articles

a and an are used for objects

that are not specific
or one of several things
of a similar type
example i need a phone
the is used for
specific objects
or objects that both the speaker
and listener know
articles are very short words
uh and and the
but these little words can cause great
big problems
many of the world's languages do not
have articles at all
and for speakers of these languages
articles can be quite
difficult to learn in this video
we're going to introduce some of the
basic rules
for the use of articles we'll also look
at when to use
uh versus when to use an
this is easier are you ready
good luck how to use
articles in english
and an are used for objects
that are not specific
or one of several things
of a similar type
example i need a
phone
the is used for
specific objects
or objects that both the speaker
and listener know
example can you give me
the books on the table
uh and an are used the first time
we introduce an object
example i saw a movie
last night
the is used when we
mention the object again
example the movie is based
on a real life incident
a and an are used as synonyms
for the number one
example they bought
a computer
the is used before
plural countries or
other plural regions
and bodies of water
example the netherlands
uh and anne are used to indicate
one of a group
example she is
a singer
the is used before
certain adjectives
to give a plural meaning
example the rich
when to use no article
used when we talk about non-specific
things in plural
storms are raging all over
the country
used to speak about things
in general
mexican food is spicy
used for most countries
france
used for states
alaska
used for provinces
alberta
used for cities
london
used for meals
breakfast
used for sports and games
tennis
used for planets
jupiter
used for names of people
books and plays
unless it is part of the title
romeo and juliet
used for lakes
lake victoria
used for mountains
mount everest
used for single ions
jamaica
lots of english learners try to get by
without
really learning these but that's not a
good idea
a problem with the plan and the problem
with the plan mean two different things
practice the examples in this video and
you'll be off
to a good start
[Music]
you