![[C-C+] Articles and More](https://images.ctfassets.net/r30ratzbtbbf/7B2yVUTzEefvYjRIVKl2u9/06608d3242c7a135c04435731abe3f47/Articles_and_More.png)
LET'S READ! 📖
Direction: Read the passage below then answer the questions being asked.
I just received a postcard from the Robinsons, a family I met last year in the US. It made me start thinking: When was the last time I actually sent a letter or a postcard to someone? It's strange, the postal service has been part of daily life for centuries. And suddenly, within a single generation, the postal system is on its way to becoming a thing of the past. These days, few people send letters.
Today, email is a far more common way to communicate with friends and family. It's also a faster and cheaper way to communicate. When I send an email to a friend in a distant country, the friend will receive the email almost immediately. What's more, I have the ability to attach a photograph, a video, or an MP3. And I don't even have to buy an expensive stamp.
But the world is changing quickly. In a decade or two, we might all be using a totally different kind of technology to communicate.
QUESTIONS
1. Why did the speaker feel strange about the situation?
2. What are the good points of using emails?
LET'S UNDERSTAND! 📚
Articles
- An article is a word that comes before a noun to show if it's specific or general.
1. A/an
- used with singular countable nouns.
- used to talk about something that the listener or the reader doesn't know about yet.
-
The Ancient Greeks sent and received messages using a scytale.
Example:
🔺 used to talk about professions and to describe what something or someone is.
Example:
She is a strict manager.
🔺 used to mean 'every' in expressions of time or quantity.
Example:
We can handle up to 500 calls an hour at our new offices.
🔺 When we are surprised, angry, or excited about something, we can use the expression 'What a .. !'
🔺 For plural or uncountable nouns, use 'What...!' (no article)
Example:
| with article | no article |
|---|---|
What an infectious laugh she has! | What terrible weather! |
2. The
- used with singular and plural countable and uncountable nouns.
- used when the listener or reader knows what the speaker or writer is talking about.
Example:
Kyle got back to the country just as the gallery was closed to the public.
🔺 used when the speaker specifies what or who they are talking about.
Example:
The woman wearing mismatched shoes was very embarrassed.
🔺 used with things that are the only ones around us, or that are unique.
Example:
| the sun | the Statue of Liberty |
| the planet | the Buckingham Palace |
| the sky | the White House |
🔺 used in a number of expressions referring to the world around us or things that we all know about.
Example:
| the mountains | the government |
| the city | the internet |
| the universe | the buildings |
🔺 used before superlatives
Example:
| the most popular film | the most expensive car |
| the highest mountain | the cheapest food |
3. No article
- We don't use any article with plural or uncountable nouns when we are talking about things in general.
See the difference:
| Life is a battle from cradle to grave. | The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams. |
🔺 Most names of places and people have no article, but in some countries, island groups, oceans, and names of rivers, we use the article 'the'.
Example:
| no article | with article |
|---|---|
| Japan, Singapore, Australia, Spain, Qatar | the Philippines, the Netherlands, the United States, the Bahamas |
- Grammar Note 💡
-
-
📌 We can use the or no article with seasons.
-
📌 Articles are often omitted in newspaper headlines, mobile phone text messages, and Internet chat rooms.
-
📌 Meals, months, days, and special times of the year do not usually take an article.
-
📌 There is no article with words like these, my, us.
-
LET'S PRACTICE! 📝
A. Direction: Describe your neighborhood using the articles a, an, and the. Make at least five sentences.
You should be able to:
- talk about where your neighborhood is located,
- explain what it is famous for,
- talk about the amenities that are available in your neighborhood, and
- share what makes you like your neighborhood.