Using Articles Accurately

The Indefinite Article

The indefinite article marks a non-specific singular noun. In other words, a/an is used to refer to a singular (not plural) common noun in a general way.

• A student is waiting in your office (could be any student)
• I ate a piece of pizza for dinner (could be any kind of pizza, but not a specific pizza)
• A shark is a dangerous creature in the sea (the whole shark species, not one specific shark)

Use the indefinite article singular count nouns; a/an is never used with plural nouns.

The Definite Article

The is a word that makes a noun specific or definite. It distinguishes the known from the unknown.

• The student from COMM1106 is waiting in your office (refers to a specific student)
• I ate the last piece of pizza from the extra large pie we ordered last night.
• The sharks in Australia sometimes attack the local surfers.

No article is used in general statements with non-count and plural nouns unless the noun is made specific in some way.

• Water is necessary for life. (not the water)
• Rice is good for you. (not the rice)
• Gold is valuable and is traded on the stock market (not the gold)

Test your knowledge: Find and correct the grammatical errors in the following passage. Pay special attention to missing or misplaced articles (a, an, the) and incorrect use of plurals. There are 20 errors.

The Best Advices That College Students Never Hear

Focus on your relationships more than your studies. With the plethora of free information available online, you can always learn about something later. However, you will probably never again have opportunity to be surrounded by so many like-minded people who you can stay connected with for year to come. College is great opportunity to build lifetime relationships, so make the most of it.

Make new music playlist every month. "In college, more than ever before, songs will attach themselfs to memories," says Jones. You should make a new mix CD or mp3 folder just to document whatever phase of life you are currently in. "Ten years out, they'll be as effective as journal or diary in taking you back to your favorite moments."

Another great piece of advices is to take a lot of picture. They'll be fun to hold onto and look at in years to come.

Recognize that it's OK to be sad. With all the pressure of college becoming the best few year of your life, it's hard to admit when you're not happy. However, college is also major time of transition. For some people, it's the first time they are away from their friends and family and they find themselves in completely new environment.

You will probably be lonely at time, and sometimes feel overwhelmed, but it doesn't mean your college experiences is any worse than anyone else's.

Be intentional in your friendships. It's easy to just latch on to every person you meet in the beginning of freshman year, but this isn't always the best idea. Decide what you are looking for in a friends, such as positive energy and common interests, and then find someone with those quality and seek out time with them. You won't magically find your best friend right away, but if you are nice to everyone, you may find a few lasting friendship along the way.

Don't watch TV. "When you're living on a college campus with 400 things going on every second of every day, watching TV is pretty much waste of your time and a waste of your parents' money," says Jones. If you're going to watch, at least watch with a few friend, so you can create memories and make a valuable social experience out of it.