Articles
Explanation
There are two types of articles which can be put in front of a noun: a/an and the.
Place the word a in front of any noun referring to one thing within a type but not constrained to one token thing. In other words, use a for any one dog but not necessarily that dog.
Ex.: A cat jumped onto my lap.
If an amount is referred to (such as any or one) the a is no longer required.
Ex.: Any box will do.
If the noun being referred to begins with a vowel, the letter n must be added to the a.
Ex.: An elephant can remember the way to a river it has not seen in over ten
years.
The is used only when referring to a particular thing and may be used to refer to one or many of those things.
Ex.: The dog was seen running after the cats.
Neither a/an or the should be used when referring to proper names unless it is part of the name.
Ex.: George went to Cedar Point.
Kelly’s favorite book is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
When a pronoun replaces the noun in a sentence, the a/an or the is no longer needed.
Ex.: The cat came running.
It came running.
Practice
Write the correct article in the blank. If no article is needed, leave the blank empty.
When ___ we come, ___ you should be ready to give ___ presentation.
How ____ many flowers are needed to make ___ picture complete?
___ these cones are not as large as ___ old ones were.
In ___ North, ___ people like to ride ____ snow mobiles.
___ killer whales will not attack ___ people for ____ food.
Many of ___ large animals are becoming restless.
Why can’t ___ you make ___ your puppy settle down?
If ___ my paper had not been rejected, ___I would be able to go with ___ you to ___ finals.
___ eagle is flying overhead in search of ___ fish to catch.
___Samuel received ___ these pictures at ___ beginning of ___ semester because ___ his mother likes ___ flowers.
When ___ cats are young, they do not understand how to retract ___ their claws to keep from scratching ___ people.
__ puppy’s baby teeth are sharp, so be careful not to let one bite __ your hand.
Jessica Erkfitz
©2007 Liberty University Graduate Writing Center
E-mail:
Phone: 434-592-4727