1. Explanation and Practice
Article Usage
Explanation and Practice

2. Nouns: Count or Non-Count?
Determine if the noun is countable or not.
Cat -C
Water - NC
Oil - NC
Fires - C
Boy -C
Cat
Water
Oil
Fire
Boy

3. Countable Nouns: Singular or Plural?
Determine if the noun is singular or plural.
Cat -S
Fires - P
Boy -S
Cat
Fires
Boy
If the noun is singular, it must have an article in front of it!

4. Countable Nouns – General or Specific?
Determine if the countable noun is specific or not.
To make this decision, is the noun known to both the writer/speaker and the reader/listener?
If it is known to both, use “the” (for singular or plural).
The cat that lives under our front porch is skinny.
A boy is walking along the street.
___cat that lives under our front porch is skinny.
____boy is walking along the street.

5. Countable Nouns – General or Specific?
If it is in general or unknown to both and SINGULAR, use an indefinite article (a or an).
If it is in general or unknown to both and PLURAL, no article is necessary.

6. Countable Nouns – General or Specific?
Examples:
The cat that lives under our front porch is skinny.
A boy is walking along the street.
Cats make good companions.
The boys that live next door are rambunctious.
___cat that lives under our front porch is skinny.
____boy is walking along the street.
____cats make good companions.
____ boys that live next door are rambunctious.

7. Non-Count Nouns – General or Specific?
If the non-count noun is general, no article is necessary.
If the non-count noun is specific (known), use “the”
___ water covers the earth.
____water in the tea kettle is hot.
____traffic on my way home is annoying.
____traffic is annoying.
Water covers the earth.
The water in the tea kettle is hot.
The traffic on my ride home is annoying.
Traffic is annoying.

8. Geographical Uses of The
Do not use the before:
names of countries (Italy, Mexico, Bolivia) except the Netherlands and the US
names of cities, towns, or states (Seoul, Manitoba, Miami)
names of streets (Washington Blvd., Main St.)
names of lakes and bays (Lake Titicaca, Lake Erie) except with a group of lakes like the Great Lakes
names of mountains (Mount Everest, Mount Fuji) except with ranges of mountains like the Andes or the Rockies or unusual names like the Matterhorn
names of continents (Asia, Europe)
names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key West) except with island chains like the Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands
Do use the before:
names of rivers, oceans and seas (the Nile, the Pacific)
points on the globe (the Equator, the North Pole)
geographical areas (the Middle East, the West)
deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas (the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula)  
From the OWL at Perduehttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/esl/eslartEX1.html

9. Practice Exercises
Directions: Fill in the blank with the appropriate article, a, an, or the, or leave the space
blank if no article is needed.
1. I want ____ apple from that basket.
2. ____ church on the corner is progressive.
3. Miss Lin speaks ____ Chinese.
4. I borrowed ____ pencil from your pile of pencils and pens.
5. One of the students said, "____ professor is late today."
6 Eli likes to play ____ volleyball.
7. I bought ____ umbrella to go out in the rain.
8. My daughter is learning to play ____ violin at her school.
9. Please give me ____ cake that is on the counter.
10. I lived on ____ Main Street when I first came to town.
11. Albany is the capital of ____ New York State.
12. My husband's family speaks ____ Polish.
13. ____ apple a day keeps the doctor away.
14. ____ ink in my pen is red.
15. Our neighbors have ____ cat and ____ dog.
From the OWL at Perduehttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/esl/eslartEX1.html