Article (a, an, the)

Articles always followed by a noun.

In english we have three kinds of article a, an, the

The Indefinite Article

Indefinite Article are used to refer to non specifik person or thing.

In Indifinite Article have two kinds of article “a” and “an”.

Article “a” used in front of words that begin with consonant. Consonant: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, v, w,x, y, z.

For Example:

-          A book

-          A car

-          A dog

-          A tie

-          A soldier

-          A pencil

Article “an” used in front of words that begin with vowel. Vowel: a, i, u, e, o.

For Example:

-          An apple

-          An island

-          An umbrella

-          An eraser

-          An orange

There are certain words that use the article “an” although begins with consonant.

For Example:

-          An hour/awr/

-          An herb/erb/

-          An MOU/emowyuw/

-          An SMA student/ esemei estieyuwdieieentie/

-          An honor/’anar/

‘hour’ word begins with vowel ‘a’

‘herb’ word begins with vowel ‘e’

‘MOU’ word begins with vowel ‘em’

‘SMA’ word begins with vowel ‘es’

And ‘honor’ word begins with vowel ‘a’

Example above begins with a vowel then we use the article ‘an’.

There are certain words that use the article ‘a’ although begins with vowel. 
For Example:

-          A university

-          A uniform

-          A unity

Universitiy, uniform and unity words begins with consonant ‘yuw’ then we can be used article ‘a’.

Articles ‘a’ or ‘an’ can’t be used in front of Uncountable Noun. 
For example:

-          We drink water ||NOT|| We drink a water.

-          We buy coffee ||NOT|| We buy a coffee.

Article ‘a’ or ‘an’ can’t be used in front of plural. 
For Example:

-          They like apples ||NOT|| They like an apples.

-          Anto buys bags ||NOT|| Anto buys a bags.

The Definite Article

Definite Article are used for object or specifik person or object has been mentioned previously.

In Indifinite Article have one kind of article “the”.

Article “the” are used words same, second, next, only, last.

For Example:

-          Tono’s character and Tini’s character are the same.

-          This is the last meeting .

-          The next book will be launched tomorrow .

-          The only thing I want to do now is sleeping .

Article “the” can be used with superlative.

For Example:

-          Is Nile the longest river in the world?

-          Miis world is the most beautiful woman in the world.

Article “the” can be used indicated a group of people.

For example:

-          The deaf are sitting.

-          The blind have the sixt sense.

Article “the” can be used indicated for nationality or the people of that country.

For Example:

-          The British like Football.

-          The Sundanese like the fresh vegetable

Article “the” can be used in front names of ocean, sea, river, gulf, canal, peninsula.

For Example:

-          The Atlantic Ocean

-          The Java Sea

-          The Mississipi

-          The Persian Gulf

-          The Iberian Peninsula

Article “the” can be used in front names of island

For Example:

-          The Bahamas

-          The Hawaian Island

Article “the” can be used in front names of mountains.

For Example:

-          The Rock Moutains

-          The Alps

Article “the” can be used in front names of wastelan

For Example:

-          The Gobi desert

-          The Sahara desert

Article “the” can’t be used for:

Names of Months and Day

For Example:

-          January ||NOT|| The January

-          Monday ||NOT||The Monday

Names of country

For Example:

-          America ||NOT|| The America

Names of airport

For Example:

Sukarno Hatta Airport ||NOT|| The Sukarno Hatta Airport

Names of University

For Exmple:

Harvard University ||NOT|| The Havard University

Names of chemical

For Example:

-          Oxygen ||NOT|| The Oxygen

Names of streets

For Example:

-          Mawar street ||NOT|| The Mawar streeet

Names of rivers

For Example:

-          Ciliwung River ||NOT|| The Ciliwung River

Names of lake

For Example:

-          Lake Toba ||NOT|| The Lake Toba

Names of cities and state

For Example:

-          Jakarta ||NOT|| The Jakarta

-          Indonesian||NOT|| The Indonesia

10 Example “Article a, an, the”

1.      The pricipal will make a decision concerning the sstudents.

2.      I have a car.

3.      Yesterday, was bought an appple.

4.      Isa bought a book. The book is good.

5.      The sun is shining.

6.      The moon revolves around the earth once a month.

7.      We can see many stars in the sky.

8.      The next book will be launched tomorrow .

9.      The only thing I want to do now is sleeping.

10.  Miis world is the most beautiful woman in the world.

Exercise
Fill in the blanks with a, an, the or without a, an, the.

1.      I will make..........effort to get a succes.

2.      My mother is........................the doctor.

3.      ................Oxygen is needed for us to breathe.

4.      ......................rich will become richer and................poor will become poorer.

5.      I will study at...............Yale University.

6.      ....................Sahara is the largest desert in the world.

7.      The biggest continent in the world is..................Asia.

8.      I have a book...................book is very good.

9.      They like to buy..............bananas. 

10.  I want to visit..................friend of mine

Referensi Buku:

“The Best English For Grammar For Toefel”

Ir. Fahmi Sofyan, M Hum

Pustaka Tarbiyah Baru, Jakarta

Cetakan 1, September 2013