Sabina Sultana

ENG 101 January 22, 2023

Department of Software Engineering
Daffodil International University

For learning purpose only. Images collected from the Internet for study.
 1. Definition
2. Different Types of Article
3. Some Definitions That is Needed for
Article
Discussion 4. How to Use Articles in English
Grammar?
Outline  When to Use Indefinite Article
 When to Use Definite Article
 When Not to Use an Article
 Articles in Phrases and Idiomatic
Expressions
What Is Article?
 Article
There are three articles in English: a, an, and the
Used before nouns or noun equivalents
Used as a type of adjective because they modify the noun in the sentence
Also known as a type of determiner
Basically a word that is used before a noun to show if it’s specific or
general

 When do we use articles?:

 We use ‘the’ before a noun when:  We use ‘a/an’ before a noun when:
 referring to something specific  referring to something in general
 there is only one of something (e.g. the  mentioning something for the first
sun) time
 the noun has been mentioned before  describing someone’s profession (e.
g. I am a lecturer)
Examples
Different Types of
Article
 Types of Article
 Different Types of Article:
In English, there are two different types of article -
1. Definite Article – “The”
 Can be used to demonstrate that the speaker is referring to
something specific and not talking in a general sense
 Can be combined with either a plural, a singular or an
uncountable noun
2. Indefinite Article – “A” and “An”
 Used as a way of demonstrating that we are not referring
to a specific item or person but rather talking a more
general sense
 If the word begins with a vowel, we should use “an”
 If the word begins with a consonant, we should use “a”
 Ex. 1. It is a big decision to choose an university.
Correct: It is a big decision to choose a

Examples university.
Ex. 2. I’ll call you back in a hour.
Correct: I’ll call you back in an hour.

Ex. 3. History of naming of Dhaka is interesting.

Correct: The history of the naming of Dhaka is interesting.

Ex. 4. Although almost all insects have six legs, a immature

insect may not have any.
Correct: Although almost all insects have six legs, an
immature insect may not have any.

Ex. 5. Philosophy of ancient Greeks has been preserved in the

scholarly writing of Western civilization.
Correct: Philosophy of the ancient Greeks has been preserved in
the scholarly writing of western civilization.
Some Definitions
That is Needed for
Article
A Few Important Definitions to Keep in Mind

Countable Proper
Noun Noun
Uncountable
Noun

1. Refers to items that 1. Refers to the nouns that come 1. Refers to a specific (i.e., not
can be counted, even if in a state or quantity that is generic) name for a particular
the number might be impossible to count person, place, or thing
extraordinarily high 2. Always considered to be 2. Always capitalized in English, no
2. Can be used with singular, and can stand alone matter where they fall in a
articles ‘a’ or ‘an’ if the or be used with some, any, a sentence
noun is singular little, and much 3. A proper noun names a noun
3. Ex. Here is a cat. 3. Ex. There is some juice on the precisely
table. 4. Ex. Dhaka, Roger Federer,
Greenland etc.
How to Use Articles in
English Grammar?
 When to Use Indefinite Article
1. “A” and “An” are used with singular countable nouns when
the noun is non-specific or generic.
 Ex. Hope you have a nice day.
2. “A” is used before a singular noun beginning with a
consonant sound, for example: a university, a European, a
uniform, a horse etc.
Co
nt e
 Ex. She would like to go to a university that can help her
to fulfill her dream.
nt s
He
re
Co
nt e
nt s
He
re
3. “An” is used before a singular noun beginning with a vowel
Co
nt e
nt s
He
sound, for example: an hour, an honest man, an heir, an
umbrella, an orange, an MA etc.
re
Co
nt e
nt s

Co
He
re  Ex. I would like to eat an apple.
apple
nt e
nt s
He
re
4. Sometimes “a” or “an” can be used for first mention (the first
time the noun is mentioned). Then, in subsequent sentences,
the article “the” is used instead.
 Ex. He would like to live in a large house.
house The house
should have at least three bedrooms and a open
 When to Use Definite Article
1. "The" is used with both singular and plural nouns and with
both countable and uncountable nouns when the noun is
specific.
2. "The" is used in the following categories of proper nouns:
 Museums and art galleries: The Louvre Museum
 Seas and Oceans: The Bay of Bengal, The Atlantic
Ocean
 Rivers: The Turag, The Brahmaputra The Nile
 Deserts: The Sahara Desert, The Sonora Desert
 Periods and Events in History: The Dark Ages, The World
War II
 Bridges: The London Bridge, The Padma Bridge
 Parts of a country: The South, The Upper Midwest
 Geographical areas: The Middle East, The West
 Points on the globe: The Equator, The North Pole
 Groups of islands: The Maldives, The Seychelles
 Buildings: The Eiffel Tower, The Burj Khalifa
 Mountain ranges: The Andes, The Himalayas
 When to Use Definite Article
3. In general, use "the" with plural proper nouns, such as -
The Great Lakes, The French etc.
4. Often used with proper nouns that include an “of”
phrase, like - The United States of America, The
University of Minnesota, The International Trade Fair
etc.
5. When the noun being referred to is unique because of
our understanding of the world.
 Ex. The Earth moves around the sun.
6. When a noun can be made specific from a previous
mention in the text. This is also known as second or
subsequent mention.
 Ex. I read a good book. The book was about how to
use articles correctly in English.
7. Used with superlative adjectives, which are necessarily
unique, for example, the first, the second, the biggest,
the smallest, the next, the only, etc.
 When Not to Use an Article
1. No article is used when a plural countable noun is generic or
non-specific.
 I bought new pens and pencils at the store. (general, not
specific ones)
 Cats have big eyes that can see in the dark. (cats in
general, all of them)
2. No article is used when a noncount noun is generic or non-
specific.
 I bought milk and rice at the store. (generic reference)
 We were assigned homework in this class. (generic
reference)
3. No articles before names of language.
 Currently I’m learning Japanese as I’m planning to go there.
(unless referring to the nationality of the country; e.g., The
Italians are known for their delicious food.)
4. No articles before names of sports
 While I am a passionate tennis fan, I prefer football.
5. No article before names of subjects.
 When Not to Use an Article
 When we should not use articles before
the proper nouns:
nouns
 Lakes: Lake Geneva, Lake Placids
 Mountains: Mount Fuji, Mount
Everest
 Continents: Europe, Asia
 Most countries: England, Sweden,
Bangladesh
 Counties/states/provinces/regions:
Toronto, California, Darjeeling
 Cities, towns, villages: London, Paris,
Dhaka
 Islands: Bali, Hawaii
 Street names: Green Road, Main
Street, 5th Avenue
 Articles in Phrases and Idiomatic Expressions

 Sometimes article usage in English does not follow a

specific rule. These expressions must be memorized
instead. Here are some examples of phrases where
article usage is not predictable:
 Destinations: go to the store, go to the bank, but go to
school, go to church, go to bed, go home
 Locations: in university, at home, in bed, but in the
hospital (in American English)
 Parts of the day: in the morning, in the evening, but at
night
 Chores: mow the lawn, do the dishes, do the cleaning