Grammar Level 1- Lesson Twelve
In this grammar lesson, you learn about Articles in English and how to use it in your English conversation and writing. Just follow examples and write them down a few times to learn them very well. After finishing this lesson, you should work on its quiz.
Grammar Recap
In our previous lesson, we covered the Have If you just landed on this page, we suggest that you complete our previous lesson including its quizzes before continuing on this lesson.
Requirement Lessons
There is no required lessons for working and learning this lesson.
Articles
A / An / The
Singular
a / an / the
Plural
the
Articles are used in front of nouns.
“A” or “an” are always singular.
“The” is singular or plural.
Some plural nouns don’t use an article.
When using articles, it’s important to also know the difference between count and noncount nouns.
I have glasses.
(plural )
Or….I have a pair of glasses
You have a hat.
(singular count noun)
But….the second time you describe the hat, you say:
The hat is blue.
He has some strawberries.
(plural count noun)
The strawberries are in his mouth (second mention).
She has a cake.
(singular count noun)
The cake tastes good!
or….
cakes taste good.
The cat has some water.
(Water is a non-count noun)
The water is in a bowl. The bowl is purple.
We have time to learn English.
(time and English are non-count nouns. Sometimes the is used; sometimes it isn’t.)
I + you = we
They have a good relationship.
(relationship is a singular count noun)
All three children have cakes.
The cakes taste good.
(cakes is a plural count noun)
There are a lot of rules for articles:
1. Don’t put an article in front of the name of a place.
Correct: Minneapolis is a great city.
Not correct: The Minneapolis is a great city.
But it is correct to use the name of a place as an adjective:
The Arizona skyline is beautiful at night.
The Boston River is painted green on St. Patrick’s Day.
2. Indefinite amounts or general qualities don’t take an article.
Pennies are made of copper.
The copper in this penny is turning brown. (This is a specific amount.)
Water is good for you.
The water in this glass tastes bad. (This is a specific amount.)
Honesty is the best policy.
3. Don’t use an article with possessive nouns or pronouns.
This is the Paul’s website.
4. The definite article can be used with singular or plural nouns:
The apples taste great. (plural)
The apple tastes great. (singular)
Apples taste great. (general category)
The water is clean. (non-count noun)
Oxygen is necessary for life.
Quiz for Articles
Now that you learned your new lesson, it is time to go to the Articles Quiz page and finish your quiz. While working on your quiz, you can always go back to its lesson to refresh your memory.
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Next Grammar Lesson
In our next lesson, we will cover the Prepositions Before moving to the next lesson, we suggest that you complete this lesson including its quizzes.
Related Grammar Lessons
None
Grammar Level 1 Outline
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