Week 10

Articles: a, an, the

Lely T. Wijayanti
Bahasa Inggris
Universitas Jenderal Soedirman

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Articles

Articles are words that identify a noun as being specific or unspecific.

English has two articles: the and a/an. The is used to refer to specific or
particular nouns; a/an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular
nouns. We call the the definite article and a/an the indefinite article.

Examples:
- I ride a bicycle every day
- She needs an umbrella
- Where did you buy the book?

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Compare the following sentences

Have you been to an ice rink? The speaker is not asking about any one specific
ice rink but is asking whether they have been to
any ice rink (an doesn’t refer to a specific ice
rink)
Have you been to the ice rink? The speaker and listener know the ice rink which
is being referred to (e.g. the one in their
town/the local one). The makes the noun ice
rink specific.

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Indefinite article: a and an

A/an is only used with singular, countable nouns. It refers to one example of many
possibilities and does not identify an exact person or thing.

Examples:
• My sister really wants a book for her birthday.
(This refers to any book. We don't know which book because we haven't found the book yet)
• Somebody call a policeman!
(This refers to any policeman. We don't need a specific policeman)
• I had an excellent dinner last night.
(This refers to any food I had for my dinner because the specific type of food is unknown)

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When to use a or an?

We use a when the word that follows it begins with a consonant sound.

Examples:
• She has a university degree.
• I watched a good film yesterday
• Do you want a drink?

We use an when the word that follows it begins with a vowel sound.

Examples:
• He eats an apple every morning
• Her mom is an architect
• I like to add an egg to my noodle
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Exceptions
Some words that begin with a vowel letter in writing have a consonant
sound.

a university a user a unicorn a union

a one-legged animal

Some words that begin with a consonant letter in writing have a vowel
sound.

An hour an MP3 player an honourable guest an honest guy

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Definite article: the
The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or
particular. The signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular member of a group.

Examples:
• The dog that bit me ran away.
(Here, we're talking about a specific dog, the dog that bit me.)
• I was happy to see the policeman who saved my cat!
(Here, we're talking about a particular policeman. Even if we don't know the policeman's name, it's still a
particular policeman because it is the one who saved the cat.)
• I saw the elephant at the zoo.
(Here, we're talking about a specific noun. Probably there is only one elephant at the zoo.)

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General nouns: the
We only use the with general plural nouns when we are referring to a specific set within a
general class of people or things.

Books are so important in my life. I mean all books in general.

I mean specific books (that you and I

The books were all over the floor.
know).

Note:
We can make general nouns specific by using an article and adding more information after the noun.

Life is wonderful.(life in general) The life of a soldier is full of

danger. (specifically the life of soldiers,
not life in general)
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Inventions, musical instruments and
cultural institutions: the

When we talk in general about inventions, musical instruments or cultural institutions

(such as the cinema, the theatre, the circus, the opera, the ballet), we often use the.

Examples:
The computer must be the greatest invention ever. (The computer as an invention in general, not a specific
computer)
The violin sounds different to the viola.
I love a night at the opera.

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Things that are universally known: the

We use the with things known to everyone (the sun, the stars, the moon, the earth, the
planet) because they are a part of our physical environment or part of the natural world

Examples:
The earth moves around the sun.
We lay on the grass and watched the stars.

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Everyday things: the

We use the with things that we know as part of our daily lives. Thedoes not refer to
particular things in this context.

Examples:
I don’t buy the newspaper these days. It’s free on the Internet.(newspapers in general)
They always take the train. (trains in general).

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Places: the

We use the with mountain ranges and some mountains

Examples:
(the Alps, the Eiger), groups of islands (the West Indies), rivers (the Danube), deserts (the Gobi
Desert), seas (the Black Sea), geographical regions or habitats (the Amazon rainforest), motorways
(the M42), the names of some countries (the People’s Republic of China).

Exeptions:
English doesn’t usually use articles with individual mountains or lakes when the name
includes Mount or Lake

Mount Fuji, Lake Victoria. We don’t use articles with continents (Asia), countries (Romania), towns
(Edinburgh), and streets (Lombard Street).

