by Sentenceworks
Articles
The articles in English are “the” (definite article), and “a” and “an” (indefinite articles). They are very small words which cause very large problems if used incorrectly.The Articles
Definite article (the)
The definite article refers to a noun, either in the singular or plural. It can be used with uncountable nouns. “The” refers to a specific thing or quantity.
Correct: Please give me the hammer.
Correct: Please give me the nail.
Correct: Please give me a hammer and a nail.
We use “a” before nouns or adjectives which begin with a consonant, or when U sounds like a Y, or O sounds like a W.
We use “an” before words which begin with a vowel sound or a soft “h” sound.
Correct: I would like a dragon, a unicorn and a one-eyed pirate, please.
Incorrect: I would like an egg, and an hour-glass, please.Incorrect: For my birthday, I received an coat, an hat, a antique necklace and (my favourite), an young puppy.
The following changes should be made: a coat, a hat, anantique necklace, a young puppy.
The Used With All
In English; background: “the” should not come before the word, “all”. They may be used separately, or combined into “all the”.
Incorrect: At the all birthday parties, food and drinks are served to the guests.
This could be written as: at birthday parties…, at all birthday parties…, or at all the birthday parties….
Incorrect: My father asked me to take the all books off the dining room table.
This sentence would be better written: My father asked me to take all the books off the dining room table.
Unnecessary Definite Article
If the noun is general, an indefinite article – or possibly no article - may be used. Verbs do not require articles.
Incorrect: Use the small lamp when the reading books.
The first “the” is correct because it is required to specify which lamp should be used. The second “the”, before the verb, is unnecessary and should be removed.
Correct: Use the small lamp when reading books.
Incorrect: A child is riding a bicycle; the child is wearing the helmet.
The first “the” is correct because “child” has already been mentioned; we know the writer is talking specifically about the child who is riding a bicycle. The second “the” should be replaced by an indefinite article (“a”) because we don’t know which helmet the child is wearing.
N.B. Sometimes the article will change the meaning of the sentence. For instance, if I wrote “I need to buy a new pen for the school”, it might imply that I have broken one of the school’s pens and need to replace it. However, if I am buying it for myself to use in school, “the” should be removed from the sentence.
Most/Some/All Of + Plural Noun Without The
The phrases, “most of”, “some of”, and “all of” require the use of the article “the” before the plural noun which they modify.
Incorrect: I want to clean all of rooms in the house before the guests arrive.
The phrase, “all of”, should be followed by the article, “the”. The phrase should be written as, “all of the rooms”.
Incorrect: Most of people are careful of their health in the winter.
The first part of the sentence should be written as, “most of the people”.
Article Misuse With Pronouns
A pronoun is used to modify a noun; an article is also used to modify a noun. If both are used to modify the same noun, the reader will become confused. Pronouns are words like he, I, we, our, it, her and their.
Correct: Why are you reading the my book?
"The" and "my" should not be used together. The sentence can read as either "Why are you reading the book?" or "Why are you reading my book?"
Incorrect: Getting on the train, she gave her ticket to a him.
Because “him” does not modify a noun, “him” should be replaced with a noun: Getting on the train, she gave her ticket to a ticket man. With this wording, the article, “a”, has a noun to modify.
Indefinite Article With Uncountable Noun
Uncountable nouns are nouns which are difficult or impossible to count. Uncountable nouns include untouchable things (information, air), things like liquids (milk, wine), and things which are too large or numerous to count (equipment, sand, wood). Because these things can’t be counted, singular articles like “a” or “an” should not be used to modify them. Uncountable nouns can be modified by words like “some” . Alternately, the uncountable noun can be changed to a countable noun.
Incorrect: Please give me a water.
“Water” is an uncountable noun, and should not be used with the indefinite article, “a”. The sentence could be changed to, “Please give me a glass of water”, or “Please give me some water”.
Incorrect: Please give me an ice.
“Ice” is an uncountable noun, so it should not be used with “an”. The sentence could be changed to, “Please give me a little bit of ice”, or “Please give me an ice cube”.
N.B.Depending on the context, some nouns can be countable or uncountable (e.g. hair, noise, time)
Correct: We need some light in this room.
Correct: We need a light in this room.
Indefinite Article With A Plural Noun
The indefinite articles; background: a and an, are used to modify singular nouns. When using a plural noun, these two articles are unnecessary.
Incorrect: I have a books in my locker.
“A” should not modify “books”. “A” can be removed, or “books” can be made singular: book.
Incorrect: When he is in public, he does an embarrassing things.
“An” is not required in this sentence; it should be removed.
N.B.
Incorrect: When selecting courses, there are a many options to choose from.
“A” is not necessary in this sentence, and should be removed. However, should you want to refer to the specific quantity of options, the sentence can be rephrased to use the definite article “the”:
Correct: You may select courses from the many options.
Unnecessary article
Articles are generally used to refer to specific plural or singular nouns. Plural countable nouns and mass nouns (words which are used as general terms – e.g. animals, people, sadness) do not always require an article. There are no rules to clearly identify when to use an article and when not to; the meaning of the word demonstrates the need for an article.
Correct: Cows like to bask in the sun.
Correct: The cows in the field like to bask in the sun.Incorrect: All over the world, humans are searching for the happiness.
The article before happiness is not required because happiness is used as a mass noun.
Correct: All over the world, humans are searching for the happiness they believe they deserve.
Because happiness in this sentence is a specific kind of happiness – the kind they believe they deserve – the article is required before happiness.
Incorrect: Farmers would do well to arrange for extra the stores of cattle food this winter.
Because extra is already modifying the mass noun stores, the article is not required before stores.