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I saw a man and a woman today. The man was very short, and the woman was very tall. The man was carrying a newspaper. I don’t usually read the newspaper. The news is generally bad anyway, so why bother.   We spent some time this week talking about nouns and the indefinite articles a and an. Click here if you need to review. Today, let’s talk about the definite article, the. There are three basic rules for using the. Talking about specific or particular things When a noun represents a specific or particular thing, use the. Compare the following sentences: 1. I ate a banana. (It’s not a specific banana, just one of many) 2. I ate the banana I bought yesterday. (It’s a specific banana – the banana I bought yesterday) 1. We had a meeting this morning.  (It’s not a particular meeting, just one of many) 2. We had the budget meeting this morning (It’s a particular meeting – the budget meeting) 1. Jenny gave me a nice pen. (There are many pens, Jenny gave me one) 2. Thanks for the nice pen you gave me. (The nice pen is specifically the one you gave me) Mentioning …

Before moving ahead, let’s take a moment to review the concepts that we have covered so far. For more details, check out the previous three lessons from this week. Countable and non-countable nouns There are two kinds of nouns in English, countable & non-countable. Countable nouns can be counted with numbers. A countable noun is a noun that you can count with a number. For example, 1 banana, 2 oranges, 3 dogs, 5 cars, etc. Non-countable nouns cannot be counted with a number. Liquids, like water and milk, group nouns, like fruit and furniture, and abstract words like love and trouble are not countable. Talking about things in general. When you want to talk about things in general, use a countable noun in the plural form, or a non-countable noun like this: I like dogs. Bananas are yellow. Fruit is very good for you. Water covers most of the earth. You can also use a or an before a countable noun when making generalizations, like this: A dog is a good pet. An apple is red. A vacation would be nice. Talking about one of many When you talk about something that is non-specific or “one of many”, use a or …

I like fruit. I try to eat some fruit every day. This morning I had a banana and some grapes. I often have fruit with yogurt. I had some time this afternoon so I went to the supermarket. I wanted to get some bananas, but they were too green. Today, let’s continue the discussion on articles and nouns. I suggest you have a look at yesterday’s lesson first before checking today’s. When we talk about things in general we use “a/an” for a singular countable noun, the plural form of the countable noun, or a non-countable noun like this: A tomato is red. A banana is yellow. A cloud is white Tomatoes are red. Bananas are yellow. Furniture is expensive. Fruit is healthy. In the above examples, we are talking about tomatoes in general, and fruit in general. We are not talking about any specific fruit or tomatoes. We are talking about all tomatoes and all fruit. Another way that we talk about things in general is when we talk about things we like. When we do, we use the plural form of a countable noun or a non-countable noun. Here are some examples: I like bananas and grapes. Jack …

I like dogs. I think dogs are great pets because they are loyal to their owners and always have love to give. I have a dog now, and I had a dog when I was a child. Cats are also popular pets. I like cats, but not as much as dogs. Today, let’s continue the discussion on articles and nouns. I suggest you have a look at yesterday’s lesson first before checking today’s. A noun is a person, place, or thing. In English, when we talk about things in general, we use the plural form of countable nouns or a non-countable noun. Here are some examples: I like dogs. → Dogs in general, not any particular dogs. Bananas are yellow.  → Bananas in general, not any particular bananas. Fruit is very good for you. → Fruit in general, not any particular fruit. Water covers most of the earth.  → Water in general, not any particular water. When you want to talk about one thing, when that one thing is not unique or particular, you can use a or an before the singular, countable noun. The noun is “one of many.” I have a dog now. → There are many dogs …

Do you like bananas? I had a banana this morning. It was cold because I put it in the refrigerator last night. I like cold bananas. I like all kinds of fruit, especially grapes and oranges. I had an orange this morning too. When I was a kid, I always had cold cereal with milk for breakfast. Now I like to have yogurt, and sometimes just toast. I want to spend some time with you talking about articles. English has three articles; a, an, and the. Articles come before a noun, like this: I had a banana this morning. In order to understand articles, you need to understand nouns. A noun is a person, place, or thing. Words like banana, refrigerator, car, and dog are nouns. There are two kinds of nouns in English, countable and non-countable. A countable noun is a noun that you can count with a number. For example, 1 banana, 2 oranges, 3 dogs, 5 cars, etc. However, there are nouns that you cannot count with a number. Liquids, like water and milk are not countable.  Group nouns, like fruit and furniture are not countable. Abstract nouns like love and trouble are not countable. Nouns like …