UNIT 1 ARTICLE

     1.       "A", " an" and "the" are articles.

          “A”，“an”和“the”是冠词。

2.       We use ”a”  and “an” to talk about a singular countable noun.The countable noun can be a person, an animal or a thing.
     我们用“a”和“an”来指单数可数名词。可数名词可以是一个人、动物或东西。

      a teacher, a market, a tiger, a cup

      an apple, an eagle, an actor, an umbrella

3.       We use “the” when:
       我们用“the”来指：

a)      We speak of the same thing again;
       之前提过的同一件物件；

e.g  He gave her a ring. The ring was made of gold.

        She has an apple. The apple is juicy.

b)      We are clear about the person or thing that we are talking about;
       确定的人或东西

e.g   The cheese cake was tasty.

         I threw away the old shirt.

c)       There is only one such thing.
        独一无二的东西

e.g  The sun rises in the east.

        The moon shines at night.

 

 

Articles are not used:
在以下的情况下，我们不用冠词“：

a)      before an uncountable noun when we are talking about something in general;
       一般性的不可数名词之前；

e.g. I like (-) coffee.

b)      before the name of a game;
      游戏或运动项目之前；

e.g. The girls play (-) netball in the evening.

c)        before the name of a meal;
       三餐的名称之前；

e.g. I had fried rice for (-) dinner.

d)      before proper nouns.
      专有名词之前。

e.g. (-) Ahmad won the first prize.

 

Exercise 1 : A or An?

In the following phrases, supply either a or an:

1. ____ bingo game
2. ____ idiot
3. ____ good job
4. ____ rotten plum
5. ____ used fork
6. ____ uncle
7. ____ historian
8. ____ apple
9. ____ hair
10. ____ artichoke
11. ____ horrible movie
12. ____ opera
13. ____ fine opera
14. ____ television
15. ____ earthquake
16. ____ icicle
17. ____ plant
18. ____ eggplant
19. ____ honorable discharge
20. ____ intelligent man
21. ____ table
22. ____ up stairway
23. ____ paper clip
24. ____ animal
25. ____ usual feeling
26. ____ interest
27. ____ alibi
28. ____ early bird
29. ____ couch
30. ____ airplane
31. ____ grade
32. ____ pair
33. ____ idea
34. ____ energy level

Answer  of exercise 1: A or An?

Correct answers are in bold.
1. a bingo game
2. an idiot
3. a good job
4. a rotten plum
5. a used fork
6. an uncle
7. a historian
8. an apple
9. a hair
10. an artichoke
11. a horrible movie
12. an opera
13. a fine opera
14. a television
15. an earthquake
16. an icicle
17. a plant
18. an eggplant
19. an honorable discharge
20. an intelligent man
21. a table
22. an up stairway
23. a paper clip
24. an animal
25. a usual feeling
26. an interest
27. an alibi
28. an early bird
29. a couch
30. an airplane
31. a grade
32. a pair
33. an idea
34. an energy level

 

 

Exercise 2

Directions: Fill in the blank with the appropriate article, a, an, or the, or leave the space blank if no article is needed.

1. I want ____ apple from that basket.

2. ____ church on the corner is progressive.

3. Miss Lin speaks ____ Chinese.

4. I borrowed ____ pencil from your pile of pencils and pens.

5. One of the students said, "____ professor is late today."

6 Eli likes to play ____ volleyball.

7. I bought ____ umbrella to go out in the rain.

8. My daughter is learning to play ____ violin at her school.

9. Please give me ____ cake that is on the counter.

10. I lived on ____ Main Street when I first came to town.

11. Albany is the capital of ____ New York State.

12. My husband's family speaks ____ Polish.

13. ____ apple a day keeps the doctor away.

14. ____ ink in my pen is red.

15. Our neighbours have ____ cat and ____ dog.

Answers of exercise 2

 

Correct answers are in bold.

1. I want an apple from that basket.

2. The church on the corner is progressive.

3. Miss Lin speaks Chinese. (no article needed)

4. I borrowed a pencil from your pile of pencils and pens.

5. One of the students said, "The professor is late today."

6. Eli likes to play volleyball. (no article needed)

7. I bought an umbrella to go out in the rain.

8. My daughter is learning to play the violin at her school.

9. Please give me the cake that is on the counter.

10. I lived on Main Street when I first came to town. (no article needed)

11. Albany is the capital of New York State. (no article needed)

12. My husband's family speaks Polish. (no article needed)

13. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

14. The ink in my pen is red.

15. Our neighbours have a cat and a dog.