How are the English articles "A, An, The" used? How to distinguish and use articles correctly? It can be seen that articles are one of the basic English grammar and quite easy to learn. However, that is also the reason why many users are subjective and uncertain about the information, leading to confusion. In the article below, EnglishTopVN will help you grasp the knowledge of types of articles and how to use them.
- Article is the word that comes before a noun and indicates whether the noun refers to a definite or unspecified object. We use 'The' when a noun refers to an object/thing that is clearly known to both the speaker and listener. On the contrary, when the speaker refers to a general or undetermined object, we use the Indefinite Articles A, An.
There are 2 main types of "Most Common" Articles in English:
– There are two indefinite article: “a" and "an”+ a (one): Stand first noun count singular numbers that begin with a consonant. For example: a book (a book), a pen (a pen).+ an (one): Standing in front noun count singular numbers that begin with a vowel or silent sound. In English there are 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u).
For example:
Note: There are letters written as vowels but read as consonants and vice versa. Therefore, you need to rely on the pronunciation of the letter at the beginning of the noun to choose "a" or "an "
Walletdyes: a university (“u” is pronounced /ju/)
Usage of the indefinite article
- Reading convention: The definite article “the” has 2 readings:
+ /Ბә/ when before a noun that begins with a consonant and the noun begins with a vowel but can be read with a consonant.
For example:
the person, the house,
the university, the Europeans….
+ /Ბi/ when standing in front noun starting with vowels (u, e, o, a, i) and noun begins with a silent sound.
For example:
the eye, the other.
the hour, the honor…
- Using: Use the definite article “the” when:
The girl standing over there is my sister.
The sun, the earth, the moon.
Just one object is used to symbolize the entire species.
The giraffe is a friendly animal.
Used in superlative comparative structures.
She is the best student in my class.
He likes playing the guitar.
The rich should help the poor.
Before noun The plural only refers to husband and wife or the whole family.
The Smiths are having holiday in Paris.
The Thames (Thames River), the Times (Times newspaper),..
Before nouns about ethnic groups and sects to indicate groups.
The Vietnamese (Vietnamese people), the Swiss (Swiss people), ..
- Cases where the article “the” is NOT used
Beforenounplural in general.
Beforenounabstract with a general meaning.
Before noun Meal only.
I often have dinner at 7:00 p.m.
Before sports, games and subjects.
English is my favorite subject.