How to Use Articles (A/An/The)

What is an article? Basically, an article is an adjective. Like adjectives, articles modify nouns.

English has two articles: the and a/an. The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns; a/an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns. We call the the definite article and a/an the indefinite article.

the = definite article

a/an = indefinite article

For example, if I say, "Let's read the book," I mean a specific book. If I say, "Let's read a book," I mean any book rather than a specific book.

Here's another way to explain it: The is used to refer to a specific or particular member of a group. For example, "I just saw the most popular movie of the year." There are many movies, but only one particular movie is the most popular. Therefore, we use the.

"A/an" is used to refer to a non-specific or non-particular member of the group. For example, "I would like to go see a movie." Here, we're not talking about a specific movie. We're talking about any movie. There are many movies, and I want to see any movie. I don't have a specific one in mind.

Let's look at each kind of article a little more closely.

Indefinite Articles: a and an

"A" and "an" signal that the noun modified is indefinite, referring to any member of a group. For example:

* "My daughter really wants a dog for Christmas." This refers to any dog. We don't know which dog because we haven't found the dog yet.
* "Somebody call a policeman!" This refers to any policeman. We don't need a specific policeman; we need any policeman who is available.
* "When I was at the zoo, I saw an elephant!" Here, we're talking about a single, non-specific thing, in this case an elephant. There are probably several elephants at the zoo, but there's only one we're talking about here.

Remember, using a or an depends on the sound that begins the next word. So...

* a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy; a car; a bike; a zoo; a dog
* an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant; an egg; an apple; an idiot; an orphan
* a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins with a consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used); a university; a unicycle
* an + nouns starting with silent "h": an hour
* a + nouns starting with a pronounced "h": a horse
o
In some cases where "h" is pronounced, such as "historical," you can use an. However, a is more commonly used and preferred.
A historical event is worth recording.

Remember that these rules also apply when you use acronyms:
Introductory Composition at Purdue (ICaP) handles first-year writing at the University. Therefore, an ICaP memo generally discusses issues concerning English 106 instructors.

Another case where this rule applies is when acronyms start with consonant letters but have vowel sounds:
An MSDS (material safety data sheet) was used to record the data. An SPCC plan (Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures plan) will help us prepare for the worst.

If the noun is modified by an adjective, the choice between a and an depends on the initial sound of the adjective that immediately follows the article:

* a broken egg
* an unusual problem
* a European country (sounds like 'yer-o-pi-an,' i.e. begins with consonant 'y' sound)

Remember, too, that in English, the indefinite articles are used to indicate membership in a group:

* I am a teacher. (I am a member of a large group known as teachers.)
* Brian is an Irishman. (Brian is a member of the people known as Irish.)
* Seiko is a practicing Buddhist. (Seiko is a member of the group of people known as Buddhists.)

Definite Article: the

The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or particular. The signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular member of a group. For example:

"The dog that bit me ran away." Here, we're talking about a specific dog, the dog that bit me.

"I was happy to see the policeman who saved my cat!" Here, we're talking about a particular policeman. Even if we don't know the policeman's name, it's still a particular policeman because it is the one who saved the cat.

"I saw the elephant at the zoo." Here, we're talking about a specific noun. Probably there is only one elephant at the zoo.
Count and Noncount Nouns

The can be used with noncount nouns, or the article can be omitted entirely.

* "I love to sail over the water" (some specific body of water) or "I love to sail over water" (any water).
* "He spilled the milk all over the floor" (some specific milk, perhaps the milk you bought earlier that day) or "He spilled milk all over the floor" (any milk).

"A/an" can be used only with count nouns.

* "I need a bottle of water."
* "I need a new glass of milk."

Most of the time, you can't say, "She wants a water," unless you're implying, say, a bottle of water.
Geographical use of the

There are some specific rules for using the with geographical nouns.

Do not use the before:

* names of most countries/territories: Italy, Mexico, Bolivia; however, the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, the United States
* 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

Omission of Articles

Some common types of nouns that don't take an article are:

* Names of languages and nationalities: Chinese, English, Spanish, Russian (unless you are referring to the population of the nation: "The Spanish are known for their warm hospitality.")
* Names of sports: volleyball, hockey, baseball
* Names of academic subjects: mathematics, biology, history, computer science

Analytical Interview Questions

This puzzle was apparently written by Einstein in the last century. He said that 98% of the people in the world cannot solve the quiz. See if you can...

