Understanding A, An, The

Should I use A, AN or THE? Even after years of studying English, students may find themselves asking that question over and over again. English articles can be quite a challenge. To help every English learner become an articles expert, I'm trying to put together the most comprehensive English articles tutorial on the web.

Pada dasarnya, article merupakan sebuah bagian yang digunakan untuk memodifikasi kata benda. yang terbagi menjadi dua yaitu :
1. Definite article (The)
2. Indefinite article (A/An)

Pemahamannya :

an—used before singular count nouns beginning with vowel (a, e, i, o, u) :

• an apple, an elephant, an issue, an orange, an itchy sweater, an ugly duck,
• beginning with H sound or vowel sound : an hour (dibaca ouer), an honor (dibaca änər)

a—used before singular count nouns beginning with consonants (b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z):

• a boy, stamp, a desk, a TV, a cup, a helicopter, a big elephant, a zoo, a mountain, a fan, a ruler, 
• kata benda yang memang di awali dengan huruf vokal namun dibaca dengan awalan bunyi konsonan : a university (dibaca ˌyo͞onəˈvərsətē), a user (dibaca yoozer), a unit (dibaca yoonit)

Contoh Apa bedanya dan bagaimana cara menggunakannya? 
The menunjukkan benda yang spesifik dan jelas benda yang mana serta bagaimana wujudnya. Sedangkan a/an menunjukkan benda yang tidak spesifik dan belum jelas wujud serta lokasinya. 

Sebagai contoh, saya berkata “Let’s go to the bus” kalau hal itu yang saya katakan maka terdapat bus yang spesifik dan kita semua telah mengetahui bus tersebut. Kemudian, saya berkata “Brian, take the book please”, ketika saya berkata maka lawan bicara saya yaitu Brian, telah mengetahui buku apa yang dimaksud. Atau seperti contoh kalimat I am going give you the video game next week, Video game yang akan diberikan sudah jelas maksudnya, mungkin video game tersebut merupakan video game favorit yang sangat diinginkan oleh lawan bicara seseorang dalam kalimat tersebut. 

Berbeda dengan a atau an, misalnya saya berkata “Brian, take a book please”, maka Brian tidak mengetahui buku apa yang harus diambilnya karena sebuah kalimat yang berisi a/an, tidak menunjukkan benda yang spesifik.

contoh lain, Every night, I take a coffee for my father and we begin talk about business, football, and many other things.  (Dalam kalimat ini, tidak begitu spesifik jenis kopi apa yang dihidangkan. Tidak ada kopi spesifik yang mereka sukai dan tentu mereka bisa saja berganti-ganti jenis kopi.)

 

Call a policeman when you see the robber walk here. (Kalimat tersebut hanya menunjukkan bahwa seseorang diharuskan untuk memanggil polisi, siapapun itu apakah ia polisi gemuk, kurus, wanita, atau pria, tentu tidak masalah. Karena yang terpenting adalah polisi.)

Contoh Indefinite article (A/An)

Use a to refer to something for the first time. : 

• Would you like a drink?
• I've finally got a good job.
• An elephant and a mouse fell in love

Use a with names of jobs.

• John is a doctor.
• Mary is training to be an engineer.
• He wants to be a dancer.

Use a with nationalities and religions in the singular.

• John is an Englishman.
• Kate is a Catholic.

Use a with the names of days of the week when not referring to any particular day.

• I was born on a Thursday.
• Could I come over on a Saturday sometime?

Use a to refer to an example of something.

• The mouse had a tiny nose .
• The elephant had a long trunk .
• It was a very strange car .

Use a with singular nouns after the words 'what' and 'such'.

• What a shame !
• She's such a beautiful girl .
• What a lovely day !

Use a meaning 'one', referring to a single object or person, or a single unit of measure. In these sentences using "one" instead of the indefinite article is grammatically correct. It will add emphasis to the number, and contrast with other numbers.

