English Grammar I
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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5.1 Indefinite Articles: A & An
“a” is used before all words that begin
with consonants: a cat, a desk, a
beautiful girl. But we use “an” when “h”
is silent: an honest young man.
“an” is used before all words that
begin with vowels: an orange, an egg,
an orbit but we use “a” when “u” has
the sound ［j］, “o” has the sound［w
］ : a unicorn, a one-legged man.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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1.
Part 5.1-2 Definite Article– the
“the” is used when we know that the
listener knows what particular person
or thing we are talking about.
Mom is cooking in the kitchen.
I don’t like the book.
Switch off the light near the door.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
2.
“the” is used when the same thing or
person has been mentioned again.
Mr. Wu has a boy and a girl.
The boy’s name is John.
The girl’s name is Mary.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
3.
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“the” is used to talk about rivers,
oceans, seas, channels, and mountain.
The Nile is the longest river in the
world.
I wish I could swim across the
TaiwanStrait one day.
The Alps is located in Europe.
The Pacific Ocean is the largest
Ocean in the world.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
4.
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“the” is used before certain nouns
when we know there is only one of a
particular thing: the sun, the moon,
the sky, the White House.
The sun rises in the east.
The White House is going to
announce an important policy.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
5.
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“the” is used before the names of
large public buildings such as hotels,
movie theaters, museums, and
bridges. It is also used in the large
region of the world.
We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel
when we went to New York.
The Statue of Liberty is a gift from
France.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
6.
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“the” is used with certain adjective to
mean plurals: the rich, the poor, the
young, the old, the blind.
Our government should help the
homeless to find work.
The rich ought to help the poor.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
7.
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“the” is used with newspapers
Have you read the China Post today?
“the” is often used with a music
instrument:
Tylor can play the piano and the
drums,
Sue is playing the flute while her
husband is playing the guitar.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
9.
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the” is used with non-countable nouns
that are made more specific by a
limiting modifying phrase or clause:
The coffee in the cup is too hot to
drink.
The bread on the table is made by my
grandmother.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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5.1-3 Exercise : Fill in the blanks
with a, an the or nothing
Look at ________ picture. There are
_______ boy, _____ dog, ______ cat
and _________ mouse in it. ________
cat is chasing _________ mouse.
_________dog is running after
__________ cat and ________ boy is
running after _________ dog.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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1.
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5.1-4 Zero article
We do not use an article before nouns
when talking in general terms.
Apples are good for your health.
Tigers are animals.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
2.
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We do not use an article before
uncountable nouns when talking
about them generally.
Sugar is sweet and coffee is bitter.
Pepper is hot and honey is sweet.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
3.
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We do not use an article before
months, days, seasons.
Jeremy has PE classes on Tuesday
and Friday.
We will go to Europe in September.
Winter comes after fall.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
4.
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We do not use an article before sports,
meals, and subjects.
My father enjoys playing golf.
Baseball is my favorite sport.
Have you had your breakfast?
Math is easier than English.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
5.
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We do not use an article before by
with vehicles; however, we use on + a
+ vehicle.
My father goes to work by car; my
mother goes by bus.
I go to school on a scooter; my
brother goes on a bicycle.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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5.1-5 Exercise : use “a”, “an”, the
or zero article (put X for zero article)
______ salt is the most popular spice.
Could you pass me ___________ salt?
Animals need ________ food to live.
I’m not going to ________ work
tomorrow.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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Did you finish _____ work your father
asked you to do?
_____________ coffee is the most
popular drink in the world.
Joan made coffee and tea for the
guests. ______ tea is good but
_____________ coffee is too weak.
We are going to _________ Miami
and we are going to stay in
__________ Hyatt Hotel.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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_______ Taiwan is in ________ Asia.
My friend invited me to _________
party at his house.
A ship sank in ______________
Atlantic Ocean.
We had ________ dinner at seven
last night.
___________ sun is shining.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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5.2 Count Nouns
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Count nouns refer to objects which are
separate and distinct entities.
Count nouns have a plural form and
their plurals are usually formed by
adding -s to the words.
When a countable noun is singular, we
must use an article such as “a” “an”
and “the” with it:
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Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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Mr. Wang has a son and a daughter.
Mr. Lee have two sons and two
daughters.
There is only a giraffe in the zoo.
There are three giraffes in the zoo.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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5.2-2 Nouns that have a different
plural:
man→ men
woman→
women
tooth→ teeth
child→ children
foot→ feet
deer→ deer
mouse→ mice
fish→ fish
sheep→ sheep
goose→ geese ox→ oxen
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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5.3 Uncountable Nouns
“Uncountable nouns" are things that
we cannot count.
