ARTICLE USAGE

By: Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar http://www.kau.edu.sa/SBANJER

http://wwwdrshadiabanjar.blogspot.com

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There are only two types of articles in the English
language:
1. Definite article; “the” and
2. Indefinite article; “a”/ “an”.

Definite
Article: the

Articles
Indefinite
Article: a
/ an

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In a broad sense, an article is a type of adjective that
gives information about a noun.

Definite Article: the

When do
Indefinite Article: a / an I use
them?
Which
article?

It depends on what kind

of noun is being modified.

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 Kinds of Nouns
• Nouns are generic, indefinite, or definite.
• Nouns are count or noncount.
• Nouns are singular or plural.

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 GENERIC NOUNS

A generic noun represents a whole class of

things.
It is not a specific, real, concrete thing, but
rather a symbol of a whole group.
Examples of Generic Nouns:
A bird has wings.
A horse has four legs.
An apple is red.

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 USING A or Ø: GENERIC NOUNS

SINGULAR COUNT NOUN a) A banana is yellow.

PLURAL COUNT NOUN b) Ø Bananas are yellow.
NONCOUNT NOUN c) Ø Fruit is good for you.

A speaker uses generic nouns to make generalizations.

In a) & b): The speaker is talking about any banana, all bananas,
bananas in general.
In c): The speaker is talking about any and all fruit , fruit in
general.
No article is used to make generalizations
Notice:
with plural count nouns, as in b), and with
noncount nouns, as in c).
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 INDEFINITE NOUNS

Indefinite nouns are actual things (not symbols),

but they are not specifically identified.
Examples of Indefinite Nouns:

There is a table in the room.

I ate an apple.
The girl was wearing a hat.

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 Indefinite Nouns

Singular I ate a banana.

Plural count noun I ate some bananas.

(two, a few, several)

Noncount noun I ate some fruit.

(a little, a lot of)

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 USING A or SOME: INDEFINITE NOUNS

SINGULAR COUNT NOUN a) I ate a banana.

PLURAL COUNT NOUN b) I ate some bananas.
NONCOUNT NOUN c) I ate some Fruit.

In a):
the speaker is not referring to “this banana” or “that
banana” or “the banana you gave me”.
The speaker is simply saying that he ate one banana.
The listener does not know nor need to know which
specific banana was eaten.
It was simply one banana out of that whole group of
things in the world called bananas.
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 In b) and c):
Some is often used with
indefinite plural count nouns and
indefinite noncount nouns.
In addition to some, a speaker
might use two, a few, several, a
lot of, etc., with plural count
nouns, or a little, a lot of, etc.,
with noncount nouns.

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 DEFINITE NOUNS

A noun is definite when both the speaker and

the listener are thinking about the same specific
thing.

Examples of definite Nouns:

Thank you for the apple you gave me.

I love to look at the moon.
The food I ate last night made me sick.

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 Definite Nouns

Singular The banana I ate this morning was

delicious.

Plural I got the apples from the tree.

Noncount The fruit from that market is

inexpensive.

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 USING THE: DEFINITE NOUNS

SINGULAR COUNT NOUN a) Thank you for the

banana.

PLURAL COUNT NOUN b) Thank you for the bananas.

NONCOUNT NOUN c) Thank you for the Fruit.
In a):
The speaker uses ‘the’ because the listener knows which
specific banana the speaker is talking about, i.e., that particular
banana which the listener gave to the speaker.
‘the’ is used with both singular and plural count nouns
Notice: and with noncount nouns.

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 1. Indefinite Articles: a and an

Use a and an when the noun is indefinite and

singular.
The rule is:
•a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy
•an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant
•a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a
user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins with a consonant
'y' sound, so 'a' is used)
•some + plural noun: some girls
If the noun has an adjective, follow the same
rules,
BUT use the first letter/sound of the adjective:
•a broken egg
•an unusual problem
•a European country (sounds like 'yer-o-pi-an,' i.e.
begins with consonant 'y' sound).

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 2. Definite Article: the

The definite article is used before singular

and plural nouns when the noun is specific.

INDEFINITE vs. DEFINITE

Indefinite Definite
Noun
(a or an) (the)
•a dog •the dog
(any dog) (that specific dog)
Singular
•an apple •the apple
(any apple) (that specific apple)
•some dogs •the dogs
(any dogs) (those specific dogs)
Plural
•some apples •the apples
(any apples) (those specific apples)
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 is not used with noncountable
nouns referring to something in a
general (indefinite) sense:
• [no article] Coffee is a popular drink.
• [no article] Japanese was his native
language.
• [no article] Intelligence is difficult to
quantify.
The is used with noncountable nouns
that are specific:
• The coffee in my cup is too hot to drink.
• The Japanese he speaks is often heard
in the countryside.
• The intelligence of animals is variable
but undeniable.

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Do not use the before: XXXX
Saudi
names of countries Arabia
names of cities, towns, or states
names of streets
names of lakes and bays
names of continents
names of islands
Do use the before: √√√√
names of rivers, oceans and seas
points on the globe
Makkah
geographical areas
names of deserts, forests, gulfs,
and peninsulas

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