Grammar Basics (Articles) Resource: Advanced English Grammar for ESL Learners

C/LtCol Genieve M. Martínez

Lesson Objectives Review grammar basics:

Parts of Speech Noun Pronoun Verb Adjective Adverb Preposition Conjunction

Putting words together Sentence

Test Knowledge: Quiz 1

Parts of Speech NOUN a person, place, or thing. Can be the subject or object of a

sentence.

PRONOUN a word that replaces or stands for ("pro" = for) a noun.

VERB an action word.

ADJECTIVE a word that describes or modifies a noun. Answers the questions "how many," "what kind," etc.

ADVERB a word that describes or modifies a verb.

PREPOSITION (literally "pre-position") a word that indicates the relationship of a noun (or noun phrase) to another word.

Nouns

Proper/Common

Noncount/Count Collective Abstract/Concrete

Possessive

Proper• represent a

unique entity (a specific person or a specific place)

• Capitalized

Countable• Common nouns that

can become a plural• can combine with exact

numbers (even one, as a singular) or indefinite numbers (like "a" or "an”)

Name groups consisting of more than one individual or entity

Concrete• you can see,

hear, smell, taste, or feel the item

• names who or what has something

• nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and animals

Common• Describe an

entire group of entities (village or women)

• Not capitalized

Noncount• they can't become

plural or combine with number words

Examples "family", "committee", "corporation","faculty", "army", and "school”

Abstract • Refer to ideas

or concepts, like the nouns "politeness" or "hatefulness"

• refers to where someone works or plays or spends their time

Types of nouns:

The common subject pronouns

Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns in a sentence.Pronoun Person Adjectival form Pronominal form

I First person singular My Mine

We First person plural Our Ours

You Second person singular

Your Yours

He Third person singular His His

She Third person singular Her Hers

It Third person singular Its Its

They Third person plural Their Theirs

Our First person plural Our Ours

Articles and quantifiers

These are types of determiners, a collective term for all noun modifiers that precede adjectives.

Four types of determiners: Articles

I got a good seat for the flight. article adj noun

Possessives Demonstratives Quantifiers

We don’t have many good options left. quantifier adj noun

Articles and quantifiers

The choice of article or quantifier is determined by whether the noun being modified is count or noncount.

Most common nouns are count nouns, that is, they can be used with number words like one, two, three and the nouns can be used in either the singular or plural. Woman and book

One book, two books, three books One woman, two women, three women

Noncount nouns cannot be used with number words. Example luck, air and butter One luck, two lucks, three lucks One air, two airs, three airs One butter, two butters, three butters

Are always in agreement with singular verb forms, for example: Luck has not been good to me lately. Warm air carries more moisture than dry air. Butter is probably better for your than margarine.

Articles

There are two types: Definite

The definite article is the. It can be used with all types of common nouns: singular, plural, and noncount. Singular: The book is on the desk. Plural: The books are on the desk. Noncount: He has all the luck.

The trick is to know when to use the definite article the: You have a specific person, place, thing or idea in mind, and You can reasonably assume that the reader or listener will know which

specific person, place, thing or idea you mean. Previous mention: Use the if you have already introduced the noun to the

reader or listener I just heard about Tom’s accident. Do you know when the accident

happened?

Articles

The trick (continued): Defined by modifiers: Use the definite article with a noun if the noun is

followed by modifiers that serve to uniquely define the noun. The printer that I bought on sale last week turned out to be defective.

Uniqueness: Nouns that refer to things that are one of a kind: The sun had already set by the time we got home. (There is only 1 sun)

Normal expectations: Use the with a noun if that noun is something that we would reasonably expect to find or to occur in the context of the sentence. I opened the book and looked at the table of contents.

Indefinite a/an (used with singular count nouns) and some (used with plural count nouns and all noncount nouns)

Articles (State which of the four reasons for using definite article applies to the definite articles in bold: (1) Previous mention, (2) Defined by modifiers, (3) uniqueness, or (4) normal expectations) ) We were driving in the left lane when we had a flat tire. Normal expectations

We need to deposit all the checks that we received yesterday.

Storms were forming along the equator.

I never found the necklace I bought in Greece.

You should replace the windshield wiper on your car.

Olympia is the capital of Washington state.

I just got the memo that you sent this morning.

Are you connected to the Internet?

They just bought a new boat. They hope to use the boat this summer.

A waiter I hadnt seen before handed out the menus.

The verbs in most languages distinguish between present and past time.

His performance was disappointing. I thought the performance lacked conviction.

Take the bus that goes down Elm Street.

Articles

Indefinite a/an (used with singular count nouns) and some (used with plural count nouns and all noncount nouns) Singular count nouns:

I have a problem. There is a truck parked in front of our house. I thought of an answer to the question.

Plural count nouns: I have some problems with that. There are some trucks parked in front of our house. I thought of some answers to the question.

Noncount nouns: Would you like some coffee? There is some confusion about the time of the meeting. People need to have some protein every day.

Articles

We use indefinite articles in two situations:

When we are speaking hypothetically or in general terms and do not have a specific noun in mind, or more commonly When you fly these days, you have to expect some delays.

