JORGE BASADRE GROHMANN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY –TACNA

ARTICLES:
USES OF THE DEFINITE AND
INDEFINITE ARTICLES,
SPECIAL USES OF ARTICLES

P R E S E N T E D B Y:
BACH. JHOAN GALDOS KAPQUEQUI
 OBJECTIVES
MAIN OBJECTIVE:

 Establish the difference between definite and indefinite

articles and their uses.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

• Describe the wide variety of uses that articles have.

• Point out the details, differences and exceptions in article

usage.
 WHAT IS AN ARTICLE?
In ENGLISH GRAMMAR, words have different FUNCTIONS.

NOUNS VERBS

ARTICLES
ADJECTIVES ADVERBS

PRONOUNS
Articles describe if a noun is:

NON- SPECIFIC = INDEFINITE

SPECIFIC = DEFINITE
INDEFINITE ARTICLES:
A AN
We use them with:

• SINGULAR NOUNS.

• NOUNS THAT HAVE BEEN ADRESSED OR

MENTIONED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A NON-
SPECIFIC WAY.
I made a tuna sandwich.

A teacher told me to be quiet.

 DEFINITE ARTICLE:
THE
We use it with:

• SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS.

• WHEN REFERRING TO SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN

PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED.

The sandwiches I made had too much mayo.

The teacher asked me to leave the classroom.

HOW TO USE ARTICLES PROPERLY
(in pronunciation)
A When the upcoming noun starts in a CONSONANT SOUND.

AN
When the upcoming noun starts in a VOWEL SOUND.

AN ANGRY MONKEY. A HOUSE.

THIS RULE IS NOT WRITTEN.

IT’S BASED ON SOUNDS.
 “THUH” • Before a consonant sound.
THE
• Before a vowel sound.
“THEE” • When emphasizing certain words.

“THUH” STUDENT. “THEE” ICE CREAM.

I’m “THEE” student in the example.

USES OF ARTICLES

VERSUS PLACES

PEOPLE
 COMPARATIVES V.S.
SUPERLATIVES

VERSUS BRITISH V.S. AMERICAN

COUNT V.S. NONCOUNT

LOCATION V.S.
ACTIVITY
 COMPARATIVES V.S. SUPERLATIVES

IN SUPERLATIVES, WE
She is THE smartest ALWAYS USE “THE” SINCE
WE SPEAK OF SOMETHING
girl. VERY SPECIFIC.

IN SOME COMPARATIVE
PHRASES , WE USE He is as strong as A bull.
INDEFINITE ARTICLES.
 BRITISH V.S. AMERICAN
ACCENT

ARTICLES: A / AN

AMERICAN ACCENT SOME BRITISH ACCENTS

An HERB A HERB
(The H is silent) (The H is pronounced)

A HOSPITAL AN HOSPITAL
(The H is pronounced) (The H is silent)

Patty is looking for a herb in the garden.

Patty is looking for an herb in the garden.
 COUNT V.S. NONCOUNT

ARTICLES: A / AN

Tom is making CHICKEN for lunch.

Tom is feeding A CHICKEN.

Some words change their meaning when they are added

an article.
 LOCATION V.S. ACTIVITY

Luis forgot his book in THE classroom

When referring to an specific location or place, we use

the definite article.

Luis is heading to school now.

Although “SCHOOL” is a place, the main focus is that he

is going there to STUDY.
When this is the case, we DO NOT use an article.
 REVIEW
COMPLETE THE IDEAS USING THE RIGHT ARTICLES.

UNJBG is ____ best

university in Tacna.

We use THE because BEST

indicates that is a SUPERLATIVE
sentence.
SHOULD WE USE AN ARTICLE IN THIS QUESTION?

I found __ hair in my soup.

We use “A”.
Although HAIR is uncountable, the girl
is clearly referring to a single strand of
hair, hence making it countable.
 JOBS AND POSITIONS

PEOPLE GROUPS

FAMILIES

NATIONALITIES
 JOBS AND POSITIONS

ARTICLE: THE

When referring to titles or positions

(specially those related to rulers),
we use THE.

The queen of England The president

If the name is in the title, we REMOVE “THE”

Queen Elizabeth President Trump

 GROUPS

ARTICLE: THE

Some adjectives can be treated as GROUPS of

people, but they need the definite adjective.

THE ELDERLY THE DISABLED THE UNEMPLOYED

THE RICH THE SICK THE NEEDY

THE HOMELESS THE YOUNG THE RESTLESS

Always listen to the elderly.

 FAMILIES

ARTICLE: THE

When referring to families, we can use THE

followed by the last name.

The Simpsons are very popular .

 NATIONALITIES

ARTICLE: THE

We can refer to the nationality of a group of people

using THE.

The Peruvian might get to the World Cup.

BUT
Peruvians are very stubborn.
 REVIEW
ARE THE NEXT SENTENCES RIGHT OR WRONG?

The Europeans like weird food.

Some say that the young lack experience.

I met the president Kuczynski last week.

 COUNTRIES & CITIES

PLACES DIRECTIONS

BUILDINGS
 COUNTRIES AND CITIES

ARTICLE: THE

Most countries DO NOT need an article.

BUT, if the country contains the words:

Kingdom, Republic, Union, Coast or is in plural, we add THE.
 DIRECTIONS

ARTICLE: THE

Followed directly by a VERB,

we DON’T need to add articles.
• I headed East to find a new home.

• You need to walk South.

If there is a preposition in between, we add THE.

• My university is on THE left.

• My mother had a house in THE north.

 BUILDINGS

ARTICLE: THE

USE “THE” DO NOT USE “THE”

OCEANS BEACHES
SEAS PUBLIC SQUARES AND PARKS

COASTS INDIVIDUAL MOUNTAINS

RIVERS STADIUMS
HOTELS STREETS
THEATERS MALLS

MUSEUMS CHURCHES AND TEMPLES

INSTITUTES HOSPITALS
DESERTS UNIVERSITIES
 REVIEW
Have you visited any of the beaches in Tacna?

I’m not a big fan of the Pacific Ocean,

but I liked Hornitos beach.

You need to head South. The best beaches

are in the South.

I will do that next time.

Today I’m visiting children at Alcides Carrion hospital .
 CONCLUSIONS
 Articles play a key function in English
language because they provide information
about nouns, making communication clearer
and more understandable.

 Through the passage of time, articles have

added up more and more functions. Some of
them are still relevant and some aren’t, proving
that language is in constant change.
 
 Most of rules have certain exceptions or
loopholes that encourage us to be aware of the
changes and details in language.
 
 
 When altering the pronunciation of definite an
indefinite articles, one should always remember
that it’s not about what we seem but about
what we hear.

 Indefinite articles can only describe singular

nouns, unlike the definite article that describes
countable, uncountable, singular and even plural
nouns.
 
 The Null article is part of the rules of speech
and according to various linguists, it fits in the
rules of grammar.