 How to Use Articles Correctly in English This video will teach you how to recognize and use articles a, an, or the correctly in English. Specifically, you will learn how to use articles with singular, plural, and non-count nouns in various situations. Let's get started. Using Articles Correctly in English. In this video, we'll talk about singular versus plural, specific versus non-specific, count versus non-count, general reference, and then we'll tell you where you can find more information. Here's the basic article chart. We'll come back to this later in the video. Generally, we have different types of nouns, such as count, singular, count, plural, and non-count. Then we have different situations in which they're used. For example, specific, when we're talking about this one or that one, this group or that group, non-specific, which could be any one or any group, and then general, when we're referring to the nouns in general, any time and any place. First, we'll start with singular versus plural. As you probably know, count nouns can be divided into singular and plural. Singular means just one, plural means more than one, and usually we indicate the plural by adding an S to the noun. Not always, but usually that's what we do. The first rule. You must use an article when the noun is singular. Apple is on table. That is incorrect. You can say, the apple is on the table, or the apple is on a table, or an apple is on the table, or an apple is on a table. All of those are correct. So the next question is, when do you use a or an, and when do you use the? For a or an, it depends on the first sound of the object or noun. For example, if the first sound is a consonant sound, you use a, a bird, a child. If the first sound is a vowel sound, you use an. For example, an apple. It's kind of difficult to say an apple. So we say an apple. Next we'll talk about specific versus non-specific. Let's go back to our chart. Here we're talking about count singular nouns, and we have across the row here the apple, the bird, the child, an apple, a bird, and a child. What's the difference? For the first group, we're talking about this apple, or that bird, or that child, a very specific one. For the second one, it could be any apple, any bird, or any child. Non-specific. Let's look at some more details. If I say to you, which apple do you want? Any apple is okay. I just want one. Give me an apple. A red apple is okay. A green apple is okay. A yellow apple is okay. It doesn't matter which one. That's non-specific. How about specific? If I say to you, which apple do you want? And you say, I just want that one. Give me the yellow apple. I don't want the red one. I don't want the green one. I just want the yellow one. My choice is important, so we're talking about a specific apple in this case. When we refer to a specific item, we use the. Another example, the apple on the left. We're talking about just this one now, not the green one, not the yellow one. We're pointing to a specific one, just the red one. Some more things to remember. Number one, if the listener or listeners know which object you're talking about, you can refer to it as specific. For example, open the door to this room. We all know which door, so it's specific in this situation, the door. Number two, the first time you mention something, you can refer to it as non-specific. After that, you can refer to it as specific. For example, there is a car in my driveway. I know which car I'm talking about, but maybe you don't know which car I'm talking about. So I start with a car. Then, as I continue to talk about the same car, I will mention it as a specific car. The car is brand new, which car, the one in my driveway. So the first time, it could be any car, but then we make it specific by identifying it to you, the listener. Then after that, we say the car, because we're talking about the same car in the story. Let's talk about count nouns versus non-count nouns. As we mentioned before, count nouns can be singular, just one, or plural, more than one. Non-count nouns are like water. Sometimes we call them uncountable. Let's first talk about plural nouns because we have some similarities here. The principles are the same, but the words are different. So as we look at plural nouns, we can say the apples, the birds, the children. And for non-specific situation, we say some apples, some birds, and some children. What does specific mean? It means this group or that group. Which ones? Non-specific means any group or one of many groups. With plurals, we're talking about groups of things, not singular items. So if we're using the non-specific situation, it doesn't matter which group. Any group is okay. Group one is fine, group two is fine, group three is fine. If we don't care which group it is, we can say, I want some apples. This is non-specific. Any group is okay. If we only want one specific group, we can say, I want the apples or the apples over there. Not group one, not group two, only group three. So when we're mentioning a specific group, we use the. Only this group. What about non-count or uncountable nouns? Well, they follow a similar pattern. Non-count nouns are neither singular nor plural, but the principles are the same. So we're looking at non-count nouns here. Specific, the water, the information. Non-specific, some water, or some information. For example, I want some water. Any water is fine. I want the water. That means only the water in that class. So for non-specific nouns, we use some, some water. And for specific non-count nouns, we use the, the water. Let's talk next about general reference. Now this is over here on the right hand side of this table. In general, we're talking about things like any time or any place, not a specific situation or not here and now. Sometimes it could just be in our imagination. So we use words like apples, birds, children, water. Notice there are no articles here. Let's look at some more details. For general reference, no article is needed. For example, I like apples in general. Apples are my favorite kind of fruit. Now how does that contrast with an apple or the apple? Look at the examples here. I want to eat an apple. Just one, any one. I want to eat the apple. I only want that one. I love to eat apples. We're making a general statement. Any time or any place, I like to eat apples. Apples grow on trees. We're talking about all the apples in the world, apples in general. Johnny enjoys picking apples, also apples in general. We're not talking about specific apples or one that we want this right in front of us here and now. Talking about apples in general. General reference with non-count nouns. When referring, we are referring to non-count nouns or ideas generally. No article is needed. For example, water is important for survival. This is a fact or just some general information. We should drink water every day. This is also a fact or general information. Now look at the difference here. I need some water now. That means I want something now. Doesn't matter what kind of water. Any water will do, but I want it right now. The water in that glass is fine. We're just talking about the water that's in that glass. So there's a difference here. One is generally and one is in a situation which we're talking about here and now. Let's look at some more information. There's a lot more when it comes to dealing with articles. In this lesson, we just covered the basic information about English articles. There are more things that you need to learn about these articles in particular instances, such as proper names and geographical features. Check out the links below for more information. Also, keep coming back to our channel for new videos. Look at the link below for articles and geographic features. It's also up in the upper right-hand corner. There's a direct link to that particular video. Hope that was helpful. Keep coming back to our channel for more videos like these. And please give us a thumbs up in the comment section below. Don't forget to subscribe to our channel. Thanks for watching. References. Some ideas come from the following books. Please see the links below for more information about these books.