TYPES of Articles

In English, we know the article. Article functions to provide information noun.

Whether the noun is specific or not. Articles are words that define a noun as specific or
unspecific. There are two types of articles namely definite and indefinite article.

1. Definite articles

Definite article is an article whose function is to explain specific objects. There is

only one definite article, "the". We can use "the" for plural nouns, singular or uncountable
nouns (which cannot be counted). "The" is used if both the speaker and the listener have the
same reference to something being discussed more specifically.

a. “The”

The word "the" is one of the most common words in English. It is our only
definite article. Nouns in English are preceded by the definite article when the speaker
believes that the listener already knows what he is referring to. The speaker may
believe this for many different reasons, some of which are listed below.

When to use "the"

Use the to refer to something which has already been mentioned.

Example:

 I was walking past Benny's Bakery when I decided to go into the

bakery to get some bread.
 There's a position available in my team. The job will involve some
international travel.
 I was walking past Benny's Bakery when I decided to go into the
bakery to get some bread.
Use the when you assume there is just one of something in that place, even if
it has not been mentioned before.

Example:

 We went on a walk in the forest yesterday.

 My father enjoyed the book you gave him.
 Where is the bathroom?
 Turn left and go to number 45. Our house is across from the
Indonesian restaurant.

Use the in sentences or clauses where you define or identify a particular

person or object.

Example:

 The man who wrote this book is famous.

 He is the doctor I came to see.
 I scratched the red car parked outside.

Use the to refer to people or objects that are unique.

Example:

 You can go anywhere in the world.

 The president will be speaking on TV tonight.
 The sun rose at 6:17 this morning.

Use the before superlatives and ordinal numbers.

Example:

 This is the highest building in New York.

 She reads the last chapter of her new book first.
 You are the tallest person in our class
Use the with adjectives, to refer to a whole group of people.

Example:

 The French enjoy cheese

 She has given a lot of money to the poor.

Use the with clauses introduced by only.

Example:

 The only tea I like is black tea.

 You are the only person he will listen to.
 This is the only day we've had sunshine all week.

When not to use "the"

Do not use the with names of countries (except for the special cases above).

Example:

 Germany is an important economic power.

Do not use the with the names of languages.

Example:

 English uses many words of Latin origin.

 Indonesian is a relatively new language.

Do not use the with the names of meals.

Example:

 Lunch is my favourite meal.

 I like to eat breakfast early.

Do not use the with people's names.

Example:

 Icha is coming over later.

 Mary Carpenter is my boss.

Do not use the with titles when combined with names.

Example:

 Prince Charles is Queen Elizabeth's son.

 President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.

Do not use the with professions.

Example:

 Engineering is a well-paid career.

 He'll probably study medicine.

Do not use the with years.

Example:

 1948 was a wonderful year.

 I was born in 1998.

Do not use the with uncountable nouns.

Example:

 Rice is an important food in Asia

 Milk is often added to tea in England.
 Do not use the with most names of towns, streets, stations and airports.

Example:

 Victoria Station is in the centre of London.

 She lives in Florence.
 Can you direct me to Bond Street?
 They're flying into Heathrow.

2. Indefinite article.

Indefinite article is an article whose function is to explain the object that is first
mentioned or not specific. There are three indefinite articles in English. "A" and "An"
for singular nouns and "some" for plural or uncountable nouns.

a. A/an and one

A is used before a word beginning with a consonant sound. Consonant letters

in English alphabet are B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y,
Z. For the example are a cake, a pencil and a book. And an is used before a word
beginning with vowel sound. Vowel letters in English alphabet are A, I, U, E, O.
For the example are an orange, an apple and an hour.

We use a/an (not one) to talk about a particular but unspecified person, thing
or event:

 I really need a cup of coffee.

 You never see a police officer in this part of town, do you?

We also use a/an (not one), in number and quantity expression such as:

 Three times a year.

 Half an hour.
 A little.
We use a rather than one in the pattern a and of with possessives, as in:

 She’s a colleague of mine.

