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Teaching Resources for Indefinitie and Definite Articles:
Speaking in General Verses Speaking of Specific, Actual or Real things.
Students decide if a statement is about an object in general or if it is about a specifc, actual, or real object and then fill in an article if appropriate:
Generally Speaking and Articles I
Generally Speaking and Articles II
The second handout is easier.
Using Articles with Nouns:
Generally Speaking Versus Speaking of Real or Actual Things.
Introduction | Basic Rule One | Basic Rule Two | Basic Rule Three
Why do we use an article with a noun sometimes and at other times leave the article out?
Rule 3: When we are speaking of a noun in general we usually leave the article out and, if it is countable, use the plural form.*
So for example, when we are talking about an actual cookie or cookies that really exist or existed we use an article (definite or indefinite). In the following examples, we are speaking of specific/actual/real cookies.
I ate a cookie.
The cookie was delicious.
The cookies are on the table.
I made some cookies for you.
However, we can also make general statements about cookies. And when we do speak in general of cookies, we leave the articles out.
I like cookies.
Cookies contain a lot of sugar.
Kids shouldn't eat cookies every day.
I enjoy making cookies.
I never eat cookies at night.
It is possible to either use an article or leave it out, but the meaning will be different in each case:
I like cookies.
(A general statement concerning cookies)
I like the cookies.
(A statement about some specific cookies that I've actually tasted)
It should be noted that when we do speak in general we commonly use the plural form** of the noun if it is a countable noun (and just the noun if it is not countable).
Cookies are bad for your health.
(Cookie is countable and therefore put into the plural)
Pizza is bad for your health.
(Pizza is uncountable and left as is)
The links to right contain examples where students decide whether the statements are general statements or whether they are about actual objects, but they are really 'best guess' exercises since both statements I like cookies and I like the cookies are grammatically correct but are different in meaning (one is specific and one is general).
Introduction | Basic Rule One | Basic Rule Two | Basic Rule Three
*The rule stated in this way is extremely ironic. :>
**OK. I'm lying somewhat. General statements can be made using the singular as in: A migrating duck can fly 200 km without stopping. Or we can even speak of a category in general using a singular noun with a definite article: The coyote is a wily animal. However, these instances are much rarer and if you try to explore all of the avenues of usage you will rapidly get bogged down. I think the statements Migrating ducks can fly 200 km without stopping and Coyotes are wily animals seems much more natural. How natural does the following seem?: A cookie contains a lot of sugar. On the other hand, there are cases when you want to make general statements that emphasize the singular as in: I like a stiff shot now and then. Granted, these cases exist, but the purpose of this article is not to explain every usage of articles, but to make sense of some common patterns. So, yes, this is a simplification.
All materials (c) 2007 Lanternfish ESL