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Using Articles: The, An and A
"the" "an" "a" -- These are called articles or determiners. One of the most common mistakes I see Koreans make is forgetting to use articles. Articles tell us something about nouns. Many, but not all, nouns need an article in front of them. Which article you use depends on what you are saying. For example, take the word "dog". If I want to talk about any dog, not a specific one, I would say: "I saw a dog." If I want to specify a certain dog, I would use "the". "The dog I saw was black."
The article "an" works the same way as "a", but it is used in front of words that start with vowels. For example: "I saw an animal yesterday." Examples: "I want a book to read." (any book) "The book I like the most is Lord of the Rings." (a specific book). "There is a rock in my shoe." (any rock) "I took the rock out." (a specific rock)
Pretty simple, right? So far, it is simple. BUT...we do not need to use articles all of the time. For example: "I like pizza." (pizza in general) "I like cats." (cats in general) "I live in Korea." (most countries do not need an article) "People should be nice to each other." (people in general) BUT "The people in that house are good." (specific people) "We need air." (air in general) BUT "The air in the room is very hot." (specific air)noun = a person, place or thing
examples of nouns = dog, desk, love, sentence, Korea, history, Seoul
When Not to Use Articles
1. Things in general
You don’t need an article when you talk about things in general.Use plural count nouns:
Cats are great pets! You’re not talking about one specific cat or one specific pet. You’re talking about all cats and all pets in general.Use non-count nouns:
I love reading books.
Women love it when men send them flowers!
Houses are expensive in that neighbourhood.
Americans drive big cars.
I love listening to music. You enjoy music in general, not any specific song or kind of music.NOTE: Count nouns (or countable nouns) are nouns that have a singular and plural form because you can count them, for example one cat, two cats, three cats. Non-count (or uncountable nouns) are nouns that do not have a plural form. You cannot count non-count nouns. For example, you can’t say
She’s afraid of heights, so we couldn’t go to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
I love chocolate!
Have you eaten lunch yet?
She’s a vegetarian. She doesn’t eat meat.
2. Names
Names of holidays, countries, companies, languages, etc. are all proper nouns. You don’t need to use an article with a proper noun.a. Holidays
I got a beautiful new dress for Christmas.
I got my mom a necklace for Mother’s Day.
Everybody wears green on St. Patrick’s Day.
What are you doing on Valentine’s Day?
b. Geography
Articles are not used before countries, states, cities, towns, continents, single lakes, or single mountains.I live in Canada.NOTE: There is an exception to every rule in English. The is part of the names of these countries: the United States the Czech Republic the Philippines the Netherlands
Mt. Rosa is part of the Alps mountain range. Mt. Rosa is one mountain. The Alps describe a group of mountains.
I’m going to Europe next month on vacation.
Lake Ontario and Lake Huron are 2 of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes are a group of lakes on the border between Canada and the US.
Mt. Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan.
c. Companies
I use Twitter and Facebook every day.
Bill Gates founded Microsoft.
Wal-Mart is the largest employer in the U.S.
McDonald’s has restaurants in 119 countries.
d. Universities
Her son graduated from Harvard.
She goes to Oxford.
He applied to Cambridge, Yale, and Stanford.
However, if the name of the university begins with University, then you must use the:
He has a master’s degree from the University of Toronto.e. Languages
I am studying Russian.
I speak French.
In Brazil people speak Portuguese.
I teach people how to speak English.
3. Places, locations, streets
Streets, some locations, and some places do not need an article:I left my book at home.NOTE: You don’t need an article for subjects you study at school: math, geography, business, history, science. I like history. Science is my best subject.
I have to go to work early tomorrow.
He was found guilty of murder and sent to jail for life.
My office is located on Main Street.
I usually go to church on Sundays.
Good night everyone! I’m going to bed.
Did you go to school today?
When I was in high school, everyone had to study French.
She’s studying business at university.
Places where you DO need to use an article:
I need to go to the bank.
Let’s go to the movies.
My dad is in the hospital.
She works at the post office.
What time do you have to be at the airport?
Please drop me off at the bus stop.
She doesn’t like to go to the doctor or the dentist.
4. Sports
Sports and other physical activities do not need an article:I love to go skiing in the winter.
I play football every day after school.
He loves watching hockey on TV.
She does yoga 3 times a week.
My daughter really enjoys dancing.
5. Noun + number
He’s staying at the Hilton hotel in room 221.
The train to Paris leaves from platform 2.
My English class is in room 6 on the first floor. First is an adjective in this sentence. It describes the floor.
6. Acronyms
An acronym is an abbreviation (a short form) of a name. It uses the first letter of each word to form a new word.a. If the acronym is pronounced as a word, don’t use the.
NATO ambassadors met to discuss the situation. NATO is the acronym used for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO is pronounced as one word, "nay-toe".You need to use the before acronyms when the letters are pronounced individually, not as a word.
UNESCO was formed in 1946. UNESCO is the acronym used for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO is pronounced as one word, "you-nes-ko".
The UN was created after the Second World War. UN is used to represent the United Nations. UN is pronounced you-N . It is not pronounced un, like in the word under.
Other acronyms that need the:
the EU
the US
the CIA
the FBI
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Antecedents
An ANTECEDENT is the word, clause, or phrase to which a pronoun refers. In many cases, an ANTECEDENT is a noun that comes soon before the pronoun, either earlier in the same sentence or in the preceding sentence. Note: ANTE is a prefix for things that go before other things.
Try to make sure (if possible) that the antecedent comes first to avoid confusion. For example, if you say, “If it’s available, be sure to order your birthday gift,” your readers will wonder what “it” refers to. Only when readers get to the end of the sentence do they learn that “it” means “birthday gift.” In many cases, you can solve the problem by switching around the noun and pronoun: “If your birthday gift is available, be sure to order it.”
For example, "There was a toy car inside the box which was made of wood." The relative pronoun "which" could refer to either the box or the toy car. To improve the sentence, it could be reworded as: "Inside the box, which was made of wood, there was a toy car" OR "There was a toy car inside the box, and it was made of wood" (or something similar).
Always check your sentences for clarity.
The pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number. A singular pronoun must replace a singular noun; a plural pronoun must replace a plural noun.
For example, "The pig grunted for its supper." (pig/its = singular)
For example, "The pigs grunted for their supper." (pigs/their = plural)
The word "antecedent" means "to go before" in Latin (ante "before" + cedere "go"). Thus, it gets its name from the idea that a pronoun refers to something previously mentioned.
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