Articles

Do they matter?  A, an, the  Most difficult  Impact on understanding

‘The’ – which one(s) We say ‘the’ when expect the reader to know ‘which one’ we are talking about. -Have you fed the dogs? / Do you like dogs? -Could you pass the carrots? / We need some more carrots.

‘The’ – the only ones around There is no choice and we are talking about something unique. - The sun, the earth, the railways, the Japanese

Superlatives Superlative – there is only one! -The biggest ice cream -The best film - Next, first, last, same, only.

A/an Talking about a person or thing when we don’t know which one. -She lives in a nice big house. -Could you pass me a pen?

Jobs/roles He’s an engineer I’m looking forward to being a grandmother.

Particular days or months -You can come on a Tuesday. -We met on a wet Monday in June. BUT: See you on Thursday. Where were you last Saturday?

Be careful with place names! Place names: The Atlantic, the Rhine, the Odeon BUT: no articles for continents, countries, states, counties, departments