2008-09-14

Grammar--Article (with references)

Here I choose article as my topic not because it is easy, actually, it is not easy not all! Though the rules of using article seem to be very simple, it is not easy to use them correctly, especially for the non-native speakers.

The basic rules of using article
1. Indefine articles : a, an
A
and an are used when we first introduce something or somebody. They refers to those that has not been specifically mentioned.
Eg. There is a book on the table.
The difference between a and an is that an is used before a noun that begins with a vowel sound. It can be tricky because sometime we may not notice it when we see words like “hour”, “eight” (which happened in the latest text editing exercise). So be cautious!

2. Define articles: the
The is used when we know the listener know what we are referring to.
Eg. Could you please pass the book to me?
Again, it is easy to say but hard to do.

3. No articles
No articles are used when we talk about things in general.
Eg. People here like football.
We do not use aricles before name of counties, unless we indicate multiple areas
the Netherlands, the Philippines, the British Isles
or contains the words states, kingdom, republic, union.

4. Confusion??? Frustration!!!
There are irregular use of articles that always confused me.

Do we need articles before uncountable nouns? It depends!
We need someone with __a __ good knowledge of Chinese.
They have __a__ deep distrust of the authorities.
The school gave me __a__ good education.
She has _a__ good understanding of the subject.
He has __a_ great love of his job.
It's __0__hard work.
She speaks __0__ good Italian.

Do we need articles before geographical names? It depends!
With the :
Mountain ranges or groups,
Groups of islands,
Deserts
Seas
Oceans
River
No article:
Mountains,
Continents
Towns
Cities
Villages
Parks
Zoos
Streets
Lakes
Churches
Cathedrals
Airport
Underground or subway stations
Bus stations

Others
events like The green revolution
Society: usually, there is no article before society. But when we mention a particular society, we use the.
The society of historical archeology

At Last
Usually we determine which article to use only by “sound right”. So practice more!

References:
http://www.usingenglish.com/handouts/
This is a very useful website, with explainations and examples of all kinds of gramma topics.

2 comments:

raymondloh87 said...

Hi sisi, you have brought up an excellent grammar structure that may seem simple. Although it is only a one,two or three letters inclusion of words between sentences and may seem insignificant, the meaning of the sentences will sound awkward in its absence and the essay will be penalised as well.

jasonlizitai said...

hi sisi actually article is one big problem to me. your analysis is quite useful to me. especially, the situation of non aricle one, i catch a lot of important information from your examples~