Definite and Indefinite Articles

Emily:	Joshua, are you worried about your privacy on the internet?
Joshua:	Are you asking me about identity theft? For example, people hacking into my computer?
Emily:	Not exactly. I mean keeping your privacy. Preventing people from having access to your photos on social media.
Joshua:	Not really.
Emily:	I just read an article about a college student in Pittsburgh. She posted a photo of herself drinking alcohol and wearing a pirate hat at a party. The caption she wrote said, “Drunken pirate.” Then, even though she was over the legal drinking age, her university denied her a degree in teaching. She was asked to leave the school.
Joshua:	Really? Does the college have a right to do that? Hmm… though, I guess she shouldn’t have posted the picture in the first place.
Emily:	Of course it was not wise. She’s a teacher. Posting a photo of herself drunk at a party doesn’t set a very good example for her students, does it? But at the same time, I’m sure the professors at her university have had some drinks at a party before. It seems a bit like a double standard to me.
Joshua:	But they didn’t do it online.
Emily:	That’s a good point. In fact, that’s exactly what the article is about. Because of social media and the internet, nothing is forgotten anymore. Once you upload a photo or post a message to social media, it never goes away. Unless you delete it.
Joshua:	That’s not exactly true! Someone can save a photo before you delete it by taking a screenshot. And there’s even a website that archives old versions of webpages. So even if you delete something, it can still stay online. Forever.
Emily:	I guess you just need to be very careful of what you post.
Joshua:	It may not be enough.
Emily:	Why?
Joshua:	Because what if someone takes a photo of you at a party or a bar and uploads it to the internet? Some social media sites like Facebook have technology that can automatically identify your face and tag you.
Emily:	That’s quite concerning. Though, it’s not all bad. For example, the internet is making a permanent record of what people say now. So, if a politician uses hate speech or says something inappropriate, voters will be able to see in the future.
Joshua:	That’s true. But what if they say something when they’re very young? Let’s say 17, 18 years old. Then they run for office thirty years later. Can’t a person change and be forgiven?
Emily:	Well, that’s a hypothetical question.
Joshua:	Not at all! It has happened in the past. While running for president, Barack Obama admitted to doing drugs when he was in college. He was still elected president. Bill Clinton cheated on his wife while he was in office and still had a 70% approval rating after. Clearly, they were both forgiven by most Americans.
Emily:	Well, Americans are generally very forgiving. For some things, a person should be given a second chance. Like for past drug or alcohol abuse. But for others, like inappropriate sexual conduct, no!
Joshua:	Emily, you know, I just thought of something funny… I bet the person who will become the President of the United States in thirty years is a college student posting a picture on Instagram right now, as we speak.

Definite and Indefinite Articles

Article Usage

Articles modify nouns. In English, there are two articles. “The” is the definite article and “a/an” is the indefinite article. “The” is used to refer to a specific noun. “A/an” is used to refer to a general noun.

Let’s watch the movie I brought. Let’s watch this specific movie I brought. Let’s watch a movie. Let’s watch any movie.

I. Definite Articles

“The” is used before singular and plural nouns when the speaker is referring to a particular noun. For example: “The waitress brought my food quickly.” Here, the speaker is referring to a specific waitress, not any waitress in general.

The car in front of us is expensive. The front door is open.

When we use the definite article, both speakers know what is being discussed.

I asked the teacher for help. Both students only have one teacher. The sky is blue. There is only one sky. The teacher gave the answer. There was only one correct answer to the question.

Note: We use the for both singular and plural nouns.

The student sat down.✔ Correct The students sat down. ✔ Correct

II. Indefinite Articles

“A/an” is used before a noun that is not specific. For example: “I need a new computer.” Here, the speaker is referring to any computer that is new.

I am looking for a new job. The teacher asked the student for an answer. She ate a hamburger for lunch.

Use the an indefinite article when the item is:

• new
• unknown
• the details are not necessary to the listener

I have a sister. The listener does not know my sister. A police officer is on the street. It’s not important which police officer is on the street. Do you have a pen? The speaker wants any pen.

Note: A means 1.

There is a dog. There is one dog.

Indefinite articles can only be used with singular nouns.

A student raised her hand. ✔ Correct One student raised her hand. A students raised their hands. ✘ Not correct

III. Two Types of Indefinite Articles

A is used before nouns that start with a consonant sound. An is used before nouns that start with a vowel sound. (a phone/an eye/an hour).

For the vowel sounds /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/, we use an.

An apple An elephant An ice cream cone An umbrella

And with the silent “h”.

An hour An honor

Likewise, there are some vowels that can make consonant sounds like “y” and “w”.

A uniform (makes y sound) A URL (makes y sound) A one-time chance (makes w sound)

Definite and Indefinite Articles

Fill in the blank with a/an/the.

Definite and Indefinite Articles

Fill in the blank with a/an.