Articles

By Lance

 Use the indefinite article a / an before singular count nouns. Use a before consonant sounds, and use an before vowel sounds. examples an apple a bear an ostrich a camel an awful sound a rotten egg an ugly cat a small elephant an elephant

A vs. An

 Words That Start with H or U Be careful of words that start with h or u. Some words that begin with these two letters start with a vowel sound and some start with a consonant sound. For words that start with h, we use a when the h is pronounced, and we use an when the h is silent. a helicopter an honest politician an hour a hopeful dreamer For words that begin with u, we use a when the u is pronounced as a consonant, and an when the u is pronounced as a vowel. an umbrella a unicorn a university an unusual gift

A vs. An

 We use a little with non-count nouns (to mean a small amount of) and a few with count nouns (to mean a small number of). There is a little pizza left. Would you like some? I like my coffee with a little milk and sugar. Mary gave John a little advice. A little honesty can be hard to find. I ate a few pieces of pizza. A few cars are parked in the parking lot. There are a few cows in the pasture. The meal cost a few dollars.

A Few/A Little

 Similar to a few, a couple of and several are used only with count nouns. We use a couple of to mean a small indefinite/vague number of something. Often a couple of means two of something. We use several to mean a small indefinite number of something, but fewer in number than many. In general, a couple of is less than a few, and a few is less than several (a couple of < a few < several). I ate a couple of apples. Can you lend me a couple of dollars? This will only take a couple of minutes. Several people walked into the store. I drank several cups of coffee. John called several times when you were away.

A Couple Of / Several

Much/Many, A lot of
Much and Many We use much with non count nouns We use many with count nouns. Many cars are equipped with GPS systems. I ate too many apples. How many trees did you plant this weekend? I don't know how many girls there are at our school. I don't have much money. Our teacher gives us too much homework. How much sugar do we have? I don't know how much water I drank.

Much/Many, A lot of
A lot of We use a lot of with non count nouns and plural count nouns. I ate a lot of apples. A lot of people like to swim at night. That dog has a lot of fleas. Mary bought a lot of furniture. The man gave us a lot of advice. Our teacher gave us a lot of homework.