Generally, singular proper nouns do not use articles. Types of nouns with exercises includes pdf download. We do not use articles before the names of countries, people, continents, cities, rivers and lakes. If the noun is nonspecific, that is, the noun refers to a general idea and not a specific person, place, or. The system of english nouns, for most of the indonesianlearners of english, is complicated.
Names of people, places and organisations are called proper nouns. Proper nouns in a singular form infrequently use articles. Coach is a proper noun and championship is a common noun. When plural, it takes the definite article if it refers to a definite, specific group and no article if it is used in a general sense. The grammar worksheets on this page can be used to help students understand nouns. The college of saint rose writing center, 2010 articles and nouns an article is a word that identifies or modifies a noun. They impart effectiveness and accuracy to the nouns. Rules of using articles with examples learn english. A proper noun is the name of a particular person, country, city, river etc. The definite article the is used when the noun is either singular or plural, and has. Kinds of nouns exercise english practice learn and. Use the correct article a or an with the following nouns. Youll be able to train independently, without the need for assistance, in order to refresh your knowledge of the english language or to go further in your learning. Articles with other semantic groups of proper names.
Rules of articles in english grammar with examples pdf. Underline the proper nouns in the following sentences. At the very end of the handout is an exercise that you can. Titanic is the name of the ship that sank on its maiden journey. In particular, you cant say an information, because a, which is a form of the word one, implies that. Definite article and proper nouns, english grammar, advanced. Nouns and determiners southeastern louisiana university. Study and practise the use and omission of the article the before the names of people, places, buildings, organisations and institutions. Nouns exercises 2 plurals countable uncountable nouns 2. To correctly use articles, you must be able to make four distinctions about nouns. By a thing here, it means that it comprises something which can be perceived by human senses, or that which cannot be perceived but can be thought of.
Articles are very important words in english and so is their knowledge. Jan 12, 2018 learn how to use articles with countable and uncountable nouns in english with useful grammar rules and example sentences. Proper and common nouns are used in everyday writing and reading. English grammar exercises online with answers pdf on this page you will find various free grammar worksheets of increasing difficulty that can be completed directly online, or at home theyll help you to put into practice all the key notions of the english grammar previously shown in the grammar lessons part of the website, and if you are a beginner you can use them to familiarize. However, plural and collective proper nouns generally use the article the. Use these proper and common nouns worksheets at school or at home. The college of saint rose writing center, 2010 articles and nouns. Types of nouns with exercises includes pdf download your. Printable and online nouns exercises with answers regular and irregular plural forms fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the nouns grammarbank. Jun 29, 2019 articles are very important words in english and so is their knowledge. Use a or an when referring to a nonspecific common noun. Each noun is also either a count noun countable or a mass noun uncountable.
The coach was angry when the boys lost the championship. So you cant say something like one information, two information, or many information. Proper nouns exercise beginner level english practice. Nouns worksheets proper and common nouns worksheets. We use capital letters for peoples titles i was talking to doctor wilson recently.
Everything depends on president obama when we give the names of books, films, plays and paintings, we use capital letters for the nouns, adjectives and verbs in the name i have been reading the old man and the sea. However, you can use it as a base to write articles in any language. In general, do not use an article with a proper noun unless the noun contains a prepositional phrase. Not the england the smiths went to england for vacation. Mass nouns usually allow any determiner, provided its not one that implies the noun is countable.
Use of articles one of the most confusing parts of english grammar for many nonnative speakers is the use of articles. A proper noun is the name of a person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are always capitalized in english, no matter where they fall in a sentence. A proper noun is the name of some particular person, place, thing, particular event, or group. Articles with countable and uncountable nouns 7 e s l. Article usage with a proper noun is affected by more than whether the noun uses a singular or plural form. Riding a bike is one way to exercise and have fun at the same time. For example, you would not use an article with the following singular proper nouns. In doing this, you will be engaging functional as well as traditional grammar. The names of languages, days of the week and months are also proper nouns. A or an sometimes makes a proper noun a common noun.
Nouns a noun is a word or word group that is used to name a person, place, a thing, or an idea. Proper use of articles in english grammar for writing papers. Because they endow nouns with a specific name, they are also sometimes called proper names every noun can be classified as either common or proper. In english, articles are used to modify nouns in certain situations. For example, matthew is a man he lives in canada he worked for ibm however, sometimes you can find the definite article the before proper nouns. Nouns english grammar noun with definition nouns and. English grammar exercises online with answers pdf on this page you will find various free grammar worksheets of increasing difficulty that can be completed directly online, or at home. Here, shakespeare does not refer to the actual person but someone like him.
