Articles ,A ,An, The

1. Articles ,A ,An, The How and when to use an article

2. The rules • Articles • The 3 articles in English are a, an and the. You have to decide noun-by-noun which one of the articles to use*.

3. The first step • The most important first step in choosing the correct article is to categorize the noun as count or uncount**: • - A count noun is a noun that can have a number in front of it: 1 teacher, 3 books, 76 trombones, 1,000,000 people. • - An uncount noun is a noun that cannot have a number put in front of it: 1 water, 2 lucks, 10 airs, 21 oils, 39 informations. Once you have correctly categorized the noun (using your dictionary if necessary), the following "rules" apply:

4. Countable nouns You can put a number in front of a count noun. (You can make a count noun plural.) You can put both a/an and the in front of a count noun. You must put an article** in front of a singular count noun. You use a plural count noun with no article if you mean all or any of that thing. You usually use a/an with a count noun the first time you say or write that noun.

5. Uncountable nouns • You cannot say a/an with an uncountable noun. • You cannot put a number in front of an uncountable noun. (You cannot make an uncountable noun plural.) • You use an uncountable noun with no article if you mean that thing in general. • You use the with an uncountable noun when you are talking about a particular example of that thing.

6. Examples of use • The above rules apply whether there is or there is not an adjective in front of the noun. Some nouns can be either count or uncountable, depending on the context and meaning: Do you have paper? I want to draw a picture. (uncountable = a sheet of paper) • Can you get me a paper when you’re at the shop? (count = a newspaper) • Uncountable nouns are often preceded by phrases such as: a lot of .. (luck), a piece of .. (cake), a bottle of .. (milk), a grain of .. (rice).* Instead of an article, the noun can also be preceded by a determiner such as this, that, some, many or my, his, our, etc.

7. Example uses • 1. You use an uncount noun with no article if you mean all or any of that thing. I need help! • I don't eat cheese. • Do you like music? • 2. You use the with an uncountable noun when you are talking about a particular example of that thing. Thanks for the help you gave me yesterday. • I didn't eat the cheese. It was green! • Did you like the music they played at the dance?

8. Example uses • 3. You usually use a/an with a count noun the first time you say or write that noun. Can I borrow a pencil, please? • There's a cat in the garden! • Do you have an mp3 player? • 4. You use the with count nouns the second and subsequent times you use the noun, or when the listener already knows what you are referring to (maybe because there is only one of that thing). Where's the pencil I lent you yesterday? • I think the cat belongs to the new neighbours. • I dropped the mp3 player and it broke. • Please shut the door!

9. Example uses • You use a plural count noun with no article if you mean all or any of that thing. I don't like dogs. • Do they have children? • I don't need questions. Give me answers! • The above rules apply whether there is or there is not an adjective in front of the noun. I don't eat German cheese. • Can I borrow a red pencil, please? • There's an extremely large cat in the garden! • I don't like small, noisy children.

10. List of countable nouns • Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns: • dog, cat, animal, man, person • bottle, box, litre • coin, note, dollar • cup, plate, fork • table, chair, suitcase, bag • Countable nouns can be singular or plural: • My dog is playing. • My dogs are hungry. • We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns: • A dog is an animal. • When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it: • I want an orange. (not I want orange.) • Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)

11. Continued • When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone: • I like oranges. • Bottles can break. • We can use some and any with countable nouns: • I've got some dollars. • Have you got any pens? • We can use a few and many with countable nouns: • I've got a few dollars. • I haven't got many pens.

12. Uncountable nouns list • Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns: • music, art, love, happiness • advice, information, news • furniture, luggage • rice, sugar, butter, water • electricity, gas, power • money, currency

13. Continued • We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example: • This news is very important. • Your luggage looks heavy. • We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of: • a piece of news • a bottle of water • a grain of rice

14. Continued • We can use some and any with uncountable nouns: • I've got some money. • Have you got any rice? • We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns: • I've got a little money. • I haven't got much rice.

15. More words • CountableUncountable • Dollar Money • Song Music • Suitcase Luggage • Table Furniture • Battery Electricity • Bottle Wine • Report Information • Tip Advice • Journey Travel • Job Work • View Scenery

16. the same noun can be countable and uncountable Countable Uncountable I don’t have much hair Close the curtain there’s too much light. Is there room for me to sit. Have you time for coffee. There are two hairs in my coffee (hair) There are two lights in our bedroom(light) Our house has seven rooms (room) We had a great time at the party (time)

17. Tips • Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. But if we are thinking of a cup or a glass, we can say (in a restaurant, for example): • Two teas and one coffee please. • "People" is countable. "People" is the plural of "person". We can count people: There is one person here. • There are three people here.