THE PUKYONG
HERALD
Writer’s Workshop
Topic: Articles
Instructor: Anthony
Schmidt
Hi
…
Articles
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
Zombies are scary. I saw a singular, general, unknown = a
zombie movie last week. The
movie was really scary. 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 Flowchart
A zombie at Starbucks
attacked me.
Nouns can be “count” and
“noncount”.
Count: A doctor gave Joe a test.
Noncount: Knowledge about life is
growing.
There is no method of
looking at a noun and
knowing if it is count or
noncount. You should use
X / O Quiz
Are the following count or noncount?
country
star
disease
psychology
Advice
bread
clothes
equipment
food
Furniture
grammar
information
knowledge
smartphone
rule
culture
research
Noncount Categories
Noncount 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 Practice
Choose 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 Nouns
A 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
What did you see?
A zombie was eating a brain.
One/Some zombie was eating one/some brain.
What was it doing?
The zombie was eating a brain.
The specific zombie (that I mentioned, or that you
know about) is eating some brain.
What was eating the brain?
A zombie was eating the brain.
Some zombie is eating a specific brain (that I
mentioned, or that you know about).
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 knows
Most students think grades are important.
General – grades in general, plural because we are talking about more than one
grade
•
Generic Nouns / Generic
ZombieStatements
is a scary monster.
Incorrect. Singular count nouns
need an article.
•
Stating a general truth or fact.
A zombie is a scary monster.
(Somewhat common)
•
Stating a general truth or fact.
Zombies are scary monsters.
(Common)
•
Stating a general truth or
fact. (Uncommon)
The zombie is a scary monster.
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___________
Zombie
are scary.
scary.
Electronic information is
____________
easy to find. easy to find.
These days, there are
_____________
many zombie many
movies.
zombie movie.
Correct the following paragraph:
ACTIVITY 2
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.
Known and Unknown Nouns
A 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,
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, known
A statue stands in New York.
general, unknown
Known Noncountables
Information 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
General, unknown
specific, unknown
specific, unknown
Zombies are scary. Once, I saw a zombie walk into a room.
The zombie was crying. Then, it left the room.
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 Together
A 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
1. I bought a new luggage last week.
ACTIVITY 4
Luggage is uncountable
2. The President is worried about unemployment.
The President is a specific person. Unemployment is uncountable.
3. The federal government is worried about environment.
4.
The federal government is a specific government. Environment is a known
countable.
It needs
an you
article.
The
equipment
that
are looking for has been stolen.
Equipment is known.
5. A Physics Department at NTID is developing two new courses.
Physics Department is specific (and a name) so it needs a specific article: the)
6. We're looking for a new professor in English.
English is a field of student, therefore it is uncountable.
7. Equipment that you are looking for has been broken.
Equipment is known, and therefore needs “the”
8. I need to study the grammar this quarter.
Grammar is general and unspecific. It requires “a”
9. A furniture that you are looking for has been sold.
Furniture is known and therefore requires “the”.
10. A department at PKNU is hiring.
Department is a specific unknown and
ACTIVITY 5
ø money doesn't buy as
I recently discovered that _____
a dormitory for
much as it used to. I'd been living in _____
the
two years and hadn't had to buy my own food for _____
an apartment where
whole time. Then, I moved into _____
ø food for myself. The first day I
I needed to buy _____
ø juice, _____
ø meat, _____
ø bread and
wanted to get _____
a/th grocery store and put
ø butter. I went to _____
_____
a cart.eWhen I went to pay, I found
everything into _____
the juice I had chosen cost $1.50, _____
the meat
that _____
the bread $1.25, and _____
the butter $2.00.
$7.80, _____
The money I had brought with me was not enough,
_____
the butter on _____
the shelf where I
and I had to replace _____
got it. Now, when I go shopping, I take more money.