Part 6: Identifying Grammar Errors

Grammar: Articles

An article is a type of adjective. In languages such as Japanese and Russian, there are no articles, while in many European languages, such as German, articles are declined according to gender, case and number. In a sense, German has 32 articles, English three and Japanese none.

As an adjective, it modifies a noun. It sometimes precedes other adjectives:

• The opera isnıt over until the fat lady sings.

However, in some cases it can precede other parts of speech if referring to them:

• The A is the article in that sentence while the be is the verb.

A and an are called indefinite articles while the is called the definite article. The meaning of a and an come from an old form of English called Anglo-Saxon, where it meant one. The refers to a specific item or group. But, this does not mean that a or an can not refer to a group or collection of things, as in a dozen roses or a classful of students.

The is usually used to emphasize, identify, or specifically refer to one thing.

• The last student out the door, please turn out the lights.

On the other hand, it can be used to refer to general classes of things.

• The students of this generation seem to not like studying too hard.

When we speak of general things, we do not use articles, but when we refer to specific things, we do.

• Studying for tests may not be fun, but studying for the TOEIC can be interesting.

  or

• While a recent study showed Japanese score lower on the TOEIC than other Asians, I know a Japanese who did very well.

One problem with number arises when referring to something that may have two parts or consist of two items.

wrong	right
the right and left hand	the right and the left hand
the right and the left brain	the right and left brain
	It was a hot and sunny day
	It was a hot and a sunny day
He was the first officer and the science officer	He was the first officer and science officer

Sometimes it depends on our meaning, as in the latter case the famous Vulcan was both, so we can omit the before the second term. Another example: Letıs look at the lunch you just ate. I liked the macaroni and the cheese means you liked eating the plate with macaroni and the plate with cheese. But, I liked the macaroni and cheese means you liked the popular combination of the two.

When we use the indefinite articles a and an, it is sometimes hard to know which one to use. If you remember this simple rule, you will never go wrong. A is used before a consonant sound while an is used before a vowel sound. Note: it does not matter what the consonant or vowel is, just what it sounds like. A few examples follow:

a	an
book	egg
university	hour

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Well, this is only the basics in a complicated subject.

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