Articles - thoses little words that can be so difficult to use correctly- introduce an indentity nouns. There are two kinds of articles in English: indefinite (a, an) and definite (the).
Articles occur before nouns (the book) and before adjective + noun combinations (a big book).
Articles Basic
This chart gives you the basic uses of articles in English.
| Articles | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Count Nouns | Noncount Nouns | ||
| Indefinite articles (a, an) Definite article (the) |
a cat an ugly cat an answer the cat |
cats ugly cats answers the cats |
money the money |
Three Rules for Avoiding Common Article Mistakes
The following three rules, repeated later in the chapter, are grouped here because they are the main rules that will help you avoid the most common mistakes with articles.Examples
1. Use a, an, or the (or another word such as my or this) with singular count nouns.Incorrect: Most university students own
Correct: Most university students own a computer.
2. Use the with specific noun references, either singular or plural. Specific noun references are definite.
Examples
Incorrect: Title of this course sounds interesting.
Correct: The title of this course sounds interesting.
Incorrect: Questions on yesterday's gramar test were difficult.
Correct: The questions on yesterday's gramar test were difficult.
3. Do not use the with general noun refernces, either singular or plural, General noun references are indefinite.
Incorrect: Our government should spend more money on the education.
Correct: Our government should spend more money on education.
Incorrect: The successful presentations require planning and practice.
Correct: Successful presentations require planning and practice.