During the upcoming days I'm going to be re-posting a series of English lessons in order to continue where I left from. This edition is edited and remastered. There is going to be a Spanish version for post in order to teach Spanish speakers. I hope it serves you well.
Good morning, afternoon, or evening to all the ladies and gentlemen who share their craft, and in some way, collaborate everyday by creating amazing content —or at least trying to— on the Steem blockchain.
It's been quite some time for me without posting regularly but hopefully those days are over so I decided to give it a go and start a series, teaching one of the things I know and like best; The English language.
English has been a big part of my road. Since the early stages of my life, I've been very curious and eager about learning this important language. Communication has become quite mainstream nowadays, especially with the internet emergence. Even though technology has found its way to improve communication, and the language barrier has been overstepped in some sort of way thanks to software (translators), there are a couple of things most people don't understand about language; Particularly English (more about this in future posts).
The main objective of this series is to provide the Steemit community with English Basic Lessons in order to improve in the simplest and dynamic way, everyone's English skills; While doing so you are also helping me. One thing that learning English has taught me is that there's always something new to learn everyday, hence while teaching you, I'm teaching myself.
Before getting started, there are a few things I would like to clarify, and also request in order to understand each other better. Although neither I am an English professional teacher nor I have a certificate that proves my expertise, I have managed to teach for around Two years in an English professional school. By saying this, I don't mean I am a genius or the new age Einstein of language; On the contrary, if you are a proffesional teacher or native speaker, I humbly ask you to correct me. If you find out any mistakes within the lessons, or just want to add some extra information, be my humble guest and amend me. That way we can achieve interaction and dynamism as we dissect together the must learn English language... Let us get started!
The Indefinite Article
Definition.
The indefinite article is a word which indicates if a noun (person, animal, object) is someone or something unspecific in singular; in other words, we use it to state if a subject is a general —non-specific— thing. That's the main concept and usage although there are others we're are going to detail as we move forward.
In English, the indefinite article is represented by the words "A - An". Both terms manifest the same. How are we going to use them in written or oral statements? It depends on the first letter or sound of the word after the article. It is important to point out that we only can use the indefinite article with singular nouns, not plurals.
Rules - Basic Grammar Structure
For the purposes of this lesson, we are going to use the basic grammar structure:
A-An + Noun
A
The indefinite article "A" is used when the next word begins with a "consonant"letter, or if it sounds like a consonant (exception)
Examples:
- A clock (object)
- A policeman (person-occupation)
- A bird (animal)
As you may have noticed, the nouns clock, policeman, and bird, they all start with a consonant letter, therefore, we have to use the indefinite article "A". Also, observe the sentiment of the short statements. When you say "A clock, a policeman, a bird" Are you talking about a specific clock? Are you referring to a particular policeman? Or are you talking about an unspecific bird? Answer that mentally!
An
The indefinite article "An" is used when the next word begins with a "vowel" letter, or if it sounds like a vowel (exception)
Examples:
- An eraser (object)
- An architect (person-occupation)
- An eagle (animal)
As you can see all of these nouns have something in common; They all start with a vowel letter, hence it is mandatory to use the indefinite article "An". Same question for you my sweet students. When we speak about these nouns, Are we stating them in a specific or particular manner?
Exceptions
As previously stated in the rules, there are some punctual cases where we can use the article "A" with words followed by a vowel letter, or the article "An" with words followed by a consonant letter. Here we have to pay special attention to how the word sounds at the beggining. In English, there are words that start with "u" or eu (vowels) but the pronunciation sounds like "you" or the consonant "y", and there are words that start with the consonant "h", but the pronunciation can be like a consonant or a mute "h"
Examples:
- A unicorn. (sounds like "you (y)" at the beginning)
- An hour (the "h" is mute, it sounds like a vowel at the start)
- A hen (the h is not mute, it sounds like a consonant at first)
- A european
- An honor
Look closely and notice that despite the words start with vowels we are using the article "A", Why? Because these concrete words SOUND like consonants when pronounced. The same case with a mute "h", when you speak them, the first sound you hear is a vocalic one, thus we have to use the article "A".
Have in mind that these are only exceptions. We must guide ourselves mostly by the main rules. also, keep in mind these rules only apply, depending on how the word sounds at the beginning. For starters might be a little more complicated for they do not know the proper pronunciation of the words, still, as you progress and practice your pronunciation, the proper usage of the indefinite articles will be more natural, so you all better practice.
When or in what situations we can use the indefinite article?
1. To talk about something in general.
Examples:
- She bought a juice.
- Jon lives in an apartment.
- He eats an apple.
2. To quantify singular nouns.
Examples:
- Please bring a soda and two hamburgers.
3. To relate to something for the first time.
Examples:
- Look! It's an elephant.
4. Occupations
Examples:
- Tuck is a mailman.
- I am an artist.
One thing I always tell my Spanish students about languages is that they are situational. Every scenario has a word set. Sometimes they get confused because one word has different meanings, but they don't know which one is proper when it comes to translating. That is why I advise you to look carefully at the words and how they are used in certain everyday situations.
Glossary
Noun: A word which is used to identify people, animals, objects, things. Ex: Maria, Cat, Apple, Car.
Steemit: A social media that pays its users for creating original content on the steem blockchain.
About upcoming posts and final thoughts.
First of all, Thank you! for getting up until this point, that means you were an honest reader and paid close attention to the lesson. The next post will be filled with exercises about this lesson so please STUDY well the concepts so you can answer them properly.
If you have any questions, something to add or correct, or whatever information you need about the lessons, please feel free to ask on the comments. You can also reach me out on Discord (jonsnow1983#6946) or Twitter https://twitter.com/TheRealSnowJon
If you enjoyed this lesson please help my cause and support it with an upvote and resteem so more people would have the chance to learn more in-depth about this beautiful and important language.