 That’s a friend of Syahla’s.

Before a singular countable noun one and a/an both refer to one thing, for the
example:

 We’ll be in Bali for one year.

 Wait here for one minute, and I’ll be with you.

Using one gives a little more emphasis to the length of time, quantity, amount,
etc:

 He weighs one hundred and twenty kilos!

However, we use one rather than a/an if we want to emphasise that we are
talking about only one thing or person rather than two or more:

 Do you want one burger or two?

 Are you staying only one night?
 I just took one look at her and she started crying.

We use one, not a/an, in the pattern one, other/another.

 Close one eye, and then the other.

 She is smiling for one and another.

We also can use one in phrase such as one day, to mean a particular but
unspecified, day, evening etc.

 I will meet you one day

 One evening, while he was working late at the office.
b. a/an, the and zero article 1

We usually use the when we talk about things which are unique. For the
example are the world, the sky, the ground, the climate, the horizon and the
human race. Note, however, that some nouns like this can be used with zero
article to refer to a concept general such as:

 The climate of Japan is as warm as that of China.

 In autumn the temperature difference between land and sea

We can use the when we make generalisation about classes of things singular
countable noun, such as:

 The computer has revolutionised publishing.

 A computer is an important tool.

Some nouns can be used uncountable when we talk about the whole substance
or idea, but countable when we talk about an instance or more than one
instance of it. We can use a/an (and plurals). Compare:

 I don’t drink coffee and would you like a coffee?

 He shook with fear and he has a fear of heights.

c. a/an, the and zero article 2

We use a/an to say what a person’s job is, was, or will be:

 She was a company direction when she retired.

 Against her parent’s wishes, she wants to be an artist.

We usually use zero article before the name of an individual person or place.

Example:

 That’s not the Stephen Fraser I went to school with.

 Do they mean the Steven Hawking, or someone else?
 d. a/an, the and zero article 3

With plural and uncountable nouns. Zero article is used to talk generally,
without definite people or things in mind. Compare:

 Music played an important part in his life.

 The books have arrived.
 Midnight could not come quickly enough.

e. Same and Any

Some is used in positive sentences. Some can be used for countable and
uncountable nouns. Some is not used in negative or question sentences. Some is used
when we expect a “yes” answer. Because we know something exists (using some here
is not like “real question” because you already know the answer). In contrast to the
question with any we really do not know the answer.

Example:

 I have some friends.

 We bought some coffee.
 There are some grapes on the table.
 My brothers buy some chairs.

Please note, if we use some countable nouns, then the object must be plural.

Example:

 True: Tini has some books

False: Tini has some book.

 True: Nick and I have some pens.

False: Nick and I some pen.

 Any is used only in negative sentences and interrogative sentences. In the question

or negative sentence is not allowed to use some, just as any word should not allowed to use

some, just as any. After any, we can put countable or uncountable nouns. If the noun is a

countable noun and more than one, then the noun must be plural.

Example:

 True: I don't have any Math books.

 False: I don't have any Math book.
 True: Do they need any knives?
 False: Do they need any knife?

f. No, none and not any

We can use no and none instead of not a or not any particular emphasis. Compare:

 There isn’t a rain until tomorrow.

 Sorry, there’s none left.

 He didn’t have any of the usual symptoms.

We use other pairs of negative words and phrases in a similar way:

 There isn’t anyone here

 She wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

 Why don’t you ever call me?

g. Much (of), many (of), a lot of and lots

 Much means a lot and is followed by uncountable nouns. Much is generally

used in negative sentences and interrogative sentences.

Example:

 He does not have much sugar

 Does she have much sugar?

Many means lot followed by countable plural nouns. Generally used in negative

sentences and interrogative sentences.

Example:

 I do not have many apples.

 Did they buy many books yesterday?

A lot of – Lots can be used in countable nouns or uncountable nouns. But it can

only be used in positive sentences.

