What is an Article?

Articles seem so easy, but it is extremely difficult to teach.

"A", "An", and "The" are all articles. It is easy to explain the difference between them, but it is difficult to explain when they are used.

"A" and "An" have the same meaning. They are both indefinite articles. They are only different depending on what word or sound is following. Here is a brief explanation.

You should use "A" when the following word starts with a consonant.

"A dog..."
"A boy..."
"A building..."
"A hamburger..."

You should use "An" when the following starts with a vowel sound.

"An eagle..."
"An umbrella..."
"An elephant..."
"An awesome book..."

"The" is a definite article. The difference is if the noun or subject you are talking about is specific or not. Examples are the best way to understand the difference, so let's take a look.

If you say, "I am going to a library to study", then the person you are speaking with does not know which library. If you say, "I am going to the library to study", then the person you are speaking with knows the specific library you are going to.

"I am going to a coffee shop" (No specific coffee shop)
"I am going to the coffee shop" (A specific coffee shop both the speaker and listener know)

Here is a slightly different example, but still using the same concept of specific or general.

"I am going to sit in front of one of the computers in the lab"
"I am going to buy a computer"

Although the computer in the lab can be one of many computers, the correct article is "the" because it is still a specific computer that exists in the lab. However, if you say you are going to buy a computer, you cannot use "the" unless you already have the computer specified. Buying a computer can be any brand, type, or size so it is very general. Therefore, you must use "A" in this type of sentence.

Here is another type of example:

"The heat wave is unbearable"
"I heard a heat wave is coming"

The difference between these two sentences is that the "heat wave" is specified in the first sentence, and not specified in the second sentence. In the first sentence, the heat wave is already present and both the speaker and listener knows that the heat wave they are talking about is the one they are currently experiencing. The second sentence is referring to a future heat wave that is not specific.

English Speaking

What is a predicate?

The predicate in a sentence is the section that informs the person what the subject is or what it is doing. It is a phrase that contains a verb. The verb is always in the predicate.

Let's look at the sentences we used in the subject lesson to identify the predicates. They will be underlined.

"I am hungry"

"My brother is very smart"

"That computer is very expensive"

"We are going to the store now"

"The building is very big"

In the above short sentences, we have identified the subject and predicate. In the most basic sentences, you need a subject and an action associated with the subject.

What is a verb?

A verb is an action, existence, or occurrence. In the simple sentences we used so far, the verb is mostly in the existence form. They are "am", "is", and "are".

Other types of verbs are action verbs such as:

Wash

Run

Walk

Throw

Jump

Dance

Laugh

Learn

Teach

There are many action verbs, but I only listed a few to let you know what I am referring to. Here are some sentences to help you understand.

"I need to wash my face"

"Jane taught Jill"

"Mike is laughing"

A verb can also start at the beginning of the sentence.

"Throw the ball at the catcher"

"Run towards the finish line"

It is important to understand the verb, but having just a subject and a verb is not sufficient. For example, "Jill run" is not a complete sentence. Although Jill can be the subject, and "run" is the verb, this is not a complete sentence. That is why the previous lesson on predicate is important. With the predicate, we can turn the sentence into a proper sentence. "Jill is running"