00:04articles there are three articles a an and the
00:12all three can be used for singular nouns only that can be used for plural nouns
00:22a and an are indefinite articles you will most likely need to use a or an if you
00:29are referring to a singular countable noun for the first time they refer to
00:36singular nouns that are not specific and are not known to the reader or listener
00:42for example a purse was found the identity of this purse is not known to
00:50the reader or listener so the indefinite article a is used there is a definite
00:58article use it if you're referring to a specific noun and one that is known to
01:03the reader or listener let's go back to this example in a follow-up sentence I'm
01:11going to use the definite article the the purse was handed into the manager the
01:19definite article was used here because this is the second time the noun purse
01:23was mentioned the reader or listener knows that we are now referring to a
01:28specific purse here is another example we saw an alligator we decided to stay away
01:37from the alligator the indefinite article and is used in the first sentence because
01:44the alligator is unknown to the reader or this in the second sentence that is used
01:50because it is now known which alligator it is if a and an are both indefinite
01:57articles how do we know which to use a is used before nouns that begin with a
02:04consonant sound and is used before nouns that begin with a vowel sound a jacket a
02:14chair a chair a key an ice cream an apple an octopus
02:23these words begin with a consonant these words begin with a vowel keep in mind however
02:32that it's the sound that determines whether it's a or an for example in the
02:37words our and honor the H makes a vowel sound we therefore use can for these
02:45words in the words hotel and hat the H makes a consonant sound and so a is used to
02:56make sure we choose the right article it's important we understand the
03:00difference between countable and uncountable nouns a countable noun is an item
03:06that can be counted for example tree couch scooter they have a singular form and a
03:15plural form an uncountable noun is something that can't readily be counted as it has no
03:22clear boundaries for example milk stress bread uncountable nouns usually don't have
03:32plural forms why is this important the indefinite articles a and an can only be
03:42used for singular and countable nouns the definite article that can be used for
03:49singular and plural nouns let's build a chart to help us for singular and countable nouns is it
03:59indefinite use a or an is it definite use the for plural nouns is it definite use the is it
04:10indefinite you don't need an article choose the correct articles to complete the following sentences
04:18pause here while you work
04:22the first needs the definite article as a specific light is being referred to
04:29in the second a specific shirt is not being referred to so it needs an indefinite article
04:35because shirt starts with a consonant we need a
04:40the third a is needed before bird because it isn't a specific bird and it's the first time it's being
04:48referenced but here we must use the because we are referring to the specific bird from the first sentence
04:56number four the definite article the is needed before restaurant no article is needed before delicious
05:04food because food is uncountable and it's not definite here we do need an article because this
05:12is the second time we are referring to the food so we need the definite article the
05:19the last
05:21the zoo a specific zoo is being referred to but not a specific elephant or tiger an elephant a tiger
05:30here we are referring to a specific tiger the tiger that was mentioned in the first sentence
05:35this so we need the
05:37so we need the
05:37x
05:39z
05:39x
05:39x
05:40x
05:40x
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