Articles
Basic uses and exercises
definite: The or indefinite:
A or An
Basic uses:
• A or an is used before singular nouns when
one does not have a specific person, place,
thing, or concept in mind. Ex: an apple, a
suitcase
• A is used before a word beginning with a
consonant, or a vowel sounded like a
consonant. Ex; a horse, a uniform
• An is used before words beginning with a
vowel (a, e, i, u, o) or words beginning with a
mute (silent) h. Ex: an umbrella, an hour
• The is used before singular, plural, and
noncount nouns when one does have a
specific person, place, thing or concept
in mind. Ex: the apple, the apples, the
fruit, the suitcase, the suitcases.
• No article is used before noncount
nouns or plural nouns when one does not
have specific persons, places, concepts,
or things in mind. Ex: apples, fruit,
suitcases
Guidelines for article
usage
a. A dog makes a good pet.( a speaker
is making a generalization)
b. Dogs make good pets. (no article
with a plural count when we make a
generalization
In a and b the speaker is talking about
any dog, all dogs, dogs in general.
Both a and b have the same meaning
c. I saw a dog in my yard. (not specific;
means not two dogs or many dogs)
d. I need a half hour to go to the office. (
a means one, it is also used to mean
“per”), ex: a half (one half),
a mile a minute (one mile per minute)
an apple a day (one apple per day)
e. The sun went behind some clouds. (the
is used when there is only one example
of the thing or person, or when the
identity of the thing or person is clear.
f. The is used before expressions of time
and position
the morning
the past
the afternoon
the future
the front
the middle
the beginning
the end
g. The is used before a singular noun that
is used as a representative of an entire
class of things (names of plants,
animals, inventions, musical instruments,
and parts of the body), ex:
- The elephant is a huge creature
- My favorite tree is the oak
- Cathy can play the piano very well
- Who invented the typewriter?
- The brain is very complex
h. The is used before superlative forms
of adjectives, ex:
- the worst mistake
- the most interesting idea
Guidelines for using “the” and “no
the”
Use “The”
Don’t use “The”
-With oceans, rivers, seas, gulfs,
plural lakes: the Red Sea, the
Atlantic Ocean, the Persian Gulf,
the Great Lakes
-With mountains: The Rocky
Mountains, the Andes
-With earth, Moon: the earth,
the moon
-With schools, colleges,
universities when the phrase
begins with ‘school’, etc: the
University of Florida, the
College of Arts and Sciences,
the University of Andalas
-with singular lake: Lake Geneva,
Lake Erie
-with mounts: Mounts Vesuvius,
Mount McKinley
-with planets, constellations:
Venus, mars, orion, Earth
- With schools, colleges,
universities when the phrase
begins with a proper noun: Santa
Fe Community College, Cooper’s
Art School, Stetson University,
Andalas University
Use “The”
-with ordinal numbers before nouns:
the First World War, the third
chapter
-with wars (except world war): the
Korean War, the Crimean War
-with decades and centuries: the
1960s, the nineties, the twentyfirst century
-with quantity expressions: quantity
expressions+of+the+noun ; many of
the offices, some of the water,
most of the commercials
-before the name of a group of
people or a nationality: The Swedish
are proud of their ancestors, the
Vikings
-before the ‘formal’ name of a place
(usually containing the word of): the
Republic of Indonesia, the city of
Athens
Don’t use “The”
-with cardinal number after nouns:
World War I, chapter three
-with years, months: in 1960, in
August
-with quantity expressions without
the phrase ‘of the’: many offices,
some water, most commercials
-before the name of a language: She
learn to speak Swedish when she
lives in Stockholm
-before the ‘informal’ name of a
place: Indonesia, Athens
Use “The”
-before a noncount noun or a
plural noun when it is followed by
modifier: The rice that I bought
today is in the bag; The trees in
this park are mostly evergreens
-before the name of a field of
study followed by an ‘of’ phrase:
the art of Japan, the history of
the twentieth century
-with certain countries or group
of countries with more than one
word: the United States, the
United Kingdom
Don’t use “The”
-when noncount noun appear
alone: Rice is a staple in many
countries, Trees provide shade
-if used alone, or is preceded by
an adjective: Japanese Art,
history
-with countries preceded by
‘new’ or an adjective such as a
directions: New Zealand, North
Korea
-with countries with only one
word: France, Swedish, England
-with continents: Europe, Africa
-with states: Florida, Ohio,
Use “The”
-with historical documents: the
Magna Carta, the Constitutions
-with ethnic group: the
Sundanese, the Aztec
Don’t use “The”
-with sports: baseball, tennis
-with abstract nouns: freedom,
happiness
-with general areas of subject
matter: sociology, mathematics
-Holidays: Christmas, Easter
Exercise 1
Directions: In the following sentences supply the articles (a, an or
the) if they are necessary, leave the space blank.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Jason’s father bought him ___ bicycle that he had wanted for
his birthday.
