English nouns (words for a person, place, thing, or quality) have to be identified in some way. You use articles (a, an, the) in front of nouns to signal to the reader what you are referring to: a single entity, multiple or generic entities, or a specific entity. When used correctly, articles can add clarity to your writing.
Main problems of use
The main problems with English articles relate to the following:
when to use them and when to leave them out
which articles to use - indefinite articles (a or an) or the definite article (the) or no article (Ø)
the use of articles with countable nouns (nouns with plural forms; e.g. girl-girls, city-cities), uncountable nouns (nouns that do not have a plural form, e.g. news, work, information, equipment, knowledge, and proper nouns (name of a person, place, or thing, e.g. Auckland University)
If you do not yet make these decisions automatically, you need to think about:
e.g. ^Government is considering ^new law to restrict car ownership.
Article used when not needed:
e.g. The cats make the good pets.
e.g The car ownership is increasing in New Zealand.
Wrong article:
e.g. XA/An understanding of logistics is valuable.
She is paid at X a /an hourly rate.
e.g. X A /The government is considering X a/the new law to restrict car ownership.
e.g. Doing charity work gives people a / Xthe sense of achievement.
How to learn articles?
Articles precede nouns. Therefore, it is useful to begin by asking what kind of noun it is:
Is the noun countable (has plural forms), uncountable, or a proper noun?
Is the context in which the noun is used, specific (pointing to 'this/that one exactly), general (a general idea applying to all and everywhere), a single or plural entity?
View the flow-chart below summarising these guidelines.
For each sentence in the first box, decide which article should go in front of the noun(s) in bold italics. Click on the correct boxes on your way to find the correct article.
Even if you know the answer, complete the decision tree to check it.
The Origin of @
Modified from: Bailey, S. (2003). Academic Writing: A Practical Guide for Students. London: RoutledgeFalmer. (p. 92).
You can click this link to open the decision tree in new window to practice, if it is not showing in this tab.
I was born on 1 April 1940, the third of six children. in the small village of Ihithe in the central mountains of Kenya. To the north, the great Mount Kenya cut into the skyline. My parents were poor farmers and members of the Kikuyu tribe.
The definite article 'the' is always used with:
superlatives (the best, the most famous)
time (the 18th century)
unique references (the government, the moon, the planet)
regions and rivers (the south, the Waikato River)
very well-known people or group of people (the Nobel Prize winner; the Prime Minister, the Dean of the Arts Faculty)
institutions (the United Nations)
positions (the middle, the first)
Not used with:
names of countries or institutions, except the USA, the UK, the University of Auckland and a few others
companies named after people or places (Auckland University, Bond and Bond, Harvey Norman, Smith & Caughey.)
NOTE: No article (X) is needed if
the noun is already identified by a unique name (e.g. Auckland University, Auckland Domain)
the noun is an uncountable noun referring to a concept, entity, or quality (e.g. education, kindness, gold)
the noun is plural, referring to a generic category or class in general statements (e.g.X Computers are X useful machines.)
Before doing the final practice exercises, review the general rules by asking the following questions about each noun. Go back and look at Frame 4 if you need to.
Before doing the final practice exercises, review the general rules by asking the following questions about each noun. Go back and look at Frame 4 if you need to.
Why study articles?
