English articles. General revision

—   Hello, boys and girls! My name is Martin. This is James.

—   And my name is Nathaniel.

—   Welcome to our grammar lesson!

—   Yesterday Nathaniel visited his younger brother Daniel.

—   There were four of them: Nathaniel, Daniel, Daniel’s wife Paige and daughter Lexi. They had dinner together.

—   After the dinner Daniel and his wife decided to go for a walk and asked Nathaniel to look after Lexi.

—   Nathaniel and Lexi were playing different games the whole evening.

—   At 9 o’clock I went to Lexi’s room. I wanted to say good night to my lovely niece and go to bed, but the girl didn’t let me go. We started talking. Listen to our conversation and you’ll find out the topic of the lesson.

—   Oh, sweetie, you are in your bed! Wonderful! Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite!

—   Ha-ha. Uncle Nathaniel, I don’t have bedbugs in my bed.

—   I know, I know. I’m just kidding. See you in the morning, Lexi.

—   Uncle Nathaniel, please, don’t go!

—   But, Lexi, it’s time to sleep.

—   I know, but… Can you read me my favorite fairy tale, please?

—   Hmm… All right! What is the name of it?

—   Cinderella!

Nathaniel took the book and began reading it.

“Once upon a time the girl named Cinderella lived with her stepmother and two stepsisters. Poor Cinderella had to work hard all day long so the others could rest. It was she who had to wake up each morning when it was still dark and cold to start the fire. It was she who cooked a meals. It was she who kept a fire going. A poor girl could not stay clean, from all an ashes and cinders by a fire.”

—   Oh my God, Lexi, please, forgive me, but I can’t continue reading this story.

—   Why, uncle Nathaniel?

—   Lexi, there are lots of mistakes in this book!

—   Really?

—   Yes… The author of the book knows nothing about the articles in English. But don’t worry, I will explain this rule to you tomorrow.

—   Great! After that I will correct all the mistakes myself, okay?

—   Sure. Good night, Lexi.

—   Good night.

As you can understand, today in the lesson we will:

·        revise English articles in general;

And

·        put the knowledge into practice.

—   Good morning, uncle Nathaniel.

—   Good morning, Lexi. Let’s start our lesson. My friends will help me to explain the rule to you.

—   Cool! I can’t wait to hear that!

—   All right, Lexi! First of all, we will start with the definition of the term “article”.

Articles are the words that define a noun as specific or unspecific.

Compare the following two examples:

After the long day, the cup of coffee tasted particularly good.

(By using the article “the”, we have shown that it was one specific day that was long and one specific cup of coffee that tasted good).

After a long day, a cup of coffee tastes particularly good.

(By using the article “a”, we have created a general statement, implying that any cup of coffee would taste good after any long day).

—   Lexi, tell me, please, did you understand the meaning of the term “article”?

—   Yes, of course!

—   Great! Now let’s talk about the types of the articles.

There are two types of articles: definite and indefinite.

The definite article is the word the.

For example: the wardrobe, the ladder.

The indefinite article has two forms.

The first form is the word a. We use it when it precedes a word that begins with a consonant.

For example: a fence, a house.

The second form is the word an. We use it when it precedes a word that begins with a vowel.

For example: an oven, an actor.

—   Now we will look closely at the definite article “the”.

—   Will you tell me when we can use it? I just don’t really understand that!

—   Of course, my darling! James will tell you everything you need to know.

1. The definite article “the” is used before a noun to indicate that the identity of the noun is known to the reader.

For instance:

—   Daddy, are you going to the prom with me this Saturday?

—   Yes, Miranda! Of course.

(The definite article tells us that Miranda is referring to a specific prom that she and her dad know about).

2. We use the article “the” when a particular noun has already been mentioned previously.

For instance:

I ate a hamburger yesterday. The hamburger was really delicious.

3. We can use “the” when an adjective, phrase, or clause describing the noun clarifies or restricts its identity.

For instance:

Veronica, the advice you gave me about Jason was very useful.

4. The definite article “the” is used when the noun refers to something or someone that is unique.

For instance:

The sun is very bright today.
Who is the president of Germany?

The article “the” can be used with singular, plural, or uncountable nouns. 

The definite article came from the demonstrative pronoun “that” and can be pronounced in two different ways:

[ðə] – if it comes before a consonant sound.

For example:

The [ðə] building is really gorgeous.

And

[ði:] – if it comes before a vowel sound.

For example:

The [ði:] elephant was really huge.

—   Now you know when we can use the definite article “the”.

—   Uncle Nathaniel, can you tell me when we can use the indefinite article?

—   Of course, Lexi.

1. We can use the indefinite article “a” or “an” only with singular countable nouns.

For instance:

Yesterday Mike bought an envelope in the post office.

2. We use “a” or “an” to introduce a person or thing for the first time. This shows that the listener or reader doesn't know what we are referring to.

For instance:

The old lady was carrying a purse in her hand.

3. The indefinite article “a” or “an” can be used when it means “one” and refers to a single object or person, or a single unit of measure. In such sentences we can use "one" instead of the indefinite article. It’s grammatically correct, but if you use the indefinite article, it will add emphasis to the number, and contrast with other numbers.

For instance:

Megan, I would like an apple and three bananas, please!

We can also say:

Megan, I would like one apple and three bananas, please!

4. We need to use “a” or “an” if we talk about a person or a thing which we don’t want to be specific about.

For instance:

My mum went to a shop to buy a magazine.

5. We also need to use the indefinite article if we talk about a person or a thing which we can’t be more specific about, because we don’t have enough information.

For instance:

A woman called you two hours ago.

Pay attention! There is also a zero article in English. The term “zero article” refers to noun phrases that have no articles.

We don’t use an article with general nouns.

For instance:

Flowers are beautiful in the summer.

(In this sentence we want to say that all flowers are beautiful in the summer).

—   Uncle Nathaniel, I understood everything! Can I correct the mistakes in my book now?

—   Well… I think you deserve a chance to do that. But let’s correct only two pages today, because your parents will get down soon and we will have breakfast together.

—   Sure. Hooray! Believe me, uncle Nathaniel, I won’t let you down.

—   Ha-ha. I believe you. But first let’s give our friends a chance to correct the mistakes on the first page.

—   Okay!

—   All right, Lexi. You can start reading.

—   Great! Thank you.

 “Once upon a time a girl named Cinderella lived with her stepmother and two stepsisters. Poor Cinderella had to work hard all day long so the others could rest. It was she who had to wake up each morning when it was still dark and cold to start the fire. It was she who cooked the meals. It was she who kept the fire going. The poor girl could not stay clean, from all the ashes and cinders by the fire.”

—   Now correct the mistakes on the second page.

—   Let’s check. Lexi will read it for you.

 “One day, big news came to their town. The King and Queen were going to have a ball! It was time for the Prince to find a bride. All of the young ladies in the land were invited to come. They were wild with joy! They would wear their most beautiful gowns and fix their hair extra nice. Maybe the prince would like them!”

—   Lexi, you are so smart!

—   Thank you, uncle Nathaniel! And I also want to thank you, Mr. Green and Mr. Wilson.

—   You’re welcome, Lexi.

—   That’s all for today.

—   We hope the lesson was interesting for you.

—   See you soon.