If the noun is nonspecific, that is, the noun refers to a general idea and not a specific person, place, or thing, it is usually not a proper noun, so it it not capitalized. The flowchart below, featured in the worksheet articles. At the end of this chapter, you will be able to identify nouns and the ways in which they work in sentences. Why this became conventional in english is difficult to say.
A proper noun names unique person, place, or thing new york city, walt disney, the united states of america o correct. Kindly note that this is an automated translation tool. You need to categorize the noun as count or noncount to choose the correct article. The rules for using articles in english are quite complex, so for students whose first language is not english, when to use an article, and which article to use can cause problems. Over on english language learners, a nonnative speaker asked a question about adding the before movie titles i wanted to tell him or her that the rule in english is not to add a definite article before a proper noun, but to keep the article if its part of the title, so you would have, for instance. Before proper nouns, we generally do not use an article.
When we give the names of books, films, plays and paintings, we use capital letters for the nouns, adjectives and verbs in the name. Why does english use definite articles before certain proper. The college of saint rose writing center, 2010 articles. In fact, articles are used as demonstrative adjectives and determiners before nouns.
The last part of this handout, beginning on page 7, discusses article usage with proper nouns as well as the difference between a and an. Cut the noun boxes and sort them into people, places, things, and ideas. A fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the given nouns for the following exercise. Multiple choice, fill in the word, select from drop down. Complete and correct it immediately, then you will be able to check your knowledge with the related lesson. Definite articles articles are demonstrative adjectives. Proper nouns name specific people, places, or things, and these nouns are capitalized. Countable nouns are individual objects, people, places, etc. He is a harishchandra when it comes to keep his promises. Here, well take a closer look at proper nouns, provide proper noun examples, and help you learn how to use a proper noun the right way. Articles are used before only nouns to limit or define their nouns uses in the context of the sentence. Sep 15, 2016 river is a proper noun and agra is a common noun. Cut the nouns and paste them in the correct column people, places, and things. Separately presented material relating to the use of articles with geographic names and personal names.
In order to use table 3, however, you have to understand two concepts. Use of articles summer 2014 english as a second language esl. Theyll help you to put into practice all the key notions of the english grammar previously shown in the grammar lessons part of the website, and if you are a beginner. The worksheet is suitable for both classroom practice and selfstudy. They name specific oneofakind items, and they begin with capital letters, no matter where they occur within a sentence.
However, even though these nouns are inherently definite, the definite article the is not used with most singular proper nouns. A common noun is the generic name for one item in a class or group. Perhaps it became natural because the london would clearly refer to something named after bare london meaning the city general slocum was a disaster, but nothing like the general slocum. Please contact me if you have any questions or ntact me if you have any questions or comments. Indefinite articles indefinite articles for singular nouns a is used before a word beginning with a consonant sound for singular nouns only. Many large or important physical objects and features idiomatically take the article, and a ship big or important enough to take a name might. Proper and common nouns help identify a person, place, thing and idea.
Each worksheet is printable, with a free copy in pdf included. The use of articles with proper nouns articles with the proper nouns devoted three articles on the blog. Plural and singular possessives are formed in several different ways. All the answers are included at the end of the exercises. Using articles with countable and uncountable nouns a countable noun always takes either the indefinite a, an or definite the article when it is singular. Nouns exercises 1 plurals nouns exercises 2 plurals countable uncountable nouns 2. Topics include identifying basic nouns, common and proper nouns, singular and plural nouns, and collective nouns. Our proper and common nouns worksheets are free to download and easy to access in pdf format.
Using articles articles are used to indicate whether a noun refers to a specific or a general item. The english language uses articles to identify nouns. Articles worksheets are in pdf format and consist of a worksheet and answer sheet to check your results. Point out the nouns in the following sentences and state whether they are common, proper, collective or abstract. This paper will be presented cases of the use or lack of the article with all sorts of other names that do not fall into the two categories mentioned above. Possessive nouns a possessive noun shows ownership. Proper nouns name a particular person, place, thing, or idea and begin with a capital letter. But a or an is used to make a common noun from a proper noun to express some quality associated to it. The definite article exercises intermediate and advanced level. Please contact me if you have any questions or comments. Welcome to esl printables, the website where english language teachers exchange resources. The proper use of articles in english writing alyssa colton, ph.
Nouns in the english system a noun can be defined as a word used to name a person, place, or thing. A collection of downloadable worksheets, exercises and activities to teach common and proper nouns, shared by english language teachers. Once you start checking your writing for article errors, you should use the. Definite article and proper nouns, english grammar. Study and practise the use and omission of the article the before the names of. Articles clarify whether a noun is specific or general, singular or plural. Provided by the academic center for excellence 1 esl.
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