Articles:
I had an apple for lunch.
The apple was delicious.
I bought the apple at Trader Joe’s.
A. Use indefinite articles (a/an, some or no article) for these cases.
1. The
reference is not clear to you and the person you are speaking or writing to.
Examples:
She needs a new bathing
suit, (some) suntan lotion, and (some) new sandals for her trip to Hawaii.
On his way to work this
morning, he saw a car with (some) flowers on it.
2. Indefinite
articles are used before singular count nouns that identify the subject of the
sentence.
My brother is a teacher.
Her grandfather became a doctor when he
was thirty-five.
B. Use a definite article (the) when the
reference is clear to both you and the person you are talking or writing to.
This can happen for many reasons:
a.
You refer to a person or thing that you
have already mentioned.
Joseph bought a bike
yesterday. I haven’t seen the
bike yet, but Joseph is happy about it.
b. The
noun is part of something that you already mentioned.
He tried on a jacket, but the zipper
got stuck. Which zipper? Where is the zipper?
The zipper is on the jacket. (Because we already mentioned the jacket,
we can use “the zipper”.)
He bought a novel yesterday.
He heard about the
author on the
radio.
c.
The reference is clear from the immediate
situation or setting.
Did you do the
homework last night? What homework am I talking about? The grammar homework.
I wrote the midterm two weeks ago.
d. The
reference is clear because it is shared by all.
Did you see
the moon last night? It was
beautiful.
Have you
been to the ocean lately?
e.
the reference is clear by certain words
describing the nouns such as superlatives, first, next…..
She is the tallest girl in
her class.
He is the fastest runner
in 11th grade.
I will give you a surprise
quiz the next time we
meet.
For generalizations, we usually use a plural noun, not a singular
noun. No article is needed with a plural
noun for a generalization.
Students have a lot of homework. (general, noncount noun)
The students in ESL 244 will have a lot of homework this weekend. (specific plural noun- use “the”)
Cats aren’t very affectionate animals.
(general, count noun)
The cats that I have don’t let me pick them up.
Americans eat too much. (general, count mount)
The Americans that I saw in Nebraska ate too much.
Homework for Monday:
Pages 360-371, do exercises 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9 10, 11
And write WA #6. Do the assignment on Canvas.
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