Articles
Articles, a type of determiner, are the words that are used before a noun to "determine" the precise meaning of the noun. Even though these are short, common words, they can cause some of the most difficult problems for ESL students. Determiners can be articles (a, an, the), demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those), possessive pronouns (my, your, his, hers, its, our, their) or quantifiers.
The articles a and the can prove especially difficult for students if their first language does not use comparable structures. Compare the meaning of these sentences:
- I am a teacher. (I am one teacher among many teachers).
I am the teacher. (I am the specific teacher of this class/group). - They enjoy listening to music. (A general statement of preference).
They are listening to the music. (A specific reference to the fact that they can hear music now).
When trying decide if an article is needed or not, or which one is correct, use the following diagram as an aid until the decision making process becomes automatic. The diagram below, and the chart of article usage, gives an overview only; use them in conjunction with a textbook and with a dictionary.
Use the diagram below to help determine whether or not a or the is needed in a specific construction. Remember that if a is required and the following noun begins with a vowel, use an. The table also helps to indicate which personal nouns and quantifiers can be used in the various situations. For more information on article and quantifier usage, please refer to a reference or textbook.
Article usage
| Proper Nouns | Common Nouns | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count Nouns | Non-Count Nouns | ||||||
| THE | Ø | SINGULAR | GENERIC | PLURAL | Ø , some, much, a lot of, little, a little, my, your, his, her, this, that | ||
| Countries: The + Netherlands/ Sudan/ United Arab Emirates/ United Kingdom/ United States | All other countries e.g. France/ Japan/ Argentina | General a/an, one e.g. a cup, an orange | Specific the, my, your, his, her, our, their, this, that e.g. the cup, the orange | Ø e.g. cups, oranges | the, two etc., some, several, many, a lot of, few, a few, my, your, his, her, these, those e.g. two cups, some oranges | Abstract nouns: fate, peace | |
| Geographic locations: The + Amazon River/ Great Barrier Reef/ Gobi Desert/ Pacific Ocean | 1st mention I read a good novel | 2nd mention the novel was about ... | Consisting of small pieces: sand, sugar, rice | ||||
| Unique the minister of our church | Existing as a solid, liquid or gas: silver, water, oxygen | ||||||
| Plural islands, lakes, mountains: The + Swiss Alps/ Thousand Islands/ Great Lakes | Singular islands, lakes, mountains: Mount Fujiyama/ Sicily/ Lake Geneva | Situation the clock on the wall | Academic subjects: English, Biology, Mathematics | ||||
| Superlative the best book | Sports: soccer, tennis, swimming | ||||||
| Educational institutions: The University/ College/ School of ... | Educational institutions: ... University/ College/ School | Definite noun phrase or clause the book on Canada | Natural phenomena: sunshine, hail, fog | ||||
| Diseases: measles, AIDS, cancer** | |||||||
| People: The + Koreans/ British/ Germans/ Americans | Languages: Korean/ English/ German* | MEASUREMENT OF NON-COUNT NOUNS | ** but, the flu, a cold | ||||
| a bottle of water | the bottle of water | bottles of water | the bottles of water | ||||
*If part of a noun phrase then use "the German language", etc.
Updated June 14, 2022 by Student Journey Squad (sjs@athabascau.ca)