a,an, and the

Articles

There are only three articles in English: a, an and the.

There are two types of articles indefinite a and an or definite the.

Their proper use is complex especially when you get into the advanced use of English. Quite often you have to work by what sounds right, which can be frustrating for a learner.

We usually use no article to talk about things in general - the doesn't mean all.

For example:

"Books are expensive." = (All books are expensive.) "The books are expensive." = (Not all books are expensive, just the ones I'm talking about.)

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Indefinite articles - a and an (determiners)

A and an are the indefinite articles. They refer to something not specifically known to the person you are communicating with.

A and an are used before nouns that introduce something or someone you have not mentioned before:-

For example:

"I saw an elephant this morning." "I ate a banana for lunch."

A and an are also used when talking about your profession

For example:

"I am an English teacher." "I am a builder."

Note!

You use a when the noun you are referring to begins with a consonant (b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y or z), for example, "a city" and "a factory" You use an when the noun you are referring to begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) Pronunciation changes this rule. If the next word begins with a consonant sound when we say it, for example, "university" then we use a. If the next word begins with a vowel sound when we say it, for example "hour" then we use an. We say "university" with a "y" sound at the beginning as though it were spelt "youniversity". So, "a university" IS correct. We say "hour" with a silent h as though it were spelt "our". So, "an hour" IS correct.

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Definite Article - the (determiners)

You use the when you know that the listener knows or can work out what particular person/thing you are talking about.

For example:

"The apple you ate was rotten." "Did you lock the car?"

You should also use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.

For example:

"She's got two children; a girl and a boy. The girl's eight and the boy's fourteen."

We use the to talk about geographical points on the globe.

For example:

the North Pole, the equator

We use the to talk about rivers, oceans and seas

For example:

the Nile, the Pacific, the English channel

We also use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing.

For example:

the rain, the sun, the wind, the world, the earth, the White House etc..

However if you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an.

For example:

"I could hear the wind." / "There's a cold wind blowing." "What are your plans for the future?" / "She has a promising future ahead of her."

The is also used to say that a particular person or thing being mentioned is the best, most famous, etc. In this use, 'the' is usually given strong pronunciation:

For example:

"Harry's Bar is the place to go." "You don't mean you met the Tony Blair, do you?"

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No article

You do not use an article before nouns when talking in general terms.

For example:

Inflation is rising. People are worried about rising crime. (Note! People generally, so no article)

You do not use an article when talking about sports.

For example:

My son plays football. Tennis is expensive.

You do not use an article before uncountable nouns when talking about them generally.

For example:

Information is important to any organisation. Coffee is bad for you.

You do not use an article before the names of countries except where they contain the words (state(s), kindom, republic, union). Kingdom, state, republic and union are nouns, so they needs an article.

For example:

No article - Italy, Mexico, Bolivia Use the - the UK, the USA, the Irish Republic Note! the Netherlands

Bahasa Inggris Bisnis 2 (Subject-Verb Agreement) – Tugas 3

Exercise 10: Subject-Verb Agreement

1. John, along with twenty friends, are planning a party.
2. The picture of the soldiers bring back many memories.
3. The quality of these recordings are not very good.
4. If the duties of these officers aren’t reduced, there will not be enough time to finish the project.
5. The effects of cigrette smoking have been proven to be extremely harmful.
6. The use of credit cards in place of cash have increased rapidly in recent years.
7. Advertisements on television are becoming more competitive than ever before.
8. Living expenses in this country, as well as in many others, is at an all-time high.
9. Mr. Jones, accompanied by several members of the committee, has proposed some changes of the rules.
10. The levels of intoxication vary from subject to subject.

Exercise 11: Subject-Verb Agreement

1. Neither Bill nor Mary are going to the play tonight.
2. Anything are better than going to another movie tonight.
3. Skating is becoming more popular every day.
4. A number of reporters were at the conference yesterday.
5. Everybody who has a fever must go home immediately.
6. Your glasses were on the bureau last night.
7. There were some people at the meeting last night.
8. The committee has already reached a decision.
9. A pair of jeans were in the washing mechine this morning.
10. Each student have answered the first three questions.
11. Either John or his wife makes breakfast each morning.
12. After she had perused the material, the secretary decided that every-thing were in order.
13. The crowd at the basketball game was wild with excitement.
14. A pack of wild dogs has frightened all the ducks away.
15. The jury is trying to reach a decision.
16. The army has eliminated this section of the training test.
17. The number of students who have withdrawn from class this quarter are appalling.
18. There have been too many interruptions in this class.
19. Every elementary school teacher has to take this examination.
20. Neither Jill nor her parents have seen this movie before.

Bahasa Inggris Bisnis 2 (Articles) – Tugas 2

Exercise 4: Articles

1. Jason’s father bought him a bicycle that he had wanted for his birthday.
2. Statue of Liberty was a gift of friendship from France to United States.
3. Rita is studying English and math this semester.
4. A Judge asked the witness to tell the truth.
5. Please give me a cup of coffe with cream and sugar.
6. A Give books on the table for my history class.
7. No one in the Spanish class knew correct the answer to Mrs. Perez’s question.
8. My car is four years old and it still runs well.
9. When you go to the store, please buy a bottle of chocholate milk and a dozen oranges.
10. There are only a few seats left for tonight’s musical at the university.
11. John and Marcy went to school yesterday and then studied in the library before returning home.
12. Lake Erie is one of the five Great Lakes in North America.
13. On our trip to Spain, we crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
14. Mount Rushmore is the site of the magnificent tribute to the four great American presidents.
15. What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
16. Louie played basketball and baseball at the Boys’ Club this year.
17. Rita plays a violin and her sister plays a guitar.
18. While we were in Alaska, we saw the Eskimo village.
19. Phil can’t go to the movies tonight because he has to write an essay.
20. David attended Princenton University.
21. Harry has been admitted to the School of Medicine at midwestern university.
22. Mel’s grandmother is in hospital, so we went to visit her last night.
23. The Political science class is taking trip to Soviet Union in the spring.
24. Queen Elizabeth II is a monarch of the Great Britain.
25. The Declaration of Independence was drawn up in 1776.
26. Scientists hope to send an expendition to Mars during 1980s.
27. Last night there was bird singing outside my house.
28. The chair that you are sitting in is broken.
29. The Civil War was fought in United States between 1861 and 1865.
30. Florida State University is smaller than University of Florida.