Articles Huge Mistakes to Avoid! Copyright Cindy Leibel 2015 – Please do not use without permission.

Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement As you know, there are 2 types of articles: DEFINITE INDEFINITE

Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement Definite articles show us that the writer knows EXACTLY which thing they are talking about. In English, we only have one: THE THE sun THE man with a silly hat THE best city in THE world

Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement We use definite articles for these reasons: A) There is only 1 (the sun, the world) B) We give extra information about them (the man with the strange hat) (the best city in the world) C) We already talked about them. (A cat bit me. The cat was orange.

Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement IF YOU USE “THE”, you are telling the reader that you know EXACTLY which one you are talking about!

Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement It is the same if the thing we are talking about is singular or plural. THE suns THE men with silly hats THE best cities in THE world

Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement INdefinite articles (as well as general nouns) show us that the writer DOES NOT knows EXACTLY which thing they are talking about or the things are NEW. A door (this could be any door) A man came into the room (this is a new idea; we didn’t know about him before).

Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement The indefinite articles you know are a, an, and some. An apple was on the table. Some apples were on the table.

Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement When we are talking about an idea, though, or something you CANNOT SEE, we call it a GENERAL NOUN. DO NOT USE ARTICLES! I like the apples. Can you see the apples? NO! This is a general noun! THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT RULE!!!

Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement Subject/Verb Agreement is very important, but many ESL students make big mistakes with this.

Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement In the PRESENT and PAST, please remember that he/she/it (and words they can replace) MUST BE followed by a verb with an “S” in the present or was in the past!!! He She It + S

Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement You We They If we’re talking about something PLURAL, DO NOT ADD S! People ARE, (not people IS) NO S

Fill in the blanks below using the simple present. He (walk) __________ Teachers (teach) __________ People (eat) __________ This teacher (teach) ________ My friend (eat) __________ My poster (be) __________ Canadians (love) __________ _____ (be) he okay? I (love) __________ The family (run) __________ Japan (love) __________ My group (have) __________ My keys (be) __________ Your hair (look) __________ My phone (be) __________ His friends (run) __________ My pen (be) __________ China (have) __________ My mother (have) __________ _____ she need help? My parents (have) __________ _____ you need help?

Fill in the blanks below using the simple present. He (walk) walks Teachers (teach) teach People (eat) eat This teacher (teach) teaches My friend (eat) eats My poster (be) is Canadians (love) love Is (be) he okay? I (love) love The family (run) runs Japan (love) loves My group (have) has My keys (be) are Your hair (look) looks My phone (be) is His friends (run) run My pen (be) is China (have) has My mother (have) has Does she need help? My parents (have) have Do you need help?

Questions Answered in This Presentation What are the 3 articles? What is the difference between DEFINITE and INDEFINITE articles? When are the 3 times we use DEFINITE articles? What is S/V agreement?