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Level Three

Lesson 33
articles

Knowledge of articles and when to use them is essential for your English to look good and sound good. 

 

a / an / the / —

Articles are considered adjectives, so they appear before a noun. Articles refer to single items or groups. There are many rules for articles. With practice in reading, listening, speaking, and writing exercises, you can improve your use of articles. 

articles in English

33a. a / an✍🏾

Use the article “a” for a singular noun (count noun). This is called an indefinite article. It’s used for things that aren’t specific. 

 

Use “a” before a noun that begins with a consonant sound.

Use “an” before a noun that begins with a vowel sound. 

  • I have a cell phone. (The “s” sound in “cell” is a consonant sound.) 
  • I have an iPhone. (The “i” sound in “IPhone” requires “an” as the article.) 
  • There’s a dog in the street. 
  • There’s an elephant in the jungle. 
  • Jose needs a job. (Any job will be good!) 
  • We had a pizza for dinner. 

33a. Examples

pexels-photo-4577793-4577793.jpg
  • There’s an elephant and a baby elephant. 
  • An elephant is a beautiful animal.  
  • Do you like elephants? (There is no article because the noun is plural and it’s an indefinite category.) 

33b. the

Use the article “the” for singular and plural nouns for people and things. This is called a definite article. It’s used for things that are specific or known. It goes before a noun. 

  • I have three guitars. (general)
  • The guitar that I usually play is a Fender stratocaster. (specific: I want to point out one guitar in particular.)
  •  Jeff made a pizza for dinner. (first mention–general)
  • The pizza was delicious. (second mention–specific) 

After first introducing something or a person with “a,” the second time you refer to it requires “the.” 

  • They have a farm. 
  • The farm is in southern Minnesota. 

33b. Examples ✍🏾

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  • She has some mangoes. 
  • There are some differences among the mangoes. 
  • The mango that she prefers is the yellow one. 
  • The yellow mango is soft and sweet. 
  • The green mango is a little hard and not as sweet. 

33c. no article

Some nouns don’t require an article. These nouns are for commodities or such as oil, corn, meat, or raw materials such as iron ore, copper, lumber, or chemical elements such as oxygen, hydrogen, and mercury, etc.  

  • Information is available online. 
  • Silver is a valuable metal. 
  • Oxygen is necessary for life. 
  • In Minnesota, iron ore is mined for the purpose of making steel. 
  • You can buy fresh fish at the grocery store. 
  • The price for chicken went up recently. The price for beef went down. 

33c. Examples ✍🏾

pexels-photo-366551-366551.jpg
  • Gold is valuable. 
  • Many investors buy gold to protect their wealth. 
pexels-photo-106343-106343.jpg
  • We had chicken for dinner. 
  • Chicken is popular for lunch or dinner.
  • The meat comes from a chicken. (In this sentence, the article “a” is for a general category: meat.) 

Rules for Articles

There are a lot of rules and guidelines for articles. There are also many exceptions to these rules, especially in spoken English. In addition to the rules mentioned above, there are some others that you need to pay attention to: 

 

  1. Use the indefinite article (a or an) with singular count nouns. 
  2. Use “an” before nouns that begin with a vowel sound: a, e, i, o, u, etc.  Sound is key.  If a word begin with an “h,” for instance, it could very well begin with a vowel sound. 
  3. Use the definite article (the) for singular and plural nouns. 
  4. No article is used before most proper nouns (names of people and places), but there are always exceptions this rule. 
  5. No article is used for large quantities of things,  elements, substances, and abstract ideas. 
  6. Use the article “the” when talking about object related to the universe: the sun, the moon, the starts, the galaxy, the universe. 
  7. Use the article “the” when talking about things here on earth: the ocean, the lake, the river, the mountains, the desert, the prairie, etc.  

Practice

Write in your notebook. ✍🏾

Directions: Write each sentence with the correct article.  Choose from among a, an, the, or no article. If there is no article, don’t write anything. 

1. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ milk in _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ refrigerator is sour. 

2. I need _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ haircut. 

3. Please go to _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  store and get _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ coffee. 

4. It’s important for children to have _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ clean water free of toxins.

5. Vanessa was born in _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ United States. Her brother was born in _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Syria. 

6. Does anyone know where _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ remote control for _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ TV is? 

7. Carlos is interested in _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  history. He’s especially interested in _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ history of South America. 

8. We have to buy _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ new coffee maker. 

9. There was _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ accident outside of our building. 

10. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ sun is shining. 

 

Check your answers down below. 

In Lesson Thirty-four, you will learn about the differences between count nouns and noncount nouns. 

Lesson Thirty-four

Here are the answers: 

Directions: Write each sentence with the correct article.  Choose from among a, an, the, or no article. If there is no article, don’t write anything. 

1. The milk in the refrigerator is sour. 

2. I need a haircut. 

3. Please go to the store and get coffee. 

4. It’s important for children to have clean water free of toxins.

5. Vanessa was born in the United States. Her brother was born in Syria. 

6. Does anyone know where the remote control for the TV is? 

7. Carlos is interested in history. He’s especially interested in the history of South America. 

8. We have to buy a new coffee maker. 

9. There was an accident outside of our building. 

10. The sun is shining.