Using the Articles a, an, some, and the before Nouns

We develop web-based tutorials to provide instruction on common English grammar problems for non-native speakers of English. The following sample tutorial explains the appropriate use of the article before nouns.

Because of differences in languages, knowing how to use articles before nouns can be difficult to learn for non-native speakers of English. Many languages have rules about using definite (the) and indefinite articles (a, an, or some) before nouns. For example, in French, an article (a, an, some, or the) always precedes a noun. In English, only some nouns require an article. In other languages, articles may not even exist. The following tutorial introduces some general guidelines on how to use articles before nouns in English. Please click on each step to learn the rules or click on the fourth button below ("Test Yourself!") to first see if you know the rules! First, learn to identify "countable" and "non-countable" nouns and when to use the articles a, an, some and the or no article before these nouns. Second, learn when "countable" nouns can also act as "non-countable" nouns. Third, learn how to use the definite article the before nouns. Test yourself! Identify when to use the indefinite articles (a, an, or some) and the definite article the before nouns. Summary: learn a recap of the basic rules of using articles before nouns. [ Scientific Writing Courses | Writing and Editing | Software Documentation ] [ On-line Writing Instruction | Test Yourself! | On-line ESL Instruction ] [ Home | Contact Us ] Copyright 2008-2009 Biotext Writing Consultants http://bio-text.com/ESL.html