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Teaching Resources for Indefinite and Definite Articles:
Introducing a Noun or Speaking of an Already Introduced Noun
Students read some short stories and fill in the blanks with definite or indefinite articles
Using Indefinite or Definite Articles with Nouns:
by Chris Gunn
Introducing a Noun Versus Speaking of a Noun that Has Been Introduced Already or Is Already Known
Introduction | Basic Rule One | Basic Rule Two | Basic Rule Three
If we do need an article, when should we use an indefinite article and when should we use a definite article?
Rule 1: Indefinite articles are used for previously unknown nouns that are being introduced into a dialogue or story and definite articles are used for nouns that have already been introduced (or are already known or are assumed to be known at the point of introduction to the conversation).
For example:
I saw a cat. The cat was sitting on a fence. The fence was painted brown. The cat jumped off the fence when it saw a mouse. The mouse ran into a hole when it saw the cat so the cat didn't catch the mouse.
In this example, the nouns cat, fence, and mouse take an indefinite article, but only when they are introduced for the first time. After they are introduced, we use the definite article in every instance. This pattern, or rule, covers a lot of basic instances of concrete nouns, especially in story telling. This rule can extend over long periods of time and interrupted dialogue so that I can ask you to buy a pen and then several hours later I can ask you if you bought the pen.
Of course, this rule cannot be taught at the single sentence level since it requires a sentence to introduce the noun and a sentence to talk about the noun that has previously been introduced.
One exercise that I find useful is to have students fill in the articles for simple stories where several characters and objects are introduced into the story in succession. Every time a new character (knight, cat, ogre, mouse) or a new object (fence, bridge, castle) is introduced into the story the indefinite article is used and thereafter the definite article is used as per the basic rule. (See links above right).
Another good exercise that emphasizes this use of the basic rule is to have a series of flashcards with people or animals doing something and ask the students to describe what they see:
I see a monkey. The monkey is playing the drums.
I see a cat. The cat is swimming.
The pattern can be varied to suit other language needs:
There is a cat. The cat is swimming.
Some other possible ideas for using flashcards like these are:
(a) Describing colours: I see a cat. The cat is black.
(b) Describing clothes: There is a girl and a boy. The girl is wearing a dress and the boy is wearing a shirt and jeans.
(c) Describing actions: I see a knight. The knight is fighting an ogre.
(d) Describing settings of a story: Once upon a time, there was a princess. The princess lived in a castle.
If you have to teach the use of articles, then this is the place to begin. This is the basic rule for using articles. In fact, I often tell students that this is the only rule, but there are many exceptions. The problem is that there are so many exceptions that you could spend an inordinate amount of time going over these exceptions. In the end, students would not be able to internalize these rules anyways so what's the point (except perhaps to provide a reference for writing).
Introduction | Basic Rule One | Basic Rule Two | Basic Rule Three
All materials (c) 2007 Lanternfish ESL