Spoken English Class Note 10
Using Articles with Pronouns
Possessive pronouns can help identify whether you’re talking about specific or nonspecific items. As we’ve seen, articles also indicate specificity. But if you use both a possessive pronoun and an article at the same time, readers will become confused. Possessive pronouns are words like his, my, our, its, her, and their. Articles should not be used with pronouns. Consider the examples below.
Incorrect: Why are you reading the my book?
The and my should not be used together since they are both meant to modify the same noun. Instead, you should use one or the other, depending on the intended meaning:
Correct: Why are you reading the book?
Correct: Why are you reading my book?
Omission of Articles
Occasionally, articles are omitted altogether before certain nouns. In these cases, the article is implied but not actually present. This implied article is sometimes called a “zero article.” Often, the article is omitted before nouns that refer to abstract ideas. Look at the following examples:
Incorrect: Let’s go out for a dinner tonight.
Correct: Let’s go out for dinner tonight.
Incorrect: The creativity is a valuable quality in children.
Correct: Creativity is a valuable quality in children.
Many languages and nationalities are not preceded by an article. Consider the example below: Incorrect: I studied the French in high school for four years.
Correct: I studied French in high school for four years.
Sports and academic subjects do not require articles. See the sentences below for reference: Incorrect: I like to play the baseball.
Correct: I like to play baseball .
Incorrect: My sister was always good at the math .
Correct: My sister was always good at math .
Use ‘A’ before a word which begins with a consonant sound.
a man a pen a boy a car
a house a movie a star a bike
a student a watch a computer a school
a shoe a bottle a mouse a tiger
a camera a city a teacher a website
a dollar a machine a game a fish
Use ‘AN’ before a word which begins with a vowel sound
an umbrella an elephant an actor
an emergency an American an automobile
an ant an ice-cream an ambulance
an equipment an airplane an offer