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"The" and "A/an"

Articles "The" and "A/an" are tricky for non-native speakers of English. It seems hard to know when to use each one.

One should use "the" when one is talking about something specific. Usually both the person speaking and the person listening understand what object the speaker is referring to, such as the car or the bus. In this case both the speaker and listener know which bus or car it is.

One should use "A" or "an" when speaking about an object in general. 'An apple or a banana' could be any banana or apple not something specific, such as I would like to eat an apple. In contrast, if I said I would like to eat the apple than both the listener and the speaker know which apple it is.
Hui
  • Authority 108
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Hui said:

It is a good lesson! and I am always confusing about how to use preposition, such as “at”, “in”, ” on” ... special before the time or before the place.

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  • Posted 5 months ago.
mcaers
  • Authority 475
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mcaers said:

Hi Hui,

I will work on a lesson for prepositions next.

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  • Posted 5 months ago.
geof
  • Authority 251
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geof said:

Related to this issue is what to use and how to pronounce “a”or “an” when it precedes a word stating with an “h”. Although you could say “It is a historical event.”, the sentence rolls off the tongue easier if you say “It was an istorical event.” by keeping the “h” silent.

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  • Posted 3 months ago.
avinash1990
  • Authority 12
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avinash1990 said:

GOOD! BUT NEED FEW MORE LESSONS AND EXCERSISES

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  • Posted 2 months ago.
saurabhbisht
  • Authority 8
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saurabhbisht said:

THE [da] the [dee] how do we know when to and what to pronounce at different situations?????//

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  • Posted 2 months ago.
acrosstheuniverse
  • Authority 617
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acrosstheuniverse said in response to:
saurabhbisht
saurabhbisht’s post:
Citation Body

THE [da] the [dee] how do we know when to and what to pronounce at different situations?????//

What I think you mean is when to pronounce these as parts of words.

For [da] it would sound like du-ayy, like “day” with a sharp “A” sound. Words that can be associated with this are daring, daunting, daily, damage and data.

For [dee] it would sound like du-ee, like “detail” with a sharp “E” sound. Words that can be associated with this are determined, delete, derive, defend and delegate.

If you have any other questions about certain words, check out the English community or our ESL community.

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  • Posted 2 months ago.
mcaers
  • Authority 475
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mcaers said in response to:
saurabhbisht
saurabhbisht’s post:
Citation Body

THE [da] the [dee] how do we know when to and what to pronounce at different situations?????//

Hi there,

The general rules to follow for different pronunciations of the word “the” are as follows:

We say the (da) when the word that comes after it starts with a consonant.

We say thee (dee) when the word that comes after it starts with a vowel.

The other occasion where a person may pronounce “the” as “thee” is for emphasis.

Does that help?

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  • Posted 2 months ago.
Sovon
  • Authority 0
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Sovon said:

I’m confused about British english and American english.Is it makes any defference in SAT? Can anybody help me?? I need a friend to practice together too …is here anybody such??

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  • Posted 2 months ago.
mcaers
  • Authority 475
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mcaers said:

Hi Sovon,

You will have to be familiar with American English for the SAT because the SAT is an American test. You will only need British English if you are going to go to the UK.

Check out the SAT community to find friends to practice with. The LearnHub team posts different questions each week for you to try.

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  • Posted about 1 month ago.
oLahav
  • Authority 634
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oLahav said in response to:
Sovon
Sovon’s post:
Citation Body

I’m confused about British english and American english.Is it makes any defference in SAT? Can anybody help me?? I need a friend to practice together too …is here anybody such??

Hey Sovon.

Take a look at my lesson, it has a list of common words and their American vs. British spelling.

This can be a confusing concept… but luckily, since the SAT is primarily multiple choice and spelling doesn’t count much on the SAT essay, this is not such a big deal. If you can figure out the words as they are written, you should be fine even if you’re used to British rather than American English.

More questions? Post them here.

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  • Posted about 1 month ago.
subhash
  • Authority 22
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subhash said:

actuly i have problen in grammer and speak in english so would advice me how could i improve my language problem.

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  • Posted about 1 month ago.
Malgosia
  • Authority 379
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Malgosia said:

Do you use ‘an’ before an acronym, or ‘a’? Example: I am considering doing an MBA…or I am considering doing a MBA.

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  • Posted 14 days ago.
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