3 definite and indefinite articles

8/18/2019 3 Definite and Indefinite Articles

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Definite and

Indefinite Articles

An African Safari

3

Focus on Grammar 5

Part III, Unit 8

By Ruth Luman, Gabriele Steiner, and BJ WellsCopyright © 2006. Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.


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Trip to Kenya

Dear Marta,

We took ____ most wonderful trip last

month. We went on ____ great safari.

____ safari was in Kenya and we saw

____ lions and ____hippos up close!

____ experience was great. ____

only problem was my husband was

bitten by ____ mosquito, but since we

had taken malaria medicine beforewe came, ____ Dr. Matuka said

he would be okay.

Love, Gloria

Look at the

letter. Fill in

the blanks

with

a, an, the orno art ic le .

Explain your

answers to

a partner.

You will checkyour answers

at the end of

the

presentation.


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Indefinite Article 1

When we don’t have a particular person, place, or thingin mind, we use non-specific nouns. Use the indefinite

article a/an with non-specific singular count nouns.

I’d love to hold

a baby lion.

any baby lion;

no particular lion

in mind


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Indefinite Article 2

A noun is often indefinite the first time a speaker

mentions it. It is usually definite after the first mention.

1st Mention

2nd

Mention

We went on a safari

last year.

The safari was very

educational.


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Zero Article 1

Use zero article (no article) with non-specific plural

count nouns and non-specific non-count nouns.

Meerkats are very interesting

animals to watch.

Hippos feel at

home in water .

Non-Specific

Non-Count Noun

Zero Article

Non-Specific

Plural Count NounZero Article


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Generic Nouns

A noun is generic when it represents all members of aclass or category. There are three ways to use count

nouns generically.

2. A cheetah is a predatory animal.

1. Cheetahs are predatory animals.

zero article + plural count noun

3. Water is essential for all animals to survive.

indefinite article + count noun

zero article + non-count noun


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Zero Article 2

Use zero article before the names of people or their

titles, names of most countries, and habitual locations.

Kanika spends four days aweek at work and two days a

week in school.

Ambassador Mukasa was born in

Tanzania but spent most of his life in

Kenya.


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Practice 1Look at the sentences. Complete

them with an indefinite article or no

article. Explain your answers to a

partner.

Example: _____ zebra came right up to me! A

1. We stayed in _____ nice lodge. _____ game reserves

usually have lodges nearby.

2. That kind of bird is usually found in _____ Zambia.

3. Have you ever seen __ __ _ elephant up close?

4. This is _____ great vacation.

5. I would love to be _____ game warden.

6. A: Do you often see _____ warthogs at game reserves?

B: Oh, yes. There are some right over there.

a

an

a

a


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Definite Article 1

A noun is definite when we know the particular person, place, orthing being talked about. Use the definite article the with non-

count nouns and singular and plural nouns that are definite.

The vultures

have found

something to

eat.

Yeah, I see

them. Let’s

get closer

and take apicture.


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Definite Article 2

Use the definite article with nouns that describe

something unique.

Nanyuki, Kenya, is

located on the equator .

There is only

one equator.


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Definite Article 3

An adjective can often make a noun represent somethingunique. Examples of such adjectives are right, wrong,

first, only , and the comparative and superlative forms.

The first giraffe iseating.

That is the tallest giraffe I’ve

ever seen!

UniqueAdjective

SuperlativeAdjective


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Definite Article 4

The definite article is used with the names of publicplaces, some countries, and many geographical

regions or features.

I went to the

library tolearn more

about Kenya.

My friends from the Netherlands are visiting Tanzania this year. Kenya is located along

the Indian Ocean.


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Dear Marta,

We took ____ most wonderful trip last

month. We went on ____ great safari.

____ safari was in Kenya and we saw

____ lions and ____hippos up close!

____ experience was great. ____

only problem was my husband was

bitten by ____ mosquito, but since we

had taken malaria medicine before

we came, ____ Dr. Matuka said

he would be okay.

Love, Gloria

Practice 2Look at the letter again and fill in the

blanks. Did your ideas on article usage

change? Check your answers.

the

a

The

The The

a

3 definite and indefinite articles

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