Facts:

1: There are 5 houses in 5 different colors 2: In each house lives a person with a different nationality. 3: These 5 owners drink a certain beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigar and keep a certain pet. 4: No owner has the same pet, smoke the same brand of cigar or drink the same drink.

Hints:

1: The British lives in a red house.
2: The Swede keeps dogs as pets
3: The Dane drinks tea
4: The green house is on the left of the white house (it also means they are next door to each other)
5: The green house owner drinks coffee
6: The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds
7: The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill
8: The man living in the house right in the center drinks milk
9: The Norwegian lives in the first house
10: The man who smokes Blend lives next to the one who keeps cats
11: The man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill
12: The owner who smokes Blue Master drinks beer
13: The German smokes Prince
14: The Norwegian lives next to the blue house
15: The man who smokes Blend has a neighbor who drinks water.

The question is: who keeps the fish?



Solution

The fish is in the fourth house. Its green, the owner drinks coffee, smokes prince and he's German!

For those who want to know the approach for solving such problems:

First figure out is the order of the houses. We can use the following facts:

• The green house is on the left of the white house

• Blue is the second house.

• The center house is important because we know anything about it



So the possibilities could be:

____, Blue, ____, Green, White or ____, Blue, Green, White,____

There are 2 blanks and two colors. Red can't be the first house because the owner of the first house should be from Norway , and the owner of the red house is British.

That leaves us with:

1) Yellow, Blue, ____, Green, White – OR- 2) Yellow, Blue, Green, White, ____

The blank spot is the red house.

The 2nd option can't be true, as we have clues that the center house owner drinks milk, but the green house owner drinks coffee.

So we get the order as: Yellow, Blue, Red, Green, and White. Then it is only the matter of reading the clues to figure out the answer.

Finding Subjects and Verbs

NOTE: We will use the convention of a thin underline for subjects and a thick underline for verbs. Being able to find the right subject and verb will help you correct errors of agreement. Example: The list of items is/are on the desk. Being able to identify the subject and verb correctly will also help you with commas and semicolons as you will see later. Definition. A Verb is a word that shows action (runs, hits, slides) or state of being (is, are, was, were, am, and so on). Examples: He ran around the block. You are my friend. Rule 1. If a verb follows to, it is called an infinitive phrase and is not the main verb. You will find the main verb either before or after the infinitive phrase. Examples: I like to walk. The efforts to get her elected succeeded. Definition. A Subject is the noun or pronoun that performs the verb. Example: The woman hurried. Woman is the subject. Rule 2. A subject will come before a phrase beginning with of. Example: A bouquet of yellow roses will lend color and fragrance to the room. Rule 3. To find the subject and verb, always find the verb first. Then ask who or what performed the verb. Examples: The jet engine passed inspection. Passed is the verb. Who or what passed? The engine, so engine is the subject. If you included the word jet as the subject, lightning will not strike you. Technically, jet is an adjective here and is part of what is known as the complete subject. From the ceiling hung the chandelier. The verb is hung. Now, if you think ceiling is the subject, slow down. Ask who or what hung. The answer is chandelier, not ceiling. Therefore, chandelier is the subject. Rule 4. Any request or command such as "Stop!" or "Walk quickly." has the understood subject you because if we ask who is to stop or walk quickly, the answer must be you. Example: (You) Please bring me some coffee. Bring is the verb. Who is to do the bringing? You understood. Rule 5. Sentences often have more than one subject, more than one verb, or pairs of subjects and verbs. Examples: I like cake and he likes ice cream. Two pairs of subjects and verbs He and I like cake. Two subjects and one verb She lifts weights and jogs daily. One subject and two verbs

Fantastic Math Tricks

Multiply Up to 20X20 In Your Head

In just FIVE minutes you should learn to quickly multiply up to 20x20 in your head.  With this trick, you will be able to multiply any two numbers from 11 to 19 in your head quickly, without the use of a calculator.
I will assume that you know your multiplication table reasonably well up to 10x10.
Try this:

• Take 15 x 13 for an example.
• Always place the larger number of the two on top in your mind.
• Then draw the shape of Africa mentally so it covers the 15 and the 3 from the 13 below. Those covered numbers are all you need.
• First add 15 + 3 = 18
• Add a zero behind it (multiply by 10) to get 180.
• Multiply the covered lower 3 x the single digit above it the "5" (3x5= 15)
• Add 180 + 15 = 195.

That is It! Wasn't that easy? Practice it on paper first!