Articles

Prepared for course of BBA(3RD)

Prepared by:
Anum Saeed
MA. English Literature
MA TEFL
MPhil Applied Linguistics
What are
Articles?
Articles are used to indicate whether or not
we expect our listeners to know which things
or people we are referring to
Articles help to indicate particular
people/things or people/things in general

There are 2 types of articles:

Indefinite articles = A/An
Definite article = The
Indefinite
Articles
 A/An = Indefinite articles
 A/An is usually used when:
You mention a person/thing for the first time
You are referring to people/things unknown to your
listener
You are referring to people/things which are general
or
not unique

 Examples:
Look! There‟s a cat under my car.
I‟m going to a party tonight.
Would you like a biscuit?
Indefinite
Articles
A is used before words that DO NOT begin
with a vowel sound
 An is used before words beginning
with a vowel sound

Vowels V.S. Vowel Sounds

There are 5 vowels in the alphabet: A E I O U
Written vowels are NOT pronounced with a vowel
sound all the time
The pronunciations of these vowels differ
according
to the word
Indefinite
Articles
Words beginning with a vowel sound:
Apple [ae]  An apple
Umbrella [ah]  An umbrella
Honest [au] („H‟ is silent here)  An honest man

Words beginning with a written vowel but

NOT a vowel sound:
University [you]  A university
European [you]  A European country
One [wa]  A one-man band
Definite
Article
The = definite article
The is used when:
You are talking about a particular person/thing
Your listener knows which person/thing you mean

Examples
Quiet! Here comes the principal.
How did you do for the English test?
5 Rules for Using Articles
1. Do not use singular countable nouns without
articles
Countable nouns = nouns which you can count
individually
 E.g. Cat: one cat, two cats etc.
 Singular = one (e.g. cat); Plural = more than one (e.g.
cats)

In other words, you must use articles with

singular countable nouns:
I used to have a cat.
But the cat ran away 2 years ago.
5 Rules for Using Articles
2. Use a/an when talking about jobs people do.
Jenny is a teacher.
James is a lawyer.
5 Rules for Using Articles
3.A/An is used only with singular countable
nouns. It is NOT used with uncountable
nouns.
Uncountable nouns = nouns which you cannot
count individually
 E.g. Water, sand, hair, air etc.

Examples:
Kate has a long hair. (Wrong)
Kate has long hair. (Correct)
Mandy has cat. (Wrong)
Mandy has a cat. (Correct)
5 Rules for Using Articles
4a) DO NOT use the when talking about something
in general
4b) DO NOT put the in front of
Plural countable nouns (e.g. vegetables, cats
etc.)
Singular uncountable nouns (e.g. gold, milk etc.)

Examples:
I love to eat vegetables and drink milk.
Cats have claws.
Gold is expensive.
5 Rules for Using Articles
5. DO NOT use articles with sports/games.
I like the Taekwondo. (Wrong)
I like Taekwondo. (Correct)

 Some countable nouns are NOT used with articles

in certain situations:
He‟s not home now.
Are you in school?
My uncle is in hospital.

 Nouns like these refer to typical activities known to

both the speaker and listener and DO NOT
require articles.