By Indefinite articles, Universities

Hi all!I've been giving English conversation lessons to a theology professor for about a year now. He's getting on in the years - a couple years from retirement - and his primary goal has been just to get his spoken English going a little stronger. His mother tongue is French but he's...

Thanks for your input! I still have a dilemma. Look at the following article which comes from Purdue University's on line writing lab. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/eslart.html Note also that in English, the indefinite articles are used to indicate membership in a profession,...

Just passing by, pardon me for sticking my nose in, but... We say 'a history' but 'an historical'. Some people do. I'm not sure when it became trendy but I wish people would cut it out. I find it painful to hear. "An historical whatever" or "an hallucination" is only correct if...

Guest wrote:Use "a" if the next word begins with a consonant, and "an" if the next word begins with a vowel. A tiger, an angel, a book, etc. A historical character. This is not completely correct. The indefinite article a is used when the following word starts with a consonant sound The...

The short answer, VC, is that they don't necessarily become countable-- it is often the speaker's option/conception that makes the choice. 1. (you have no '2') In the countable case, can "an education" be any education such as primary school, middle school, or University? -- not likely; more...

Hi, According to the "Longman Student Grammar" abstract nouns (such as education, kindness) can have countable and uncountable. (e.g.) 1. What's your highest level of education? => uncountable Although she was a girl she wanted an education => countable In the countable case, can "an...

Hi Lyn, Here is one of my posts from a previous thread on the topic of articles. It might help. Posted: 03-30-2005 12:26 PM The correct use of articles is acknowledged to be one of the most difficult points of English grammar, so don't be despondant Ali; mistakes don't usually matter too...

An excellent reply, Jazz. I hope you won't mind if I expand on it a little. The correct use of articles is acknowledged to be one of the most difficult points of English grammar, so don't be despondant Ali; mistakes don't usually matter too much, as you will still be understood. First, we don't...

Hi Tyro, Here are some rules that I adapted from this page: An, The" definite and indefinite articles in English - Beginning Guide to indefinite articles. There is also a great fill-in-the-gaps exercise on the page, which shoud help you get to grips with the rules. the = definite article (a...

Hi FishWish The grammar rule for indefinite articles usage is: We use A before a consonant-sound. We use AN before a vowel-sound. The difference depends on the sound of the vowels and consonants, not the spelling! honest begins with an H, but it is not said, so "I am an honest man" is the...