9mportant £ittle ~ 9~ds (1'lrticlf!

s)
ll>~~Now , --- .:_~_
.... Read the short passage below, followed by the notes. 1 Alligators and crocodiles
1since
have not changed much
the dinosaur age. Yes.
r they are living dinosaurs!

t owever, they are in danger

of disappearing because
. of poaching and
killing.

. Last weekend, I joined members of the English

:.. Language Society for an interesting outing to a reptile farm. Notice the words in bold.
These are articles. Notice
There were many types of reptiles in the reptile farm. how they are used in the
· We saw snakes coiled around tree branches. My friends were passage. Read the notes
'; shocked when they suddenly saw a green snake hanging provided for better
understanding.
; down from a branch. There was an alligator and a few types
) of crocodiles in large enclosures. The many types of lizards
. were allowed to roam the farm.
We noticed some similarities and differences between the alligators and the
~ crocodiles. Crocodiles are bigger in size and have broader snouts than alligators.
·'
1'lrticles
• Articles are important because they
provide information on a subject.
- Definite article the
- Indefinite articles a and an

• The article a is used for objects mentioned for the first time.
Example: My friends were shocked when they suddenly saw a green
snake hanging down from a branch.

• The article the is used to refer to a spe<;!ific person or object in the context in which
it is. "
Example: Last weekend, I joined members of the English Language Society for an
interesting .. .

• . The article the is also used to show that there is only one of a particular object or
person.
Examples: the sun, the sky (There's only one sun and one sky.)

• The article a or an can be used before singular countable nouns. The article a is
generally used for nouns beginning with consonants.
Examples: a branch, a tiger, a story

• The article an is generally used for nouns beginning with vowels.

Examples: an alligator, an umbrella, an envelope

• However, some words beginning with the letter 'u' are pronounced as 'yu', so these
words take on the article a.
Examples: a university, a European model, a UNESCO official

• Some words beginning with the letter 'h' are pronounced without the 'h' sound.
Therefore, the article an is used for these words.
Examples: an hour, an honour

• The article the can be used with plural countable nouns.

Examples: the eggs, the ideas

• The is pronounced as 'thee' before vowels.

12
Exercise 1
..... Write 'a' or 'an' for each noun in the table below.

;,; J'
I hour 6 uniform

2 college 7 yellow taxi

3 Eurasian 8 souvenir

4 • novel 9 violin

5 anthill 10 honest boy

Exe~cise2
..... Complete the text below with the correct articles.

Shopping at Pelangi Mall is _ _ __

challenging activity. First, _ _ _ _ car park
is several stories high. You have to remember
the floor on which you parked _ _ _ _ car.
Otherwise, it would be like looking for
_ _ _ _ needle in _____ haystack when
you want to leave. There are also countless little
shops and boutiques. Even _ _ __
penny-pinching shopper will be tempted to
spend money on items displayed.
Only experienced shopper will
refrain from buying unnecessary things.

Exercise3
..... Write the correct article to fill in the blanks in the sentences below. If no article is
required, write a dash(-) in the blank.

I My coffee needs more sugar.

2 I believe that health is more important than _ _ __

--~,
beauty.
13
 3 You must use highway to reach J ohor Bahru. NOTE:
4 Mr Tan also has Isuzu Trooper. • Zero article (0)
- Articles are not used when
5 He is a student of St. John's Institute. making generalisations.
Example: Fruit is good for
6 The ambulance raced to hospital. ~u.
- Uncountable nouns r.ake
7 You have to board plane tomorrow at 6.00 a.m. on quantifiers instead of
artlcles.
8 She applied to work as administrative assistant. Example: I need some
water.
- Most proper nouns and
Exercise4 plural uncountable nouns
do not take on articles.
.... The insert sign (A) shows that an article is missing from the Examples: Put@jaya,
Longman. movies. cars
sentence. Write 'a', 'an' or 'the' in the blanks provided.

1 Teck Wing wears ').. uniform to school.

2 Encik Kamal missed A point and lost the badminton match.
3 Our science teacher measured A ounce of sodium chloride.
4 Erica plays ').. part of the wicked step-sister in the play.
5 Salma pasted A striking sticker on her bicycle.

Exercise5
.... Fill in the blanks with 'a', 'an', 'the' or put a dash '-' if no article is required.

1 Yesterday, Juwita bought latest novel written by J. K. Rowling.

2 My brother gave me tips on how to study more effectively.
3 This work of art is much better than one we saw in
_ _ __ _ art gallery.
4 I will take _ _ _ __ _ taxi to the museum later today.
5 Anita goes for ballet classes every week.
6 It takes hour for her to get home from
work.
7 Her birthday is on _ _ __ _ _ same day as mine.
8 Samad has started taking driving lessons.
9 Mei Ching received award for her
invention at Creative Minds Competition.
10 They arrived late because there was accident along the
highway.
ll As Mr De Costa did not name - - - - - - heir, all his property will go to his
nephew.
12 Both parties finally reached _ _ __ _ _ agreement concerning the property.
14
~ --·
13 Could you get me packet of sugar, _ _ __ __ bottle of
detergent - blue one, air-tight container and
_ _ _ _ _ _ loaf of bread from the mini market?
14 Mrs Ling takes LRT to work every morning.
15 What time does your father get home from office?
16 My mother just bought lovely book case for me.
17 I like listening to _ __ __ _ music and my favourite radio station is Hitz.
F:M.
18 Your bag is under bed.
19 Anand! It's 11.00 a.JJl. already. What are you still doing in _ __ _ __ bed?
20 bread we had for breakfast this morning was stale.

Exercise 6
...,_ Fill in the blanlis with 'a', 'an' or 'the'.

(1) _ __ two boys cleaned out

(2) _ _ _ camping grounds and lit
(3) fire. Then, they had
some food. They were both tired so
they did not talk much. Before they
,,·ent to bed, they put plenty of wood
on 4) fire.
George fell asleep almost at once,
but Fred lay awake for (5) _ _ _
long time, watching (6) _ __
flames. Then, he too fell asleep.
Suddenly, he was awake again.
(7) fire was nearly out. He
heard some noises nearby. It sounded
like voices. He woke George up.
"It's only (8) wind,"
George grumbled. "Go back to sleep!"

15