ENG 111 (CIS) - 1.1. Article

Sabina Sultana
ENG 101  February 04, 2024

Department of Computing & Information System (CIS)
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
4. How to Use Articles in English
Grammar?
✓ When to Use Indefinite
Article
✓ When to Use Definite Article
✓ When Not to Use an Article
✓ Articles in Phrases and
Idiomatic Expressions
❖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
❖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
✓ there is only one of something general
(e.g. the sun) ✓ mentioning something for the
✓ the noun has been mentioned first time
before ✓ describing someone’s profession
(e.g. I am a lecturer)
❑ 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 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 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 the Western civilization.
Countable Proper
Noun Noun
Uncountable
Noun
1. Refers to items that 1. Refers to the nouns that 1. Refers to a specific (i.e., not
can be counted, even come in a state or quantity generic) name for a particular
if the number might that is impossible to count person, place, or thing
be extraordinarily 2. Always considered to be 2. Always capitalized in English,
high singular, and can stand alone no matter where they fall in a
2. Can be used with or be used with some, any, a sentence
articles ‘a’ or ‘an’ if little, and much 3. A proper noun names a noun
the noun is singular 3. Ex. There is some juice on precisely
3. Ex. Here is a cat. the table. 4. Ex. Dhaka, Roger Federer,
Greenland etc.
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.
➢ Ex. She would like to go to a university that can help her to
fulfill her dream.
3. “An” is used before a singular noun beginning with a vowel
sound, for example: an hour, an honest man, an heir, an
umbrella, an orange, an MA etc.
➢ Ex. I would like to eat an apple.
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. The house should
have at least three bedrooms and an open veranda.
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
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 Library of Congress,
The University of Dhaka 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 we should not use articles before
the proper nouns:
➢ Lakes: Lake Superior, Lake Baikal, Lake
Victoria
➢ Mountains: Mount Fuji, Mount Everest
➢ Continents: Europe, Asia
➢ Most countries: England, Sweden,
Bangladesh
➢ Divisions, regions, states, cities,
towns, villages: London, Paris,
Toronto, California, Darjeeling, Dhaka
➢ Islands: Bali, Hawaii
➢ Street names: Green Road, Main
Street, 5th Avenue
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.
➢ I choose mathematics as my major.
❑ 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

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Sabina Sultana

ENG 101  February 04, 2024

❑When do we use articles?:

Ex. 2. I’ll call you back in a hour.

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

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

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

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