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 Do not use ‘the’ before.. Do use the before…
More on names of most countries/territories: Italy, Mexico, names of rivers, oceans and

the
Bolivia; seas: the Nile, the Pacific
Except: the Netherlands, the Dominican
Republic, the Philippines, the United States, the United
Geograp Kingdom

hical
names of cities, towns, or states: Seoul, Manitoba, points on the
Miami globe: the Equator, the North Pole

Use of
names of streets: Washington Blvd., Main St geographical areas: the Middle
East, the West

‘the’ names of lakes and bays: Lake Titicaca, Lake Erie except
with a group of lakes like the Great Lakes
deserts, forests, gulfs, and
peninsulas: the Sahara, the Persian
Gulf, the Black Forest, the Iberian
Peninsula
names of mountains: Mount Everest, Mount Fuji except
with ranges of mountains
like the Andes or the Rockies or unusual names
like the Matterhorn
names of continents (Asia, Europe)

names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key West) except

with island chains like theAleutians, the Hebrides,
or the Canary Islands 13
Groups within the society: the

When we talk about particular groups or people within society, we use the + adjective

Examples:
I think the rich should pay more tax and that the poor shouldn’t pay any.
The young need to be encouraged and supported in society.

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Dates: the

When we say a specific date, we use the, but when we write it, we don’t use the

Examples:
Speaking: ‘I’ll see you on the twenty fourth of May.’
Writing: I’ll see you on 24th May.

When we talk about months, we don’t use the

Examples:
My birthday is in September.
May is my favourite month of all.

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Seasons: the

When we talk about seasons in general, we can use either in or in the. Inwithout the is
often used in more formal or literary contexts
Examples:
These birds arrive in Britain in summer, and leave as the winter begins.
In the summer, we usually go to the mountains.
We rarely get snow in the winter.

When we talk about a specific season, we use the

Examples:
The winter of 1947 was one of the coldest in Britain.
We’ll definitely visit you in the summer. (meaning next summer).

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Internet, radio, & newspaper: the

I looked it up on the Internet.

Not: on internet
She was on the radio once.
Not: on radio
Did you see that story about parrots in the newspaper?
Not: in newspaper
There’s usually nothing on TV. (TV means television)
There’s usually nothing on the television. (less common)

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Go to, be at, be in hospital, school, prison
: the

When we talk about the activity that happens in a building rather than about the building
itself, we don’t use the.

Without ‘the’ With ‘the’

She didn’t want to be in hospital but she She didn’t want to be in the
was too ill to go home. (in hospitalmeans hospital … (in the hospitalmeans being in
being there as a patient) the building)
When I was at school, we didn’t have When I was at the school …(at the
computers. (at school means being there school means being in the building)
as a student)

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Typical Errors: a, an, & the

• When we talk about the activity that happens in a building rather than about the building
itself, we don’t use the.
We have to protect wild animals. (referring to wild animals in general)
Not: the wild animals.
• We don’t use the when we refer in general to something abstract or uncountable:
I love Japanese food. (all Japanese food/Japanese food in general)
Not: I love the Japanese food.
• We don’t use the when the noun is not known to the listener or reader:
Last Sunday, we saw a film called ‘Nightmare’. (The speaker doesn’t think that the listener knows
of this film.)
Not: … we saw the film called ‘Nightmare’.
• We don’t use the instead of a possessive pronoun:
The police asked us to put our hands up.
Not: The police asked us to put the hands up.
• We don’t use an article with go to bed:
I go to bed at eleven most nights.
Not: I go to the bed at eleven most nights.

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Exercise

Make a group of 3 students. Find an text from

magazines/news/encyclopedia which has a Public Health theme. Underline
each article (a, an, & the). Try to identify each type of article discussed in
the previous slides and give a short explanation why each article is
required.

Submit the exercise in a pdf format before 9 May 2023 at 11.59 PM. If you
have any questions, please post it on the forum. Thank you.

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Daftar Pustaka

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/using_articles.html

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/a-an-and-the

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/a1-a2-grammar/articles-a-an-the

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THANK +6282264757477

YOU lely.tri@unsoed.ac.id

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