Articles, articles, articles! A, An, The or No article?
So what are the rules? It's so confusing! It can be super confusing but for the B2
First Cambridge exam it's actually quite simple! My name is
Toby, this is SMASH English and here is all you need to know
about articles for the B2 First Cambridge exam!
Let's begin by keeping things simple. In English we have two types of
articles. We have the definite article "the" or "the" and the indefinite articles
"a" and "an". Simple enough. The basics.
Let's look at this fantastic piece of writing: I was amazed!
I saw a massive rat eating a carrot. The carrot was half eaten and the rat
looked very happy. Why did I do that? Now I have to try and find footage of a
giant rat eating a carrot which is probably
impossible and that is why you are looking at my
face now and not a giant rat!
So why have we used "a" and "the" here? Well we use "a"
or "an" when we talk about singular countable nouns for the first time.
I saw a rat eating a carrot. We use "the" to refer
back to previously mentioned countable nouns
when we know which one we are talking about. I saw
a rat, the rat was big. This is a shirt, the shirt is
brown and blue... horrible colors... But I rock it, right? I look great!
This is a nose. The nose is beautiful and big
and pig-like... The Earth, the Sun,
the Moon, the River Ganges, the Solar System. Yes this is a great
documentary! But more importantly why have I used
"the" here? How many earths are there? How many moons are there? (okay moons that
we can see) How many solar systems are there? (that we
can see) How many River Ganges are there?
ONE! If there is only one thing in existence
then we use "the". "THE". So what's the difference in meaning
between these two sentences: I will get AN
umbrella. I will get THE umbrella. In the first example
I have more than one umbrella and it is not
important which umbrella I get. In the second example I only have
one umbrella. In this context there is only one umbrella in existence.
So we use "the" when there is only one of a countable noun in existence
or when there is only one that is important
in this context. We use "a" or "an" when there is more than one in
existence and it does not matter which one we are talking
about. So please watch a SMASH English video
after this one! Any SMASH English video! It doesn't matter! Just watch a SMASH
English video, right? Yes! And like and subscribe and
comment! Articles and nations. We don't usually use an article
before countries: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales,
Peru, Jamaica, Haiti, China, Japan,
Chile, Russia, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the United
States. Huh?! What?! The United States!? The Netherlands!?
What is going on!? I don't know! Toby, help me! However there are some
exceptions. When a country is made up of multiple parts we use "the".
The United States, the United Kingdom , the Faroe Islands, the Philippines, the
Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates. My geography is terrible but these are
places in the world with "the". Or if a country has a special name
we also use "the". For example: the Democratic Republic of Congo,
or the People's Republic of China. All these articles are making me thirsty!
I need water! Water!? Why is there no article before
water!? Water is uncountable and we do not
put an article before uncountable nouns however a bottle
is countable and we can put an indefinite or a definite article before
a countable noun. I drink water, I drink a bottle of water.
Abstract and general nouns. We also do not use an
article when talking about a noun in general,
a noun in its abstract sense. For example: democracy. Democracy is not something
concrete, it is an idea so because it is not
concrete because it is abstract we don't use an article.
Food is another example. Food is a general
idea it is not concrete and so if I talk about
food, all food in general, "I love food" we don't need an article.
But what if we move from the general to the specific?
I love food especially THE food in Thailand. I love food,
all food in general but THE food in Thailand is specific so I must use a
definite article. I hate people. This means I hate
all people, people in general! They are terrible!
But I love the people that watch my videos! Now I'm being specific.
We're talking generally: no article, but as soon as we become specific
we need to use the definite article. Well that was the best video on articles
ever, am I right, guys? And of course I use this as an opportunity to teach!
THE best video ever. THE best. We also use a definite article before
superlatives. So knowing the rules is good but can you use them?
Well, let's find out! Let's take a test! Yes! Tests! I love tests and you love
tests! Let's go!
Here is a great story about talking dogs and peas. My two favorite things
in the world. In the spaces you must decide
A or AN, THE or nothing. Let me tell you about great day in my
life. In fact greatest day of my life.
day began when dog started talking to me. He told me that people were arguing
about price of peas. Even though
price of peas was high quality was low. How terrible! Apparently they were being
imported from United States of America. Let's begin.
What do you think should go in this space? A,
AN, THE or NOTHING? The answer is A. Day is a countable noun
and it is being mentioned for the first time.
Here? Well greatest is a superlative that means we need THE. Next we need
THE this is because day is a countable noun
and now we are being specific, we are mentioning the day for the second
time so we know which day we are referring to.
Now we need A because dog is countable and mentioned for the first
time. What about this though? People? Hmm...
Plural and non-specific so we do not need an article here but
what about price? Are we being specific or are we being general? Well we are
referring specifically to peas so because we are referring to
the specific price of peas we need a definite article
before price. But we are referring to peas in general not the specific
peas in a specific shop so peas does not need
an article. Again with price we need to use THE because we are
referring to the specific price of peas and for the same reason
THE quality because we are referring to the specific
quality of peas. And lastly THE United States of America is a
special country and because it is made up of multiple
components we need an article: THE United States of
America. How did you do? I have no idea but I will imagine that
you did fantastically! So well done! And with that we
are finished. Now you know everything you need to know
about articles for the B2 First Cambridge exam.
If you liked the video don't forget to SMASH that like button, subscribe if you
haven't already, leave a comment down below! My name is Toby and this
was SMASH English...
you