Saturday, May 12, 2012

Use of A/An/The


Articles
A / An / The
Singular
Plural
a / an
the
the
---

Articles are used in front of Nouns. 
have glasses.
arrow

(plural - a /an )

teacher
Or....I have a pair of glasses
You have a hat.
arrow
(singular count noun)
sasa
But....the second time you describe the hat, you say:
The hat is blue.
He has some strawberries.
arrow
(plural count noun)
child
The strawberries are in his mouth (second mention).
She has a popsicle.
arrow
(singular count noun)
girl
The popsicle tastes good!
or....
Popsicles taste good.
The cat has some water.
(Water is a non-count noun)
a / an )
catThe water is in a bowl. The bowl is purple.
We have time to learn English.
(time and English are noncount nouns. Sometimes the is used; sometimes it isn't.)
pic  I + you = we
sasa
They have a good relationship.
(relationship is a singular count noun)
couple
All three children have popsicles.
The popsicles taste good.
(Popsicle is a plural count noun)
children

There are a lot of rules for articles:
1. Don't put an article in front of the name of a place.
Correct: Minneapolis is a great city.
Not correct: The Minneapolis is a great city.
But it's correct to use the name of a place as an adjective:
The Minneapolis skyline is beautiful at night.
2. Indefinite amounts or general qualities don't take an article.
Pennies are made of copper.
The copper in this penny is turning brown. (this is a specific amount)
Water is good for you.
The water in this glass tastes bad. (this is a specific amount)
3. Don't use an article with possessive nouns or pronouns.
This is the Paul's website.


"A" or "An" are always singular.
"The" is singular or plural.
Some plural nouns don't use an article. 
Count and Noncount Nouns
Count Nouns
Noncount Nouns
a car (singular)
car
cars (plural)
cars
traffic
traffic
a chair
chair
chairs
chairs
 furniture
furniture
an apple
apple
apples
apples
fruit
fruit
a camera
camera
four cameras
cameras
video equipment
equipment

count nouns use singular and plural verbs and pronouns:
noncount nouns use only singular verbs and pronouns:
There is an apple. (singular)
There are some apples. (plural)
There is some fruit. (singular verb)
I like that chair. ("that" is singular). 
She likes those chairs. ("those" is plural)
I like that furniture.
I like those furniture. (no!)
A car is an expensive thing to own. Cars are an expensive form of transportation.
Traffic was heavy today. (singular verb)
Apples taste good Fruit tastes good.
Digital cameras make photography easy. They are fun to use. TV stations have a lot of video equipment. It is expensive.
The camera is very nice. The equipment are nice. (no!)

Asking questions for an amount or a number:
Count Nouns
Noncount Nouns
How many chairs are there? How many chairs are there? How much furniture is there?
There is one chair
chair
There are two chairs
chairs
 There is a lot of furniture
furniture
How many cameras are there? How many cameras are there? How much equipment is there?
There's one camera
camera
There are four cameras
cameras
There's a lot of video equipment
equipment


Only count nouns can take a number:
There is one camera. There are four cameras.
Noncount nouns don't use numbers:
There is some equipment. There is a lot of equipment.
Knowing the difference between count and noncount nouns will make your English sound much better. Below are words and phrases that can be used with count and noncount nouns. As you continue through the next levels, you will probably need to come back to this page.
Write
count nouns
noncount nouns
a (singular) -- (no article)
the (singular and plural) the
some some
a lot of a lot of
many (large numbers) much (large numbers)
a few (3 to 4) a little (small number)
few (a very small number) little (a very small number)
fewer (comparative) less (comparative)
fewest (superlative) least (superlative)
not many (a small number) not much (a small number)
not any (zero) not any (zero)

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