The basic uses of articles are explained in the chart:
Indefinite Articles a and an | Definite Article the | No article (ø) |
A or an is used before singular nouns when one does not have a specific person, place, thing, or concept in mind | The can be used before any noun, singular, plural, count, and noncount, when the noun is specific | Ø is used before plural and noncount nouns when one does not have a specific persons, things, or concepts in mind |
an orange a chair | The orange The oranges The water | Orage Oranges Chairs |
1. The indefinite article a or an
a. Before singular count nouns to ean one. It is not used before noncount nouns
Australia is a continent.
b. An is used before a word that begins with a vowel sound (a, i,u,e,o).
an uncle a home
a university an hour
a union an honor
c. In a general stetement
An island is a body of land surrounded by water.
d. To introduce a subject that has not been mentioned before
I saw a snake
e. With certain numerical expression
A dozen a couple a hundred a third a half
A great many a great deal a lot of fifty miles an hour* $ 10 a day*
f. With names of professions
He is an enginer she is a biologist
2. The definite article the
a. When there is only one of the thing mentioned
The sun is shining the sky is blue
b. Before superlative adjectives
The bigest island is Greenland the most beautiful coral island is very small
c. Before names of musical instrument
He plays the piano
d. Before a sigular noun representative of a class of things (names of animals, plants,
inventions, and parts of the body).
The dodo is an extinct bird he bit me on the head
e. Before decades and centuries
The 1800s the twenties the twentieth century
f. Before expressions of time and place
The morning the future the north the front the beginning
g. Before ordinal numbers (the definite article is not used with cardinal numbers)
Ordinal number: Cardinal number:
The first one
The second day day two
The sixth lesson lesson six
h. Before names of countries, states, cities, universities, colleges, and schools that
contain the word “of”, and before countries that have a plural name or have an
adjective in he name, except for Great Britain
The united state of America the state of Florida the city of Boston
The university of Texas the Netherlands the Philipines
i. Before names of oceans, rivers, seas, gulfs, and plural names of mountains, islands,
and lakes (no article is used with singular mountains, islands, and lakes).
The Pasific Ocean The Hawaiian Islands The Black Sea
The Great Lakes Mount Washington lake Michigan
j. Before geographic areas, but not before names of continents
The Middle East The Orient Asia Europe
k. Before the names of fields of study when they contain the word “of”
The History of the United States History
The Literature of the Sixties Biology
l. Before the names of wars (not including the World Wars)
The War of Independence The Civil War
World War II The Second World War
m. Before the names of ships, planes, trains, and people’s family names (the definite
article is not used with the names of people and names of magazines)
article is not used with the names of people and names of magazines)
The Browns Robert Brown
The Orient Express Time Magazine
3. On the TOEFL test
1. Pelican Island in Florida and Oregon Islands in Oregon are wildlife refuges.
A B C D
2. The most coral islands develope from reefs that grow up around volcanic islands.
A B C D
3. A broad expanse of sea with a large number of islands is called a archipelago.
A B C D
4. When the island of Surtsey was eighteen months old a first leafy green plant appeared.
A B C D
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