Articles in English. What is it? English Exercises

The man decided to learn English. Where does he start? Of course, he will learn the alphabet, begin to learn the rules of reading. And one of the first topics to study will be articles. In Russian, there are no analogues of these particles. Exercises on articles in the English language are often perplexing for schoolchildren who have just begun to learn the language, and adults who have tackled in the same field. However, it is not difficult to study and correctly apply these seemingly intricate particles. The theory will help in this and some exercises on articles in the English language.

The concept of the article in English

Articles are official words. Although they are not translated, certain functions have:

• firstly, the presence of the article before the word indicates that this word is a noun;
• secondly, the presence of an article of a certain type indicates the corresponding attributes of an object.

Strictly speaking, there are two articles:

• defined - THE, means that the object in front of him is clear, familiar. For example, the expression the man can be translated as "that same man"
• undefined - A, which, if faced with a word beginning with a vowel, is transformed into AN. These articles indicate that the object they define is incomprehensible, unfamiliar. And man is one of the men.

Rules for the use of articles

Only knowing the rules, you can competently perform exercises on articles in the English language. It is often difficult for a beginner to put the correct article.

In fact, there are many rules for using articles. There are even more exceptions. Article proficiency is one of the criteria for language proficiency. The basic rules for using the articles are discussed below.

The indefinite article is used in cases:

• if the object is present in the text (conversation) for the first time;
• if in connection with the mention of the object turnover is used there is;
• if the defined object is a characteristic of a person (position, nationality);
• if the object is only one;
• if the object is a general group to which membership is indicated.

The use of a certain article is appropriate in cases:

• if the mention of the object has already occurred earlier in the text (conversation);
• if the object belongs to a specific group;
• if the noun is determined by ordinal;
• if the object is a unique phenomenon;
• if the object is the subject of a familiar environment;
• if the object is a name related to water bodies, some states, mountains, newspapers.

To perform the article exercises in English, these rules may not be enough, depending on what level of English proficiency the exercise is designed for. However, for the elementary school level this knowledge should be enough.

English Exercises

Exercises on articles are of several types, they depend on the level of knowledge of the language.

The simplest:

• put a / an correctly, depending on whether the word begins with a vowel or consonant;
• put down articles with names (here you need to work hard and remember the rules and exceptions);
• depending on the context, put this or that article in the finished English text;
• translate into English from Russian texts using the correct articles.

All exercises on the articles in the English language can be performed step by step, learning the rules. Knowledge of the English language opens up great prospects for every person, you just need not to be lazy, learn the rules and practice as much as possible.