English Articles - A, An, The, Zero Article - 5 Common Mistakes

Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English  with Jennifer. If you didn't know before,  

I'll tell you now that I love grammar. I think  it's because I like organization in my life,  

and knowing that language makes use of  structures is very comforting to someone like me.  

Word order, for example, tells us that words fit  together neatly, logically, and predictably. But  

even if you don't share my love for grammar,  you still probably appreciate patterns.  

Patterns are all around us. There are patterns  in the clothes we wear, like plaid or stripes. Or  

how about patterns in music? Think of a song that  you like. It has patterns of musical notes and an  

underlying rhythm. The balance between repetition  and variation is what makes it enjoyable and  

interesting. Another example is fiction. Think of  good books and movies. The stories hold together  

because they follow a pattern. First, we learn  the setting and the characters. Then a conflict  

develops. Drama increases until we reach  a climax, and then we enjoy a resolution.

Patterns. That's all grammar is. Grammar  

is made up of language patterns  that we can follow and predict.  

Once you learn these patterns, you can become  more accurate and confident in your communication.

So, let's go over some  common mistakes with articles.  

These are mistakes people make when  they don't follow the usual patterns.

Are you looking for a job?  There's a opening at my company.

Which article is incorrect?

The second one. Right? I need to say "an opening"  because "opening" begins with a vowel sound.

We use A before consonant sound. We use AN  before a vowel sound. Notice I said vowel sound,  

not letter. "University" begins with the  letter "u," but I pronounce that with a /y/  

sound. University. So, I say "a university"  not "an university." A university.

Take a look at this list. Which  article do we need in each phrase?

a unit

an Uber driver, an honest person

a horrible person

an equal opportunity, a European city

And your bonus phrase: an herbal supplement.  Notice I choose AN because I don't pronounce  

the "h" in "herbal." I speak American English.  Someone outside the US might pronounce the "h,"  

in which case they'd choose A.  I say "an herbal supplement."

Do you go to the office every day?

Did you hear the mistake? Listen again.  Do you go to the office every day?

I said "thuh." I should say "thee." The  office. Do you go to the office every day?

Here's a pronunciation pattern you need to  remember: We say "thuh" before a consonant sound.  

We say "thee" before a vowel sound.  Office begins with /ɔ/, a vowel sound, so  

"the office." And I link the two words with the  help of /y/ a "y" sound. The office. The office.

I'll put a link to my lesson on linking  vowel sounds in the video description.

How do we say these phrases? The one and only.

the opportunity of a lifetime

the ultimate sacrifice the unity needed

the entire population

the Euro

When I worked in the cruise line  industry, I visited Bahamas weekly.

Do you see the mistake? Is it in the  first or second half of the sentence?

The second. I need to say "the Bahamas" because  it's an island nation, a group of islands. Most  

countries don't require an article, but here's  a pattern you can follow: If the country is a  

union of some kind, then use the definite article,  like the United States and all of its short forms.  

The USA. The US. The States. But don't use the  before "America." If you have a geographical  

name with UNION, UNITED, STATES, REPUBLIC,  ISLANDS, then you'll need the definite article.

Take a look at this list.  Where are articles needed?

The UK or the United Kingdom,

the Hawaiian Islands, the Philippines,  

like the Bahamas -- an island nation. Notice  how both end in -s. They sound plural. Right?

the former Soviet Union

People often ask for an  advice about learning English.

Do you see the mistake? Is advice countable?  No, so we can't use the indefinite article.

You can ask for advice.  

Pattern. The indefinite article A or AN can  only be used before a singular countable noun.

Don't say "an advice" or "advices." Say: a  piece of advice, some advice, a lot of advice.

Likewise, don't say "a homework."  

Say: a homework assignment, a homework task,  or simply homework. That's an uncountable noun.

We often use "stress" as an uncountable  noun. It's an idea, something abstract,  

so don't say something causes "a stress."  It simply causes stress. You have stress,  

suffer from stress, experience stress. Don't  stick the indefinite article in those phrases.

Which indefinite articles should be removed?

We only need two of those indefinite articles.

Parents can reward good behavior.

You need to have confidence to succeed.

Some people place too much value on money.

There's a clock on the wall. A  mistake isn't the end of the world.

There's always traffic in the city.

When students are at the school,  they must turn their cell phones off.

Where's the mistake?

We don't need that article. We say  "at school" as a common location.

Pattern: At school, at work, at home -- are three  common locations that don't require any article.  

Where's Mom? At work. Where's Grandpa? At  home. Where are the children? At school.

Other common places around town use the article:  

at the bank, at the pharmacy, at the  grocery store, at the gas station.

These places are specific  from context. When I say,  

"My neighbor is at the bank," I mean the bank in  our town, the bank my neighbor usually goes to.

Where are articles needed?

I don't know anyone in prison. Do you?

Leah is still in high school.  Her sister is in college.

I live in Boston. I live in the suburbs.

Nathan is at the dentist's.

Learn this pattern: Jail, school,  college -- are examples of institutions.  

We use the zero article before these  nouns. Someone can be in jail, in prison,  

in court, in high school, in graduate school,  in business school, in medical school, etc.  

Do you know the pattern with types of places?  Places where people live. We use the definite  

article, so people can live in the city, the  suburbs, the countryside, in the mountains.

The dentist's is the dentist's office. It's a  place around town, so we use the definite article.

Now I'm going to give you a longer  quiz on other common uses of the  

indefinite and indefinite articles. Tell  me your score when you're done. Okay?

So, how did you do? You can gain more practice  by going back and answering the questions in the  

quiz. You can learn and reinforce  grammar patterns through practice.  

We'll end here. Remember I have other lessons  on articles as well as countable and uncountable  

nouns. I'll put all useful links in the video  description. That's all for now. Please like  

the video if you found the lesson useful. As  always, thanks for watching and happy studies!

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