Articles 1

There are lots of rules about the use of articles. Here well concentrate on 3 golden rules. Most mistakes with articles are made
through breaking one of these rules.

1. When we say what peoples jobs are, we use a/an

Shes an architect.

Hes a doctor.

My grandfather was a teacher.

2. Singular, countable nouns always have an article a/an or the or another determiner (my, your, this, that etc.)
Remember that we use the indefinite article - a/an - when we talk about something that is not definite.

I saw a good film yesterday. The listener doesnt know which film.

Theres a man at the door. We dont know who the man is.

Do you want a drink? Its not a particular drink.

and we use the definite article - the when we talk about something more certain.

Im going to take the dog for a walk. The dog is a pet its not just any dog.

Have you seen the car key? Speaker and listener know which car. Its not just any car.

They live in the house opposite ours. Theres only one house opposite. Its not any house.

3. When we talk about things in general we usually use a plural noun or an uncountable noun with no article.

Birds eat worms. NOT The birds eat the worms.

Water flows downhill.

Kangaroos live in Australia.

BUT We went to the zoo and saw the kangaroos. These are particular kangaroos not kangaroos in general.
There are many other rules about articles but remembering these 3 golden rules will reduce the number of mistakes you make.

Articles 2

In Articles 1 we looked at the 3 golden rules of articles:

1.Peoples jobs have a/an. Hes an architect.

2.Singular countable nouns have an article. Thats the woman I met last week.
3.Things in general no article. Cats like mice.

Here we look at some other rules for the use of articles.

Special places

My sons at university but my daughter still goes to school.

He was sent to prison for 10 years.
Now that winters here I find it difficult to get out of bed.
I go to work by bus but I go home on foot.
In expressions with a number of places there is no article after a preposition.

These places include: to/at school, to/at university/college, to/in church, to/in/out of
prison, to/in hospital, to/in/out of bed, to/at work, at home.

NOTE: While we say go to school and go to work etc, the expression go home
has neither the nor to.

Transport

I go to work by bus but I go home on foot.

I hate travelling by train.
Modes of transport (by bus, by train, by car, by plane, by bicycle) dont have an
article. Notice that on foot is different.

Geography

No article continents (Africa, Asia etc.) countries (France, Germany, Slovakia etc but the Slovak Republic, the United States, the United Kingdom) towns & cities
(Bratislava, London etc.) lakes (Lake Victoria, Lake Balaton etc.) universities (Oxford
University, Nitra University etc.)

With the seas & oceans (the Atlantic, the Mediterranean etc.) mountain ranges
(the Himalayas, the Tatras) rivers (the Amazon, the Danube etc.)

Other expressions

I dont watch television very often but I listen to the radio all the time.
Ive got a headache.
Ive got a stomach-ache
Ive got a cold.
BUT

Ive got flu.

Ive got earache.
Ive got toothache.

1. What is the difference between sentence stress and word stress?

Check your answer In sentence stress, we think about which words are
stressed,whereas in word stress, we think about which syllables are stressed.

2. Read the following sentences aloud to yourself. Which words are stressed?

Example: They are my first class.

Thats the one Im teaching right now.

I have a class of beginners and an advanced class.
I really like the morning class.
Listen and compare your stressed words with the recording.

Check your answers That's / teaching / now beginners / advanced morning class

In English, articles and other grammatical items tend not to be stressed because
they aren't the content words and so don't carry as much meaning.
3. Practice saying the example sentences from question 2. Remember to only
stress the content words.

Record yourself using the Vocaroo tool and listen back to check your pronunciation.
Compare your pronunciation with the recording above.