Articles and nouns (grammar support)

Part 1: Chapter 3

Questions to consider

A. What kinds of nouns are not countable? How does that characterization impact their use?

B. What meanings are conveyed with the use of  definite articles? How are indefinite articles used differently?

Count and noncount nouns

Nouns are words that name things, places, people, and ideas. Typical educational objects, desks, computers, and notebooks are countable nouns like most physical objects, people and places. A countable (or count, a shortened form) noun refers to people, places, and things that are separate units; regular nouns become plural by adding -s.

A noncount noun identifies a whole object or idea that cannot be separated and counted individually. Noncount nouns may refer to concrete or abstract objects. A concrete noun is an object that can be seen, tasted, touched, or counted. An abstract noun identifies an object that cannot be seen, touched, or counted. There are some exceptions, but most abstract nouns cannot be made plural, so they are noncount nouns. Abstractions (like joy); categories (like furniture); and specific forms or materials (liquids, e.g. water; gases, e.g. oxygen; and other substances, e.g. sugar and rice, too small to count) make up the majority of noncount nouns.

Examples: noncount nouns

Incorrect: five moneys, two researches, three sugars

Correct: some money, two pieces of furniture, two teaspoons of sugar

Some nouns are used as both countable and non- depending on the context. When using these words (e.g. light, paper, experience, time), it is important to consider the meaning of the noun.

Some contrasting usage illustrates nouns that can be both countable and non-countable

Count:There are not enough lights in the lab.
Noncount:There is not enough light in the lab.

Count:I needed to take the test four times to finish the test.
Noncount:I needed more time to finish the test.

Definite and indefinite articles

The word the is a definite article. It refers to one (or more) specific person, place, object or idea; for example, the woman refers to not any woman but a particular woman. The definite article the is used before singular and plural count nouns.

The words a and an are indefinite articles. They refer to a single, nonspecific person, place, object or idea. For example, a woman refers to any woman, not a specific, particular woman. The indefinite article a or an is used before a singular count noun.

Examples: Definite articles (the) and indefinite articles (a/an) with count nouns

I saw the concert. (singular; refers to a specific concert)

I saw the concerts. (plural; refers to more than one specific concert)

I saw the U2 concert last night. (singular; refers to a specific concert)

I saw a concert. (singular; refers to any nonspecific concert)

Two basic article rules

The following rules will help to determine when and what kind of article is required.
Rule #1: A singular count noun needs an article or a determiner.
Choose a or an if the noun is indefinite. Choose the if the noun is definite
Rule #2: A plural or noncount noun does not need an article unless it is definite.

Language in Action

A. What information is conveyed through the choice and use of articles in English?
B. In what situations are article always or never used?

Other count-noncount connections

Whether a noun is count or noncount also guides the use of some expressions of quantity.

universal: no, some, any, a lot of, plenty of, most, all
count nouns: both, a couple of, a few, several, many, number of
noncount nouns: a little, much, amount

Examples

Incorrect: the amount of people,  a few information

Correct: the number of students, a little money

Review and Reinforce

Persistent errors undermine reader confidence in the information and overall message of writing because accurate use of nouns and their companion modifiers adds clarity to academic writing and contributes to the overall rhythm of written work.

Exercise #1

Exercise #2

Choose the correct article and modifier for each of the following sentences.

  1. (A/An/The) camel can live for (little/any/a number of) days without water.
  2. (Most/Little/Ø) American universities offer (a/an/the) degree in business.
  3. I sampled (a/an/the) pastries at (all/no/much) of the bakeries in that neighborhood.
  4. There is (no/many/few) scientific evidence of the long-term effects of some medications.
  5. (A/An/The) politician spoke of (an amount of/many/much) important issues.
  6. (A/The/Ø) research on compliance suggests (all/few/Ø) graduate students complete (a/an/the) assigned readings for every class.
  7. They really enjoyed (a/an/the) actor’s performance in (several/a few/no) plays.
  8. (Some/Little/The) energy drinks contain (a/an/the) lengthy list of ingredients but have (few/little/much) nutritional value.
  9. (A/An/The) goal I have is to run (one/a number of/a little) races this year.
  10. (A/The/Ø) public libraries in (the/some/Ø) United States have rapidly adapted to (a/the/Ø)ongoing changes in information technology.

Exercise #3

Correct the misused or missing articles.[1]

1Stars are large balls of the spinning hot gas. 2The stars look tiny because they are far away. 3Many of them are much larger than sun. 4A Milky Way galaxy has between a two hundred billion and a four hundred billion stars in it. 5Scientists estimate that there may be as many as five hundred billion galaxies in an entire universe. 6Just like a human being, the star has a life cycle from the birth to death, but its lifespan is billions of years long. 7The star is born in a cloud of cosmic gas and dust called nebula. 8Sun was born in the nebula nearly five billion years ago. 9Photographs of the star-forming nebulas are astonishing.

Media Attributions

  1. Adapted from Hall, B., & Wallace, E. (2018). College ESL Writers: Applied Grammar and Composing Strategies for Success English Open Textbooks. 14.https://oer.galileo.usg.edu/english-textbooks/14 ↵
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Sourcing, summarizing, and synthesizing:  Skills for effective research writing  Copyright © 2023 by Wendy L. McBride is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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