Articles and elephants

Rob
Hello again. Welcome to 6 Minute Grammar with me, Rob.

Emma
And me, Emma. Hello.

Rob
In today’s programme, we’re talking about three little words: a , an and the .

Emma
Also known as articles . So let’s start by saying hello to Finn.

Finn
Hello.

Emma
And Finn, you’re going to tell us about your time in Phnom Penh, which is the capital city of Cambodia. Listen out for the words a , an and the .

Finn
Yes, I was living in a flat near the city centre. I was lucky because every morning I saw an elephant walk past my front door. The elephant was giving rides to tourists. The owner told me that her name was Sambo. I discovered later that she was the only elephant in Phnom Penh. Here’s a photo.

Rob/Emma
Ahhh…

Emma And quite a few articles there. We had a flat and a photo…

Rob
Yes, we use a before singular nouns. A flat and a photo…

Emma
…but in spoken English it’s ‘uh’ not ‘a’ .

Finn
I was living in a flat . Here’s a photo .

Emma
Now, Finn also said he saw an elephant. Not a elephant. An elephant.

Rob
That’s because ‘elephant’ begins with ‘e’. We use an , not a, before nouns that begin with ‘a’, ‘e’, ‘i’, ‘o’ - and most words starting with ‘u’. We say an apple, an elephant, an ice-cream, an orange, an uncle.

Emma
But in spoken English, an sounds like ‘ un ‘. Finn.

Finn
An apple, an elephant, an ice-cream, an orange, an uncle.

Rob
Now let’s look at the [thuh] and the [thee]. Finn said:

Finn
The elephant was giving rides to tourists…

Emma
Yes, and it’s the elephant because it’s the second time he mentions the elephant:

Rob
A first time, and the [thuh] or the [thee] second time. And it’s the [thee] not the [thuh] with elephant because elephant starts with ‘e’. Finn.

Finn
I saw an elephant . The elephant was giving rides to tourists.

Emma
Ok … Now there was another one - the owner . Finn only mentioned the owner once, so why the [strong form] and not an [strong form]?

Rob
Good question, and the answer is: we use the before a person or thing when it’s clear exactly which person or thing we’re talking about, even if it’s the first time. Let’s hear it again:

Finn
The owner told me that her name was Sambo.

Emma
So Finn’s talking about the owner of Sambo, not the owner of any unknown elephant.

Rob
Ok, so that’s a , an and the . Now let’s hear more about elephants. Can you spot the articles in this sentence?

Finn
African elephants are bigger than Indian elephants.

Rob
Actually there were no articles. Trick question, sorry! There’s no article before African elephants and Indian elephants because we’re talking about African elephants and Indian elephants in general…

Emma
…not a specific African or Indian elephant.

Rob
So in Finn’s story, he didn’t use an article when he talked about tourists in general.

Finn
The elephant was giving rides to tourists .

IDENT
You’re listening to BBC Learning English.

Emm And we’re talking about articles.

Rob
And now here are some top tips for using the.

Emma
Tip one. Don’t use the before the names of most countries, cities and continents .

Rob
Just say: Saudi Arabia, Warsaw and Europe .

Emma
Tip two: say the with countries with plural names or the words Republic or Kingdom in the name…

Rob
The Maldives, The United Arab Emirates.

Emma
Tip three: use the for the names of rivers , seas , oceans and mountain ranges …

Rob
The Mississippi, The Red Sea, The Andes.

Emma
Tip four: Don’t use the before names of single mountains and lakes …

Rob
Mount Kilimanjaro, Lake Titicaca.

Emma
And now it’s quiz time. I’m going to say a sentence with or without an article and you have to say if it’s correct or wrong. Ready? Number 1: I’ve got cat.

Rob
That’s wrong. It should be I’ve got a cat . Because you need an article before a singular noun when you mention it the first time. Or you can say I’ve got the cat if it’s clear which cat we’re talking about.

Emma
Number 2. I’m going on holiday to United States next week. I’m so excited!

Rob
Wrong again. It should be I’m going to the United States next week because it’s a plural country name.

Emma
And number 3. I love elephants!

Rob
And that’s correct because you’re talking about elephants in general, so: no article needed.

Emma
Well done if you got those right.

Rob
There’s lots more information about articles on our website at bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again for more 6 Minute Grammar.

Both
Bye.