___ Statue of Liberty was a gift of friendship from ___
France to ___ United States.
Rita is studying ___ English and ___ math this semester.
___ judge asked ___ witness to tell ____ truth.
Please give me ___ cup of ___ coffee with ___ cream and
___ sugar.
___ big books on ___ table are for my history class.
No one in ___ Spanish class knew ___ correct answer to ___
Mrs. Perez’s question.
8. ___ Lake Erie is one of ___ five Great Lakes in ___ North
America.
9. ___ Mount Rushmore is the site of ___ magnificent tribute to
___ four great American Presidents.
10. ___ Declaration of Independence was drawn up in 1776.
11. ___ Civil War was fought in ___ United States between 1861
and 1865.
12. ___ Florida State University is smaller than ___ University of
Florida.
13. Louie played ___ basketball and ___ baseball at ___ Boy’s Club
this year.
14. Rita played ___ violin and her sister plays ___ guitar.
15. Last night there was ___ bird singing outside my house.
16. Scientists hope to send ___ expedition to ___ Mars during ___
1980s.
17. Phil can’t go to ___ movies tonight because he has to write ___
essay.
18. What did you eat for ___ breakfast this morning?
19. There are only ___ few seats left for ___ tonight musical at
___ university.
20. ___ chair that you are sitting in is broken.
Exercise 2
Directions: Choose the one answer that best completes the
sentence. If no article is appropriate (or required), select (D)
Φ
1.
___ eagle is the national bird of the USA.
(A) A
(B) An
(C) The
(D) Φ
2. ___ Nantucket island is a superb spot for watching the eclipse.
(A) A
(B) An
(C) The
(D) Φ
3. The cat is ___ beautiful animal, but its intelligence leaves much
to be desired
(A) a
(B) an
(C) the
(D) Φ
4. We loved ___ Lake Geneva especially in the fall.
(A) a
(B) an
(C) the
(D) Φ
5. Families like ___ Rockefellers have become synonymous with
wealth.
(A) a
(B) an
(C) the
(D) Φ
6. Mrs. James did not arrive until sometime in ___ late afternoon.
(A) a
(B) an
(C) the
(D) Φ
7. ___ University of Chicago has an excellent law school.
(A) A
(B) An
(C) The
(D) Φ
8. Western art of the 19th century shows the influence of ___ Far
East.
(A) a
(B) an
(C) the
(D) Φ
9. ___ Finland is known for its beautiful forests and seacoasts.
(A) A
(B) An
(C) The
(D) Φ
10. ___ Air and Space Museum has the highest attendance record
of all the museums in the world.
(A) A
(B) An
(C) The
(D) Φ
Exercise 3
Directions: Decide if the underlined word or phrase is used correctly. If
so, mark it “C” for “Correct”. If not, mark the sentence “X” and rewrite
the underlined expression, correcting the mistake.
___ 1. That was one of the best novels I have ever read._______
___ 2. I can’t find the Volume Three of the encyclopedia._______
___ 3. You can see the stars more clearly from the country than from the
city._______
___ 4. How do I get to airport from here?_______
___ 5. Tom has a idea he wants to tell you about._______
___ 6. The invention of the elevator made skycrapers possible._______
___ 7. The water is necessary for all life._______
___ 8. Some of photographs are overexposed._______
___ 9. There is a radio antenna on a roof of this building._______
___ 10. Larry works here only three days of the week._______
___ 11. About the third of my country is very
mountainous._______
___ 12. You can expect a package to be delivered to you in a near
future._______
___ 13. He attended an university in California._______
___ 14. A first time I went to Japan was about ten years
ago._______
___ 15. I think humor is an important quality in anyone._______
___ 16. Water in the tea kettle is boiling._______
___ 17. The receptionist said I would have to wait a half hour to
see Dr. Bingham, but I actually had to wait a hour._______
___ 18. You can find vegetarian restaurants in the most big
cities._______
___ 19. Do you speak French very well?_______
___ 20. He studied the business administration._______