what is ARTICLES

ARTICLES

Articles are actually limiting adjectives used to modify nouns. Basically, there two kinds of articles in English: the definite article the and the indefinite article a. A has two variants: a and an. The also have two variants: the and the [δi]. A and the are used before nouns that begin with consonant sounds (a book, the school) while an and the are used with nouns that begin with vowel sounds (an egg, the artist).

• The definite article the is used with nouns that are specifically identified in one way or another.
The milk that I bought yesterday should still be good.
The indefinite article is used with nouns that have not been specifically identified.
There is a book on the table.
Articles are used even if a descriptive adjective accompanies the noun.
a telephone a small, black telephone

• No article is used in the following circumstances:

A. when a determiner specifically identifies the noun.
my pencil the my pencil*
that desk a that desk*
* This symbol signifies that the form is ungrammatical.

B. when the noun is of indefinite quality or quantity, that is, noncountable noun.
Coal is mined in Kalimantan.
Note the distinction between countable and non-countable nouns in these examples:
He has a great support system behind him.
He deserves support from us.
C. when the noun is the proper name of a person, street, city, country, etc. and is not qualified.
Miriam is going to visit Mount Bromo in East Java.

• A and an are used only with singular nouns. The is used with singular or plural nouns (the birds, the tables). The is also used in the following circumstances:
A. preceding the proper names of rivers, seas, mountains, and countries that have been qualified in some way.
the Ganges River the Alps
the Indian Ocean the Republic of Austria
B. preceding the names of persons, streets, cities, countries, etc. when they are used as proper adjectives.
the Korean highlands the Malioboro merchants
the Semarang old town the Indonesian foreign policy
C. preceding non-countable nouns when the nouns are followed by modifiers
She loves the ballet of George Balanchine
Compare the following pairs:
Jane is studying sociology.
Jane is studying the sociology of those strange people.



• Articles should be repeated in a sentence if the meaning requires it.
The husband and the father came in. (two men)
The husband and father came in. ( one man)
She had a red and an orange sweater. (two sweaters)
She had a red and orange sweater. (one sweater)

PREPOSITIONS
A preposition is a word that links a noun, pronoun, noun phrase or any other nominal constructions with the rest of the sentence, usually describing time, place, or relationship. Prepositions precede the nouns that are regarded as the objects of the prepositions. Therefore, all pronouns that come after a preposition should be in the objective case.
He was asked to choose between Jack and I.*
He was asked to choose between Jack and me.
Preposition should be repeated if clarity requires it.
She looks better in green than brown.*
(This could mean she looks better in green than Brown looks in green.)
She looks better in green than in brown.
Take care not to use preposition needlessly.
Of what are you afraid of?*
Of what are afraid?
What are afraid of?
The racehorse wandered off of the track.*
The racehorse wandered off the track.

Many people think that preposition should not be used to end sentences. This is not true. While it is true that most sentences can be strengthened by ending them with some other part of speech, there is grammatically nothing wrong with these constructions.
What is your looking for?
I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.
This is not the sort of behavior that I’m going to put up with.