1. Articles Huge Mistakes to Avoid!
Copyright Cindy Leibel 2015 – Please do not use without permission.

2. Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement
As you know, there are 2 types of articles:
DEFINITE
INDEFINITE

3. Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement
Definite articles show us that the writer knows EXACTLY which thing they are talking about.
In English, we only have one: THE
THE sun
THE man with a silly hat
THE best city in THE world

4. Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement
We use definite articles for these reasons:
A) There is only 1 (the sun, the world)
B) We give extra information about them (the man with the strange hat) (the best city in the world)
C) We already talked about them. (A cat bit me. The cat was orange.

5. Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement
IF YOU USE “THE”, you are telling the reader that you know EXACTLY which one you are talking about!

6. Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement
It is the same if the thing we are talking about is singular or plural.
THE suns
THE men with silly hats
THE best cities in THE world

7. Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement
INdefinite articles (as well as general nouns) show us that the writer DOES NOT knows EXACTLY which thing they are talking about or the things are NEW.
A door (this could be any door)
A man came into the room (this is a new idea; we didn’t know about him before).

8. Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement
The indefinite articles you know are a, an, and some.
An apple was on the table.
Some apples were on the table.

9. Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement
When we are talking about an idea, though, or something you CANNOT SEE, we call it a GENERAL NOUN. DO NOT USE ARTICLES!
I like the apples.
Can you see the apples? NO! This is a general noun!
THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT RULE!!!

10. Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement
Subject/Verb Agreement is very important, but many ESL students make big mistakes with this.

11. Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement
In the PRESENT and PAST, please remember that he/she/it (and words they can replace) MUST BE followed by a verb with an “S” in the present or was in the past!!! He
She It
+ S

12. Articles, Plurals, and S/V Agreement
You We
They
If we’re talking about something PLURAL, DO NOT ADD S!
People ARE, (not people IS)
NO S

13. Fill in the blanks below using the simple present.
He (walk) __________
Teachers (teach) __________
People (eat) __________
This teacher (teach) ________
My friend (eat) __________
My poster (be) __________
Canadians (love) __________
_____ (be) he okay?
I (love) __________
The family (run) __________
Japan (love) __________
My group (have) __________
My keys (be) __________
Your hair (look) __________
My phone (be) __________
His friends (run) __________
My pen (be) __________
China (have) __________
My mother (have) __________
_____ she need help?
My parents (have) __________
_____ you need help?

14. Fill in the blanks below using the simple present.
He (walk) walks
Teachers (teach) teach
People (eat) eat
This teacher (teach) teaches
My friend (eat) eats
My poster (be) is
Canadians (love) love
Is (be) he okay?
I (love) love
The family (run) runs
Japan (love) loves
My group (have) has
My keys (be) are
Your hair (look) looks
My phone (be) is
His friends (run) run
My pen (be) is
China (have) has
My mother (have) has
Does she need help?
My parents (have) have
Do you need help?

15. Questions Answered in This Presentation
What are the 3 articles?
What is the difference between DEFINITE and INDEFINITE articles?
When are the 3 times we use DEFINITE articles?
What is S/V agreement?