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P. 126
Grammar Forms
9.1 Articles
Indefinite articles
The indefinite articles a / an come before singular count nouns and noun phrases.
a + (consonant sound) A survey is commonly used to collect data for research.
A college may offer two- or four-year degrees, while a university
also offers postgraduate degrees.
an + (vowel sound) An open-ended question on a survey allows the participant to
express an opinion or feeling.
An anthropology course might have an enrollment of 35 students,
whereas an honors course in anthropology might have only
15 students.
Definite article
The definite article the comes before specific nouns. They can be singular or plural.
the The survey asked 100 college students to rate their professors.
The courses that college students take in their first year vary
according to their major.
No article (Ø)
No article is used before plural nouns when referring to general categories. In addition, no article is
used before abstract nouns and general noncount nouns.
No article (Ø) Surveys are useful for obtaining feedback from customers.
(surveys = plural noun)
Psychology is one of the most popular college majors today.
(psychology = abstract noun)
116 Unit 9 Writing with Articles
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
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