Archive for the ‘ARTICLES’ Category

ARTICLES

Posted by misriyanto on August 9, 2009

ARTICLES

There are 3 kinds of article :

1. A
2. An
3. The

Article A / An is used with Singular Countable Noun

For Example :
a book , a pen, a chair, a ruler, a university
an apple, an orange, an umrella, an animal

Some other examples :

a beautiful girl, a crazy boy , a lazy student,

a university student, a difficult question, etc

an interesting story, an expensive car, an honest boy,

an attractive girl, an enjoyable place, etc

For lunch I had a sandwich and an apple. The sandwich was

not very good.

The speaker says ” a sandwich ” / ” an apple ” because

this is the first time he talks about them.

The speaker says “the sandwich” because the listener now

knows which sandwich he means – the sandwich he had for
lunch.

Some more examples :

1. There was a man talking to a woman out my

house. The man looked American, and the
woman was Indian.

2. When we were on vacation, we stayed at a hotel.

In the evenings, sometimes we had dinner at the
hotel and sometimes in a restaurant.

3. I saw a movie last night. The movie was about

a soldier and a beautiful woman. The soldier was in love with the woman, but the woman was in
love
with a teacher. So the soldier shot the teacher
and married the woman.
We use A / An when the listener doesn’t know which thing we
mean. We use THE when it is clear which thing we mean :

For Example :
1. Tom sat down on a chair. ( We don’t know which
chair )
2. Tom sat down on the chair nearest the door.
( We know which chair )

3. Ann is looking for a job. ( not a particular job )

4. Did Ann get the job she applied for ?
( a particular job )
5. Do you have a car ? ( not a particular car )
6. I cleaned the car yesterday. ( my car )

We use THE when it is clear in the situation which thing or

person we mean.

For Example :

1. Can you turn off the light, please? ( the light in

this room )
2. Where is the bathroom, please ? ( the bathroom
in this building / house )
3. I took a taxi to the station. ( the station of that
town )
4. I have to go to the bank to change the money.
5. I want to go to the airport.
6. I want to go to the post office.
7. I want to see the doctor. ( my doctor )

We use THE when there is only one of something :

For Example :

1. What is the longest river in the world?

2. We went to the most expensive restaurant in this
town.
3. The only TV program she watches is news.
4. Paris is the capital of France.
5. Everybody left at the end of meeting.
6. The earth goes around the sun.

The + ADJECTIVE
We use THE with some ADJECTIVES. The meaning is always
plural.

For Example :
the rich, the old, the blind, the sick, the disabled,
the injured, the poor, the young, the deaf, the dead,
the unemployed, the homeless, etc

The + nationality words

You can use THE with some nationality adjective when you
you mean The people of that country.
1. The French are famous for their food.
2. The English are known for being polite.

the English, the Spanish, the Dutch, the Swiss,

the Indonesian

We do not normally use THE with the names of meals:

1. What time is lunch?

2. We had dinner in a restaurant.
3. What did you have for breakfast?
4. Ann invited me for dinner.

But we say a meal :

We had a meal in a restaurant.

we also say A when there is an adjective before lunch, dinne,

breakfast, etc

Thank you. That was a very nice lunch.

Names of ocean, seas, rivers, canals have THE :

1. The Atlantic Ocean , 2. The Indian ocean
3. The Nile river , 4. The Mississippi river
5. The Suez Canal , 6. The Panama canal

Place names with of usually have THE :

1. The sea of Japan

2. The United States of America
3. The Gulf of Mexico
4. The University of Airlangga

We do not use THE with names of COUNTRIES,

but we say with THE with the names of REPUBLIC, UNION,
KINGDOM, STATES.

1. Indonesia
2. The republic of Indonesia
3. The United Kingdom
4. The Soviet Union
5. The United States of America