Uncountable nouns are used as
singular. We use a singular verb. In
general statements, articles “a”, “an”,
“the” are not used before uncountable
nouns.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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Milk is very important for a baby.
There was a lot of rain last year.
Rice is grown in Asia.
Honesty is one of the most important
qualities for politicians.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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5.3-1 Uncountable Noun:
Uncountable nouns can be divided into
several groups which are listed as the
follows.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
1.
things made up of small pieces
grass
dirt
dust
rice
flour
sand
pepper
salt
sugar
hair
corn
popcorn
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
2.
collective nouns.
mail
luggage
cash
money
food
clothing
fruit
furniture
garbage
jewelry
machinery merchandise
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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Collective nouns such as committee,
family are usually used as singular.
However, when the individual of the
group acts separately, a plural verb is
used.
My family is away.
His family are eating dinner.
Jewels and clothes are countable
nouns
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
3.
academic subjects
history
grammar
engineering
physics
poetry
law
biology
chemistry
politics mathematics geography
fine arts
music
science
economics
advertising
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
4.
liquid
cream
wine
gas
juice
blood
coffee
glue
water
beer
soup
tea
oil
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
5.
abstract nouns
advice
crime
ignorance
news
anger
curiosity
justice
trouble
courage
help
knowledge
wealth
peace
equality
strength
fun
happiness information enjoyment
health
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
6.
elements
chicken
cotton
glass
gold
beef
wood
metal
bread
fire
plastic
wool
steel
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
7.
natural phenomena
rain
snow
wind
fog
thunder
lightning
cold
heat
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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5.4 Quantifiers
quantifiers are words that modify
nouns. They tell us how many or how
much. Quantifiers used for countable
nouns are some, any, several, many, a
couple, a few, few, a lot of, plenty of.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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Quantifiers used for non-count nouns
are some, any, how much, much, a
little, little, a lot of, a great deal of.
I saw some girls sitting under the tree.
Several employees were absent this
morning.
He bought a few books last week.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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I would like some tea, please.
How much money do you need?
There isn’t much work for you to do.
There is little hope for the patient.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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5.4-1 Quantifiers used both for
count nouns and non-count nouns
Quantifiers used both for count nouns
and non-count nouns: some, any
enough, a lot of, lots of, plenty of.
Do we bring enough water and enough
clothes?
There were a lot of fruit and
vegetables.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
Any
There are not any vegetables in the
refrigerator.
There is not any fruit left.
Some
I saw some children playing in the
park.
Could you lend me some money?
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
A lot of
There are a lot of people in the
department store.
There is a lot of traffic in rush hours.
The child has plenty of toys.
plenty of
There will be plenty of rain this year.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
5.4-2 Nouns that are both
uncountable and countable
The door is made of glass
Glass (uncountable)
I bought two glasses. (countable)
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I need some paper to do my
homework. (uncountable)
paper
Did you read the paper today?
(countable)
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
Her hair is blond. (uncountable)
Hair
There is a hair in the soup.
(countable)
There are two rooms in the
apartment. (countable)
Room
There is no room for the piano.
(uncountable)
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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5.4-3 Exercise: Put “some” or “any”
for each sentence
Have you got ______ cigarettes?
I like ______ pop music but not all.
Mrs. Huang doesn’t drink ______
coffee at all.
Would you like __________ coffee
with your cheesecake?
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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Are there __________ messages for
me?
Could I have ___________ coffee,
please?
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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5.4-4 Exercise: Write “a”, “an”,
“some” or “any” for each sentence
Andy is reading _________ book and
listening to ___________ music.
I need ___________ money. I need
to buy __________ food.
We met ______________ interesting
people at the party.
Please open the window to get
______________ fresh air.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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Mrs. Jones always eats _________
apple and ________ bread for lunch.
I am going to make ________ table. I
have to buy ________ wood first.
Listen to me. I will give you
____________ useful advice.
I want to write a letter. Give me
_______ pen and _________ paper.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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5.4-5 Exercise: Put “many” or
“much” for each sentence
How _____________ homework do
you expect to finish in a week?
There are _______________
magazines in the library.
Mr. Wang has had __________
headaches because of the stress.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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The yard looks awful. There are too
____________ weeds.
There was ________________ rain
last year.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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5.4-6 Exercise: Complete the
sentence with “a little”, “little”, “a
few” or “few”.
I wish I could help you, but I have
__________ money.
I have been to Japan
__________________ times.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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I have got __________ time. Do you
want to talk?
You made _____________ grammar
mistakes in your composition, but it
was OK.
There are _________ people in the
library; it is easy to find a seat.
Unit 5: Articles, Nouns &
Quantifiers
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Someone is smoking inside. Let’s go
outside for _______ fresh air.
The patient is seriously ill. There is
_________ hope for him.
Joan can speak __________ Spanish.