ARTICLES A/AN/THE
Seemingly, this topic is a very easy one. Well it is but if you keep making mistakes you can easily loose valuable marks. You do not want it. That is why you need to be smart enough to use the English articles properly all the time.
Let`s make it simple an article is a word that combines with a noun. Articles are actually adjectives because they describe the nouns that they precede. In English, there are only three articles: the, a, and an. However, the three are not interchangeable; rather, they are used in specific instances. The following is some advice from our expert English editing staff regarding how to properly use articles.
INDEFINITE ARTICLES (A AND AN)
If indefinite articles are the proverbial thorn in your side, the good news is that you don't need a lot of grammatical jargon to understand their usage.
In English, a and an are indefinite articles, which means that they don't refer to anything definite or specific. If someone were to say, "Give me an apple," you might be inclined to run out and pick one from the tree outside, or you may even run to the store and buy one. By using the word an, the speaker has let you know that he or she is looking for any apple rather than a specific one.
The same can be said for the article a. If someone told you there's a dog on the road, you would probably want to go out and save it before a car came by. Furthermore, you would know it's not your best friend's dog because the speaker chose to use the word a rather than call the pooch by name. Hence, it's understood that the dog on the road is one of the millions of dogs in the world and is therefore not specific.
How do I know which one to use?
That's a very good question. Fortunately, the answer is quite simple. It's about listening to the words you're using. The rule for indefinite article usage is as follows:
- Use a before nouns (or adjectives) that start with a consonant sound.
- Use an before nouns (or adjectives) that start with a vowel sound.
Here are some examples from our English editing professionals:
- Please give the dog a cookie. (The noun cookie starts with a consonant sound, so a must be used.)
- Please give the dog a delicious cookie. (Our editing professionals have put the adjective delicious in front of cookie, but as you can see, delicious still starts with a consonant sound, so a must still be used.)
- That's an old car. (In this case, the word after the article is old, which starts with a vowel sound. Consequently, our English editors must use an.)
- Remember that you're listening here. This isn't about the letter c or d being a consonant or the letter o being a vowel; it's about the sound they make (i.e., vowel sound or consonant sound). Here's another example that might help you understand:
- I need to work for an hour before we go to dinner.
You might think that because the indefinite article comes before a consonant, our English editing experts should be using a, but think for a moment about the sound that the word hour makes. It's actually pronounced like the possessive pronoun our, which starts with the o vowel sound. Therefore, because we're starting with a vowel sound (regardless of whether the first letter is actually a consonant), we must use an. The same is true for the opposite (i.e., a vowel that makes a consonant sound):
- A union
The word may start with a u, but think for a minute about the sound that the word makes: you-nion. We know that y is a consonant, so consequently we must use a. Here are a few more tricky ones to keep your eye on:
- A university (again, the you sound made by a vowel)
- An x-ray (a consonant making the ex sound, which, you'll notice, starts with the e vowel sound)
- A European (again we see the y sound coming from a vowel)
THE DEFINITE ARTICLE (THE)
There is only one definite article in the English language (the), which means that you don't have to worry about listening for vowel sounds. The is used in front of singular or plural nouns and adjectives to refer to something with which both the speaker/writer and listener/reader are familiar. For example, if you're bouncing a basketball at school, your friend might say, "Give me the ball." In this case, both you and your friend recognize that there is only one specific ball being referred to, and that's the one you're bouncing. Your friend doesn't want a ball (meaning any ball); he or she wants the ball that you're holding.
If you introduce a word with a or an, you may use the anytime thereafter because the introduction has made both the speaker/writer and listener/reader familiar with the word. Here's an example:
- Sarah bought a book yesterday. She read the first three pages when she got home and decided to return the book because it was boring.
- It can be seen that after the introduction (the first sentence, which uses an indefinite article), we can use the definite article because the reader is familiar with the book.
VERB TENSES
1. THE SIMPLE TENSES
- SIMPLE PRESENT
The Present Simple is the most basic tense in the English language. Generally, we use it to describe the present activities or to talk about routines or habits.
Formula:
I / we / you / they work, write
he / she / it works, writes
- SIMPLE PAST
We use the Past Simple to talk about actions that happened at a specific time in the past. The actions can be short or long. There can be a few actions happening one after another.
Formula:
I / he / she / it / we / you / they worked, wrote
- SIMPLE FUTURE
The Future Simple is used in many situations such as when making promises or predictions.
Formula:
I / he / she / it / we / you / they will work, will write
2. THE PROGRESSIVE TENSES
- PRESENT PROGRESSIVE
The Present Continuous is mainly used to express the idea that something is happening at the moment of speaking. The Present Continuous also describes activities generally in progress (not at the moment). Another use of the tense is to talk about temporary actions or future plans.
Formula:
I am working, am writing
he / she / it is working, is writing
we / you / they are working, are writing
- PAST PROGRESSIVE
We usually use the Past Continuous to talk about activities that lasted for some time in the past. The actions can be interrupted by something or can be happening at the same time.
Formula:
I / he / she / it was working, was writing
we / you / they were working, were writing
- FUTURE PROGRESSIVE
We mainly use the Future Continuous to indicate that we will be in the middle of doing something in a specified time in the future.
Formula:
I / he / she / it / we / you / they will be working, will be writing
3. THE PERFECT TENSES
- PRESENT PERFECT
The Present Perfect is used to express actions that happened at an indefinite time or that began in the past and continue in the present. This tense is also used when an activity has an effect on the present moment.
Formula:
I / we / you / they have worked, have written
he / she / it has worked, has written
- PAST PERFECT
We use the Past Perfect tense to emphasize that an action in the past finished before another action in the past started. This tense is also used in reported speech, third conditional sentences, or to show dissatisfaction with the past.
Formula:
I / he / she / it / we / you / they had worked, had written
- FUTURE PERFECT
We use the Future Perfect tense to talk about actions that will be finished before some point in the future. We also use this tense to express situations that will last for a specified period of time at a definite moment in the future. The last use is to express certainty that an action was completed.
Formula:
I / he / she / it / we / you / they will have worked, will have written
4. THE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSES
- PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
The Present Continuous is mainly used to express the idea that something is happening at the moment of speaking. The Present Continuous also describes activities generally in progress (not at the moment). Another use of the tense is to talk about temporary actions or future plans.
Formula:
I / we / you / they have been working, have been writing
he / she / it has been working, has been writing
- PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
The Past Perfect Continuous is used to talk about actions or situations that were in progress before some other actions or situations. There are also other uses.
Formula:
I / he / she / it / we / you / they had been working, had been writing
- FUTURE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
We use the Future Perfect Continuous tense to express situations that will last for a specified period of time at a definite moment in the future. We also use this tense to express certainty about the cause of some future situation.
Formula:
I / he / she / it / we / you / they will have been working, will have been writing