zombie at Starbucks

attacked me.Nouns can be “count” and “noncount”.

There is no method of looking at a noun and knowing if it is count or noncount. You should use your memory or use a dictionary.

Count: A doctor gave Joe a test.

Noncount: Knowledge about life is growing.

X / O QuizAre the following count or noncount?

countrystar

diseasepsychologyAdvicebread clothes

equipment food

Furnituregrammar information knowledgesmartphone

rulecultureresearch

Noncount CategoriesNoncount nouns tend to be things we can’t easily count:Abstractions:  courage, nonsense, independence, evidence, advice, progress, information, employment

Everyday things:  stuff, jewelry, clothing, traffic, furniture, money, equipment

Things to eat:  butter, milk, beer, toast, salt

Weather-related phenomena:  sunshine, thunder, snow

Sports:  football, racing, chess, golf

Substances:  oxygen, sodium, ice

Fields of study: math, grammar, English, history

Writing PracticeChoose a field of study, an abstraction, and a feeling.Write a sentence using each noun.

Example:

Grammar is a difficult thing to master.

Specific and Generic NounsA zombie at Starbucks

attacked me.Nouns of any kind (count or noncount, singular or plural) may be "specific" (definite) or "general“ (indefinite). This is usually from the writer’s perspective.

A noun is specific when the writer wishes to talk about some thing or things in particular, such as something already mentioned.

A noun is general when the writer wishes to make a generalization about some thing or things.

A/an is used for general nouns.The is used for specific nouns.

Specific and Generic Nouns

A zombie was eating a brain.

One/Some zombie was eating one/some brain.

The zombie was eating a brain.

The specific zombie (that I mentioned, or that you know about) is eating some brain.

A zombie was eating the brain.

Some zombie is eating a specific brain (that I mentioned, or that you know about).

What did you see?

What was it doing?

What was eating the brain?

Is it specific or general?Not everyone can be successful in

business.General – not a particular business.

I am taking five courses this semester.Specific – these are particular courses the writer knows.

Law school is expensive.General – in general, about any law school

How much was the notebook you bought?

Specific – refers to something the writer/reader knowsMost students think grades are

important.General – grades in general, plural because we are talking about

more than one grade

Generic Nouns / Generic Statements• Zombie is a scary monster.

• A zombie is a scary monster.• Zombies are scary monsters.• The zombie is a scary

monster.

Incorrect. Singular count nouns need an article.

Stating a general truth or fact.(Somewhat common)

Stating a general truth or fact.(Common)

Stating a general truth or fact. (Uncommon)

When writing about a group of things and are speaking about them in general, we should use the plural form (if it is a count noun).

Zombie ___________ scary.Electronic information ____________ easy to find.These days, there _____________ many zombie movie.

When writing about a group of things and are speaking about them in general, we should use the plural form (if it is a count noun).

Zombies are scary.Electronic information is easy to find.These days, there are many zombie movies.

Correct the following paragraph:

There are many kinds of monsters and supernatural beings. They all

have different features, strengths, and weaknesses. A zombie is a dead

human (OR zombies are dead humans) who has returned to life to eat

the living. They are slow, yet very destructive. Fortunately, they can

easily be killed by destroying their brain, unlike vampires. Although they

are also undead, vampires are fast, strong, and intelligent. Nevertheless,

they have some weaknesses and can be killed by destroying their heart.

Unlike vampires and zombies, werewolves are not undead monsters.

These creatures are humans who transform into wolves during the full

moon.

ACTIVITY 2

Known and Unknown NounsA zombie at Starbucks

attacked me.When writers use a noun to talk about something specific, they know what they are referring to. But they must consider whether the reader will also know.

If the reader knows what it is, the is often used.

If the reader doesn’t know, a/an is used.

Known and Unknown Nouns

A zombie in Busan likes to study science.

“A zombie” is unknown to the reader.

The zombies in Busan like to study science.

“The zombies” are known to the reader.

The woman that I married is a zombie.

“A zombie” is unknown. “The woman” is also unknown, but the relative clause “that I married” tells the reader who she is, therefore she becomes known.

Is it known or unknown?I am taking five courses this semester.

specific (to the writer) but unknown (to the reader)I am taking five courses taught by Anthony this semester.

specific, known

The Statue of Liberty stands in New York harbor.

specific, knownA statue stands in New York.

general, unknown

Known NoncountablesInformation is important.The information that we researched is important.

Look at your sentences in ACTIVITY 1. How can you change them to include “the”?

Write three new sentences.

Second Mention

Zombies are scary. Once, I saw a zombie walk into a room. The zombie was crying. Then, it left the room.

General, unknown specific, unknown specific, unknown

specific, known specific, known

We often introduce things in general, using no article or “a/an”. After introducing something, we may switch to using “the” because the subject is now known to the reader.

Putting it TogetherA zombie at Starbucks

attacked me.

1. Anthony provides ___ interesting perspective on article use in ____ English language.

2. Peter says he likes watching ___movies, but he always falls asleep!

3. President Obama looked all over ___White House for ___ coffee.

1. I bought a new luggage last week.

2. The President is worried about unemployment.

3. The federal government is worried about environment.

4. The equipment that you are looking for has been stolen.

5. A Physics Department at NTID is developing two new courses.

6. We're looking for a new professor in English.

7. Equipment that you are looking for has been broken.

8. I need to study the grammar this quarter.

9. A furniture that you are looking for has been sold.

10. A department at PKNU is hiring.

Luggage is uncountable

The President is a specific person. Unemployment is uncountable.

The federal government is a specific government. Environment is a known countable. It needs an article.Equipment is known.

Physics Department is specific (and a name) so it needs a specific article: the)English is a field of student, therefore it is uncountable.

Equipment is known, and therefore needs “the”

Grammar is general and unspecific. It requires “a”

Furniture is known and therefore requires “the”.

Department is a specific unknown and therefore is OK.

ACTIVITY 4

I recently discovered that _____ money doesn't buy as much as it used to. I'd been living in _____ dormitory for two years and hadn't had to buy my own food for _____ whole time. Then, I moved into _____ apartment where I needed to buy _____ food for myself. The first day I wanted to get _____ juice, _____ meat, _____ bread and _____ butter. I went to _____ grocery store and put everything into _____ cart. When I went to pay, I found that _____ juice I had chosen cost $1.50, _____ meat $7.80, _____ bread $1.25, and _____ butter $2.00. _____ money I had brought with me was not enough, and I had to replace _____ butter on _____ shelf where I got it. Now, when I go shopping, I take more money.

øa

thean

øø ø ø

ø a/thea

the thethe the

The the the

ACTIVITY 5