Articles! a an the Let’s have fun!

A and An: Basic Usage We use a and an with singular nouns Example: I ate a hamburger yesterday. She ate an apple yesterday. We use a if the next word starts with a consonant sound Example: I ran a marathon last week. We use an if the next word starts with a vowel sound Example: He gave me an answer to my question. It will take an hour to get there.

Using A or An: Generic Nouns A speaker uses generic nouns to make generalizations. A generic noun represents a whole class of things; it is not a specific, real, concrete thing, but rather a symbol of a whole group. Ex: A banana is yellow The speaker is talking about any banana, all bananas, bananas in general. Ex: A bird has wings. An orange is green until it ripens. A baseball is white and red.

Using A or An: Indefinite Nouns Indefinite nouns are actual things (not symbols), but they are not specifically identified. Ex: I ate a banana. The speaker is not referring to “this banana” or “that banana” or “the banana you gave me.” The speaker is simply saying that he/she ate one banana. The listener does not know or need to know which specific banana was eaten; it was simply one banana out of all bananas Ex: I had a slice of pizza for lunch. There is an apple on the table. Hey, throw me a ball.

Practice – Fill in the blank with a, an, or nothing I was upset because we had lost ___ game last season. a She changed from ___ ugly frog to a beautiful woman. an I think I will buy ___ house next year. She fired ___ arrow at the enemy - an

Practice – Fill in the blank with a, an, or nothing ____ tree needs water to survive. a ____ apple can be many different colors. an ____ tennis is a sport. - None ____ gold is a metal.

The: Definite Nouns A noun is definite when both the speaker and the listener are thinking about the same specific thing. Ex: Thank you for the banana. The speaker uses the because the listener knows which specific banana the speaker is talking about, or that specific banana which the listener gave to the speaker. Ex: Did you read the story? The steak was really delicious. We use the before all plural nouns. Thank you for the bananas. The fruit tasted great.

Practice – Fill in the blank with a, an, the, or nothing Did you have fun at ____ picnic yesterday? the He kicked ____ ball and scored the winning goal. Lucy likes to wear ____ hats. none All of ____ children played on the playground, except for 5th and 6th graders. Bill Gates if ____ name of ____ man who designed Windows. the/the

1) Yesterday I ate _____ apple.

2) Suddenly _____ man walked up to me.

3) When I look at _____ sky, I imagine I can see _____ future.

4) Can you tell _____ difference between _____ monkey and ____ gorilla?

5) What is _____ meaning of this?

6) Can you tell me where _____ E-mart is?

7) What is ______ sum of the equation?

8) What is ______ title of ______ book?

9) _____ interesting tall tale contains _______ hero, ______problem and solution, and some exaggerations

10) _____ reason I walked to ______ store down the street, is to buy ______ box of oranges and _____ shirt I saw last weekend.