Blog Educacional/LANA

Friday Message
10/3/2017
A, An and The

Hello!

I hope you are enjoying your Friday!

Seu progresso:

Beginners

I’m sure you are because there is nothing better than learning something new, especially on a Friday when you have the whole weekend to practise what you have learnt!

Today we’re going to look at a very important aspect of English grammar: articles.

We have two types of articles in English: the definite article “the” and the indefinite articles “a” and “an”.Em inglês existem dois tipos de artigo: o artigo definido "the" e os artigos indefinidos "a" e "an".

By using the definite article “the”, we assume that the listener understands or knows what or whom we are referring to when speaking. It also refers to specific nouns. Ao usar o artigo definido “the” assumimos que o interlocutor sabe a que ou quem estamos nos referindo. Também se refere a substantivos específicos.

The boy next door is good at football. (We presume that the listener knows there is a boy living next door)O garoto que mora ao lado é bom no futebol. (Estamos supondo que nosso interlocutor sabe que há um garoto que mora na casa ao lado)

The moon is so beautiful. (There is only one moon)A lua está tão bela (Só há uma lua)

The French president is in Australia at the moment. (There is only one president per country)O presidente francês está atualmente na Austrália. (Cada país tem um só presidente)

“The” is also used for:

* Countries which are formed of states or other divisions or with words like “kingdom” or “republic” and groups of islands, for example, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Republic of South Africa and the Bahamas

* Famous landmarks (lugares emblemáticos), for example, the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower.

* Geographical features (acidentes geográficos) such as rivers, seas and mountain ranges (cadeias montanhosas), for example, the (river) Thames, the Mediterranean (sea) and the Alps.

We use “a” before a word that starts with a consonant. We use it when we don't specify the things or people we are talking about. Colocamos “a” antes das palavras que começam com uma consoante. Se usa quando não especificamos a coisa ou pessoa da qual estamos falando.

Here are some examples:

My brother wants to buy a car. Meu irmão quer comprar um carro.

A friend of mine called this morning.Um amigo meu ligou esta manhã.

After lunch we went to watch a movie.Depois de almoçar, fomos ver um filme.

We use “an” before a word that starts with a vowel (uma vogal).

She is an accountant.Ela é contadora.

I’m hungry. Can I have an orange please?Estou com fome. Posso comer uma laranja, por favor?

James needs to buy an umbrella. It has rained a lot recently.O James precisa comprar um guarda-chuva. Tem chovido muito ultimamente.

Note that when referring to general things, we don’t put an article, for example,

I love chocolate. (NOT “the chocolate”) Adoro chocolate.

His favourite music is classical music. (NOT “the classical music”)Sua música preferida é a música clássica.

I hope this has been informative for you! Please learn more by checking outunit 4 of the ABA online course.

Have a great weekend!

Take care,