Using English articles (#5), by more English

Using English Articles (#5)     Because the English articles (a, an, the) are often very challenging for learners of the language, the next several Hints will provide guidelines on their usage. _____________________________   The Definite Article The     The definite article the is used in several different ways in English. One use of the is with nouns (singular or plural, countable or uncountable) that are specifically identified because the listener or reader knows (or can assume) that only one specific noun is being talked or written about. Another use of the happens when a non-specific noun is mentioned more than one time. A third use is related to the second: when a plural noun is non-specific, either some, a number or other quantifier, or no article is used when the noun is mentioned the first time, but the is used after the first time. Examples: Celina is wearing earrings. The earrings are small and round and made of gold. ***** Someone sent Anna flowers yesterday. The flowers were delivered just before noon. ***** George and Helen have three children. The children are studying at universities in Missouri. ***** I bought a pair of shoes yesterday. I couldn't resist buying the shoes because they were on sale for half price. ***** Betsy showed us some some photographs of Switzerland. The photographs were taken on Betsy's vacation last year. ***** Julia bought a skirt and some shoes. The skirt and the shoes are both navy blue. ***** She knew that we had questions about her report. She asked us to send her the questions by e-mail. _______________________________________________ Special Note: Uncountable nouns can also be used in a way that is similar to what was noted above: There's water all over the kitchen floor! I think the water is coming from the bottom of the refrigerator! ***** I see a lot of smoke. Do you think the smoke is from a forest fire? ***** Fred bought several packages of graph paper. He'll use the graph paper in his geometry class. ***** I bought two quarts of ice cream. We'll have the ice cream for dessert this evening. ***** If your sauce is too thin, add one or two teaspoons of cornstarch. The cornstarch will make the sauce thicker. _____________________________ Next: more on articles

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