When we have a specific noun in mind but know that the listener or reader cannot possibly know which noun it is. I would like you to meet a friend of mine. (singular count noun) I would like you to meet some friends of mine. (plural count noun) I need to get some information from you. (noncount noun)

Articles

Fill in the blank with the appropriate indefinite article: a/an or some. The first question is done as an example. Remember, a is used before consonant sound and an is used before vowel sounds.

He made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse. The forecast is for___rain tonight.

There was _____ note on my desk.

I noticed that_____page was missing from the report.

I noticed that ____pages were missing from the report.

In____circumstances, it would be OK.

You need to make_____reservation as soon as possible.

The lawyer gave her____advice about drafting her will.

It is only____suggestion.

There was____disappointment at the inconclusive outcome.

We have finally made____progress in resolving the dispute.

Articles

Some is used without restriction with both plural nouns and noncount nouns in positive statements: Plural nouns

We had to get some new maps for the trip. There are some apples in the refrigerator.

Noncount nouns The committee had some disagreement about the final wording. There is some fruit in the refrigerator.

In negative statements, any is used in place of some: Plural nouns

We didn’t have any new maps for the trip. There aren’t any apples in the refrigerator.

Articles

Noncount nouns The committee didn’t have any disagreement about the final wording. There isn’t any fruit in the refrigerator.

The use of some in negative statements is ungrammatical. We didn’t have to get some new maps for the trip. There aren’t some apples in the refrigerator. The committee didn’t have some disagreement about the final wording. There isn’t some fruit in the refrigerator.

Articles

Use some or any as appropriate in the following positive and negative statements. The first question is done as an example.

There aren’t any meeting scheduled for Friday afternoon.

______ reporters beginning to ask questions.

He certainly didn’t show _____ concern for the outcome.

______rice always sticks to the bottom of the cooking pot.

The store didn’t have ________ brown rice.

There are ____ big mountains to the west of here.

I certainly didn’t receive ____encouragement to go ahead.

______responses were quite favorable.

I didn’t like _____ choices that were open to us.

We need to get _____ gas before we leave town.

We won’t be able to get______gas before we reach Alburquerque.

Noncount nouns Are names for categories of things. For example the noncount noun housing is

a collective term that refers to an entire category of places where people temporarily or permanently reside, such as a room, house, dormitory, condo, tent and so on. Category Examples

Abstractions Beauty, faith, luck

Academic fields Chemistry, economics, physics

Food Butter, meat, salt

Gerunds Running, smiling, winning

Languages Arabic, English, Spanish

Liquids and gases Air, blood, gasoline

Materials Cement, paper, wood

Natural phenomena Electricity, matter, space

Sports and games Baseball, chess, soccer

Weather words Fog, rain, wind

Noncount nouns The following words are all noncount nouns. Put each noun into the category

that is most appropriate for it. The first word is done as an example.

Category

Abstractions

Academic fields

Food

Gerunds

Languages

Liquids and gases Beer

Materials

Natural phenomena

Sports and games

Weather words

Beer Charitycheese Chinesecoffee footballgeology glassgold gravityhope knowledgelaughing literatureoxygen pepperpoker riceRussian sleepingsnow sunshinetalking timewool

Articles

Making categorical statements without any articles. When we want to talk about something as a whole category rather than

as an individual member of that category. We do this by using noncount nouns or plural count nouns without article or any other kind of determiners. The wood on the deck need refinishing. (the wood on a particular deck) We are going to need some wood. (Wood is introduced for the first time) Wood is usually more expensive than plastic. (In general terms) The textbooks for my chemistry class are really expensive. (Specific textbooks) Textbooks are really expensive. (textbooks in general)

To identify a particular category of things (as opposed to other comparable categories), but not with the intention of generalizing about them. The speed limit for trucks is 65mph. (the sign identifies a category of vehicles)

Test your knowledge(categorical/noncategorical)

Identify the nouns in bold as either categorical or noncategorical. I think airports are getting more crowded every day. All the airports near us are impossibly crowded. 1. At midday, some sunshine was getting through the clouds. 2. Sunshine has bleached the old curtains until they were nearly white. 3. Bridges are always the most expensive part of road building. 4. The instructor said that assignments were due every Monday. 5. I couldn’t finish the last assignment. 6. Engines often overheat on long trips through the desert. 7. In real estate, location is everything. 8. The company was looking for a new location for the plant. 9. There is a freeze on new hiring. 10. Success has a thousand fathers, while failure is an orphan.

Articles

Making categorical statements without any articles. When we want to talk about something as a whole category rather than

as an individual member of that category. We do this by using noncount nouns or plural count nouns without article or any other kind of determiners. The wood on the deck need refinishing. (the wood on a particular deck) We are going to need some wood. (Wood is introduced for the first time) Wood is usually more expensive than plastic. (In general terms) The textbooks for my chemistry class are really expensive. (Specific textbooks) Textbooks are really expensive. (textbooks in general)

To identify a particular category of things (as opposed to other comparable categories), but not with the intention of generalizing about them. The speed limit for trucks is 65mph. (the sign identifies a category of vehicles)