Learn How To Use Those Pesky English Articles In 10 Minutes

Learn How To Use Those Pesky English Articles In 10 Minutes In todays class, we are going to look at something that a lot of students forget about when learning English. They are those pesky little words that go before nouns, a part of grammar called  articles.First, lets look at the articles a and an. These articles are known as  indefinite articles, which means that they are  non-specific, and we use them when you are talking about something in general. A and an are always used before singular, countable nouns. Use a before nouns that begin with a consonant or a consonant sound, and an before nouns that begin with a vowel or a vowel sound.Examples:He is a teacher.  teacher  is a singular, countable noun that begins with a consonant. Use a.He is an actor.  actor  is a singular, countable noun that begins with a vowel. Use an.He has a euro. euro  begins with a vowel, but it has a consonant sound (ow-er). Use a.I have an hour for my lunch break. hour  begins with a consonant, but it has a vowel sound (ow-ur). Use an.Can you think of any oth er sentences that use a or an? Wed love to hear from you, so please write your ideas in the comment section below.Now that you have mastered the use of a and an, lets move onto the last article in todays post, the. With a and an, we are talking about something that is new, unknown or introduced to the reader/listener for the first time. When we use the, we are talking about something that has already been introduced to the reader/listener, also known as a definite article. Look at the sentences below to help you:I have a dog. The dog is black.There is a book in my bag. The book is very heavy.That was easy right!? Sometimes articles  can be a little more difficult, especially when a  clause or phrase in the sentence tells the reader/listener which person or thing we are talking about.Example: Can you give me the pen on the bed.This may seems incorrect, as the pen hasnt been introduced yet, however the phrase  on the bed  tells the listener/reader exactly which pen we are talking abou t. That means that the listener/reader knows the specific (definite article) we are talking about, so we use  the.We hope you enjoyed todays blog post. If you think you are now fluent in the use of articles in English, go ahead and try this challenging quiz. As always, leave any comments you have in the section below and sign up here today for a trial class with LOI English.