Example:

 Sheril has a lot of books.(books = countable noun)

 There is lots of sugar in the cupboard (sugar = uncountable noun)

h. All, whole, every and each

 Use all with plural countable nouns OR with uncountable nouns to mean
100% of many things, example:

 All of this equipment is new

 All the students in the class have computers.
 All the necklaces in this store are expensive.

Use whole or entire with uncountable or singular countable nouns to mean

100% of one thing, example:

 I ate the whole pizza

 I finished reading the entire book.

Each and every (like all and whole) are quantifiers, and as such they are a

form of determiner. Each and every have very similar meanings, but there are
important differences of meaning and usage. Sometimes it is important to distinguish
between each and every ; in other cases, this distinction is not important, and the user
can choose either word. Here are some pairs of sentences that clearly illustrate the
difference between each and every. In the first sentence of each pair, the speaker is
implying dissimilar or individual actions: in the second of each pair, the speaker is
expressing similarity of action.

Example:

 Each child was reading a different book.

 You have to fill in details on each page individually. 
 We go on holiday to a different place each summer. 
 We go on holiday to Brighton every summer
 He makes a different mistake each time.  

i. Few, little, less and fewer

Less is used with uncountable nouns, like money or work or travel,

and fewer is used with countable plural nouns, like coins or jobs or trips. Less is the
comparative form of little and fewer is the comparative form of few. Compare the
following:

 I have less work now than I had this time last year.

 There are simply fewer jobs around that I am suitable for.
 I therefore have little money and few friends.

We can used few and the little followed by a noun to suggest ‘not enough’
when we talk about a group, things or people.
  It’s one of the few shops in the city centre where you can buy.
 We should use a little times we have available to discuss the proposal

j. Relatives pronouns

A relative pronoun is one which is used to refer to nouns mentioned

previously, whether they are people, places, things, animals, or ideas. Relative
pronouns can be used to join two sentences . There are only a few relative pronouns in
the English language. The most common are which, that, whose, whoever, whomever,
who,  and  whom. In some situations, the words what, when, and where can also
function as relative pronouns. Because there are only a few of them, there are also just
a few rules for using relative pronouns. Keep them in mind as you write.

Example:

 The cyclist who won the race trained hard.

 The pants that I bought yesterday are already stained.
 The four team leaders, whoever the committee selects, will be at
tomorrow’s meeting.
 Spaghetti, which we eat at least twice a week, is one of my
family’s favourite meals.
 Where did you buy the dress that you wore last week?
 The book, when it was finally returned, was torn and stained.
 The store on the corner, where we usually buy all of our art
supplies, burned to the ground.
 She is the person who gave you a call last night.
 The woman whom you met yesterday is my mother.

 That is the girl whose boy stole my purse.

 I met a woman that has ten children.
  It was the same story which she told me last week.

 I choose the college that my mother went to.

 He cut the tree whose branches blocked this view.

k. Whole, when, and whereby

Whole is a determiner. We use whole before nouns and after other determiners

(my, the, a/an, their) to talk about quantity. We use it to describe the completeness of
something:

 I’ve wanted to be an actor my whole life.

 Please can you check the whole document?
 I thought the whole experience was very interesting.

We use the whole of when whole is followed by another determiner (my, her,

this, the):

 She had been in the same job for the whole of her life

When can be used as a conjunction (connecting two clauses): When he saw me, he

waved. as a question adverb (introducing a direct or indirect question): When shall we
meet ?Do you know when these houses were built? as a relative adverb (referring back to a
noun and introducing a relative clause): I remember the day when the war
began. (introducing a clause that is the subject, object, or complement of another clause): My
proudest moment was when I received the poetry prize.

For the other example:

  When will we know our test results?

 When did the trouble start?

 I asked him when he was going to start work.

 ‘You’ll get your money back.’ ‘Yes, but when?’

 Since when have you been in charge of the project?

We can begin relative and other clauses with when (referring to time), whereby
(method or means)

For the example:

 We need to develop a system whereby workers and

management can communicate more effectively.
 This was the place where we first met.
 The camera records the time when the photo is taken.
 Do you know the date when we have to hand in the essay?

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