2.  Articles are a part of a large grammatical
category named Determiners. Although
they appear to be a simple subject, they
can be quite problematic. Some
languages, for instance, have no articles.
When their speakers learn them in
English, they see no real use in them and
tend to omit them. However, it’s important
that they learn them in order to develop a
proper understanding of other important
workings of the English language.

3. A DEFINITION
Articles are words used before nouns to
indicate the type of reference being made by
the noun. It states the degree of grammatical
definiteness attributed to the noun, ranging
from a general definiteness to a more
specific one (a house vs. the house). Articles
can either be DEFINITE or INDEFINITE.

4. INDEFINITE ARTICLES A AND AN
 Indefinite articles indicate that a noun isn’t a
particular one identifiable to a listener.
 They’re used only before singular count nouns which
are not specific and weren’t mentioned before;
 “A” is for words beggining in consonant sounds (a
computer, a book, a pencil);
 “An” is for words begging in vowel sounds (an apple,
an ear, an order)

5. CAUTION!
Words beggining in “h” or “u” have to be well
analyzed by how they sound.
“Hour” starts with a silent “h”, so it has a
vowel sound. “Hat”, on the other hand, has a
consonant sound. So: a hat, an hour

6. DEFINITE ARTICLE ‘THE’
 Definite articles indicate that a noun is a particular one
identifiable to a listener.
 The Definite article THE works with singular and plural noun
forms.
 We use THE in many situations. Let’s take a look at the
eight main rules for its usage:
 When talking about something specific:
• Both cars are black. The black car parked under the tree
is mine.

7.  When both speaker and listener are
talking about the same specific item:
• Do you remember the museum we visited
last week?

8.  For the second and all other references to
the same noun:
• I discovered a new restaurant last
month. The restaurant was really good.

9.  With the superlative form of na adjective:
• She is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever
seen.

10.  Names of countries that look plural, end
in “s” or have the words
United, Union, Republic or Kingdom:
• The United States, the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia

11.  For parts of something.
• Mary’s house is beautiful. The living room
is huge, the bedrooms are colorful and the
kitchen is well lighted.

12. With most bodies of water except
individual lakes.
• The Pacific Ocean, the Great Lake

13.  With geographic parts of the globe and
geographic areas, deserts and
peninsulas.
• The equator, the Middle East, the Northern
Hemisphere,

14. SITUATIONS WHERE WE DON’T
USE ARTICLES
1. To talk about a category or a group in
general. Ex.: Computers can be expensive.
2. Before abstract nouns. Ex.: Julia felt
sadness when she saw that abandoned
dog.

15. WHAT ELLS SHOULD KNOW
1. Singular count nouns MUST have an
article;
2. If the word begins with a vowel
sound, don’t use “a” before it;
3. Don’t use “the” with plural count nouns
referring to a whole category ;
4. Don’t use “the” with abstract nouns or
ideas