Articles A - An - The - No article + Test

Articles A - An - The - no article

A, An, The, or no article?

Let's start by knowing the meaning and difference between definite and indefinite:

Indefinite : means unknown, vague or not clear, undetermined, unspecified or non-specific → (a, an)

Definite : means specific, certain, clear, clearly stated, known → (the)

Before we dig deeper, let's see below examples:

- My daughter needs a present for her birthday. (Any present, not a specific one)

- I want an apple. (It doesn't matter, just any apple)

- Which apple do you like? I want the red one. (Here we talk about a specific exact apple - the red one)

- He wants a red apple. (Even we said "red apple", but using "a" means "any red apple" - not a specific one.

💡 an apple but a red apple. ("a" comes before Vowel Sounds. "An" comes before Consonant Sounds.

Summary of the rule:

"A, An, The" are articles (aka. modifiers) that come before nouns - or Adjectival phrase (eg; a very fast car, an enormous outcome, the hideous monster)

💡 Adjectival phrase is (adjective + noun)
💡 aka (an abbreviation) means Also Known As.

How to use articles "A and An"?

    * Are Indefinite articles. They tell us that the noun is unspecific or general (not a particular thing,             any thing) or a one of many things.
    * Speaker does NOT define ( a girl = any girl = not a specific girl. )
    * We use (A) when the noun or (adjectival noun) starts with a consonant sound
    * We use (An) when the noun or (adjectival noun) starts with a vowel sound
    *They come before Singular Countable nouns NOT Plurals. (An advice . Advice is Uncountable)
    * Are NOT USED before Countries, Cities, Names

How to use article "The"?

    * Is a definite article.
    * It tells us that the noun is specific. The speaker talks about a particular (or known) thing.
    * Comes before all nous whether starting with a consonant or a vowel.
    * Comes before both Singular and Plural nouns.
    * Is NOT USED before Countries, Cities, Names, Uncountable Nouns, 
    *  NOT USED with general things. (I like pizza) - Means, I like Pizza in general.(I like the pizza) ,
       - I study English. (I study the English)

More examples ✅

• a broken egg.
• an unusual solution.
• a European country. ("European" starts with "Y" sound which is a consonant.)
• I'm a teacher.
• Where is the English teacher?
• - Let's go to a nice place
  - Which place?
  - Well, let's go to the café on the corner.
• I need to take a hot shower
• I love football. (No article as football is a general word)
• He's such an educated person
• - I'm looking for a good group to practice English 
  - The English Club is the best group where you can practice freely. 😉

When NOT to use an article: The no-article Rule:

1- General Things:

• With Countable words:

"I love cats. 🠊 I love all cats, not a specific one.

"Women love to hear nice words from men." Generally all women love to hear generally sweet words from men in general.

"Books have hidden treasures." 🠊 Books in general have hidden treasures, not a specific hidden treasure though, but generally speaking.

• With Uncountable Words:

"Have you eaten lunch yet?" 🠊 Lunch generally means the lunch meal not a specific meal.

"I love chocolate." Try to say " 🠊 I love the chocolate" and it will sound weird.

 2- Names:

"Egypt is a country in North Africa." 🠊 Country Names. Except Country names with "Republic, Federation, United, or plural country names".

"I met my friend in Washington last week." 🠊 Cities names.

"Egyptians speak Arabic while the French speak French." 🠊 Nationalities. Except for nationalities names which are the same as their language name. (The English speak English).

"I bought my mom a nice necklace in Mother's Day." 🠊 Holiday Names.

"I am visiting Europe next month." 🠊 Continents names.

"Have you been to Lake Como in Italy?" 🠊 Lakes, mountains names.

"Twitter, Facebook, and Telegram are my favorites." 🠊 Companies names.

"I wish I could have joined Harvard or Oxford." 🠊 Universities/School names. Except names which has "of", "The London School of Economics."

"I am learning Russian for my next journey. But I love English more." 🠊 Languages names.

"I had to leave work and go back home early as I felt sick. I went to bed right away." 🠊  Names of places, locations.

"I used to love math in high school, but now I love science more." Names of subjects of study. Except when grouped as a category "The humanities."

"I love football to tennis.? 🠊 Names of Sports. Except sports events "The Olympics"

"I lived in room 319 in Hilton." 🠊 Names + numbers.

"Some people do not trust NATO at all. While others do love UNESCO more". Acronyms/Abbreviations pronounced as ONE WORD. If each letter is pronounced separately, then you can use the (The US department of state. The UN.).

"I got my MBA last year. And my brother got his Ph.D." University acronyms even read letter by letter.

"Someone returned my boom which I lost last week." 🠊 Pronouns and quantifiers (some, most, ..) do not take articles as they are already defined.

"Love is undeniable." 🠊 General abstract words. If the same word refers to a specific thing, we can use an article "A mother's love is sacred.

Now we have finished the lesson (We are talking specifically about this lesson). Below you will find a test (or below you can find The Test). Go and check your knowledge. The test also has additional information. Enjoy ✋

Here you can see a full course on phonetics (Consonants and Vowels | Adrian Underhill)