Writing Center Tutorial - Grammar

Grammar Help for ESL Students: Articles

Specific Sense Articles

The Specific Sense of a noun is used when the writer wants to express an item as one specific member of that type, distinct from all other types. The article "the" is used to make a noun specific.

Examples:
the chair, the students, the sand

The article "the" is also used with many proper nouns--formal names or titles of people, geographical locations, countries and companies.

Examples:
the United States, the State of Colorado, the Dean of Students

Some geographical features and locations take "the" while others do not.

Geographical Features & Locations That Take "The":
Oceans, seas & rivers: the Atlantic Ocean, the Red Sea, the Nile River
Plains, valleys & deserts: the Great Plains, the Mississippi Valley, the Sahara Desert
Mountain ranges, groups of islands & groups of lakes: the Rocky Mountains, the Virgin Islands, the Great Lakes
Global zones: the North Pole, the Eastern Hemisphere, the Equator

Geographical Features & Locations That Don't Take "The"
Continents, cities, states, countries: Europe, Tokyo, California
Single mountains, islands and lakes: Mount Taylor, Sicily, Lake Superior

Indefinite Sense Articles

The Indefinite Sense of a noun is used for items which are not identified specifically as a particular individual. This sense is used to name an example of a certain type of noun, but exactly which one is not important. The articles used to express the indefinite sense are "a," "an," "some," and "any."

"A" and "An" are used with singular count nouns. "A" is used when the word following it starts with a consonant sound, while "an" is used when the word following it starts with a vowel sound.

Examples:
a book, a strange smell, a university, an apple, an unusual occurrence, an hour

The article "some" is used with plural count nouns and mass nouns. "Some" can refer to an indefinite amount of a particular item or a portion or part of all members of a type of item.

Examples:
Some books were left on the table.
Some flour spilled there.
Some ants do not bite.
Some research was used.