• I'd like an orange and two lemons, please.
• I'd like one orange and two lemons, please.
• The burglar took a diamond necklace and some valuable paintings.
• I can think of a hundred reasons not to come.
• I need a kilogram of sugar.
• I need one kilogram of sugar.
• You can't run a mile in 5 minutes!

Contoh Indefinite article (A/An)

Use the to refer to something which has already been mentioned.

• On Monday, an unarmed man stole $1,000 from the bank. The thief hasn't been caught yet.
• I was walking past Benny's Bakery when I decided to go into the bakery to get some bread.
• There's a position available in my team. The job will involve some international travel.

Use the when you assume there is just one of something in that place, even if it has not been mentioned before.

• We went on a walk in the forest yesterday.
• Where is the bathroom?
• Turn left and go to number 45. Our house is across from the Italian restaurant.
• My father enjoyed the book you gave him.

Use the in sentences or clauses where you define or identify a particular person or object.

• The man who wrote this book is famous.
• I scratched the red car parked outside.
• I live in the small house with a blue door.
• He is the doctor I came to see.

Use the to refer to people or objects that are unique.

• The sun rose at 6:17 this morning.
• You can go anywhere in the world.
• Clouds drifted across the sky.
• The president will be speaking on TV tonight.
• The CEO of Total is coming to our meeting.

Use the before superlatives and ordinal numbers.

• This is the highest building in New York.
• She read the last chapter of her new book first.
• You are the tallest person in our class.
• This is the third time I have called you today.

Use the with adjectives, to refer to a whole group of people.

• The French enjoy cheese.
• The elderly require special attention.
• She has given a lot of money to the poor.

Use the with decades.

• He was born in the seventies.
• This is a painting from the 1820's.

Use the with clauses introduced by only

• This is the only day we've had sunshine all week.
• You are the only person he will listen to.
• The only tea I like is black tea.

Use the with names of geographical areas, rivers, mountain ranges, groups of islands, canals, and oceans.

• They are travelling in the Arctic.
• Our ship crossed the Atlantic in 7 days.
• I will go on a cruise down the Nile.
• Hiking across the Rocky Mountains would be difficult.

Use the with newspaper names, names of famous buildings, works of art, museums, or monuments.

• She works for the New York Times.
• We went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa.
• I would like to visit the Eiffel Tower.

Use the with the names of families, but not with the names of individuals.

• We're having dinner with the Cardassians tonight.
• The Browns are going to the play with us.

Contoh Zero Article (tanpa A/An/The)

Name of language (Japanese, English, French, Chinese).

• He can speak English, Japanese, and French.
• Bedakan ketika noun tersebut digunakan untuk merujuk kepada orang (jamak) karena ketika kata tersebut merujuk nama bangsa, kemungkinan definite article yang digunakan. =>The French have usually fair-skinned and dark brunette hair.

Name of sports (Japanese, Tennis, Football,  Volleyball).

• The Students are playing basketball

Name of Academic Subject (Physics, Math, Biology,  Chemistry ).

• Could you teach physics or math?

Complete the following exercise with a / an or the articles. Put "x" where no article is needed. 

1)  Did you bring                      umbrella? 
2)  Are you looking for                      shampoo? 
3)  I checked                      mailbox again. 
4)  Can I have                      spoon, please? 
5)  I was born into                      poor family. 
6)  She will come back in                      hour. 
7)  Have you been to                      Space Needle Tower in Seattle? 
8)  I would love to talk to one of                      managers. 
9)  What                      amazing view! 
10) The helicopter landed on                      roof of a building. 

11) Should I buy                      used car

12) There's                      small hotel down the hill

13) It was                      tallest building in my hometown

14)                      only tea I like is green tea.

15) My Brother is learning                      English

16) Why do you find                      biology interesting?

17) Gresham is located to                      east of Portland.

18) They have                      breakfast at 7 a.m.

19) More than 10percent of the patients are suffering from                     pneumonia 

20) I sat next to a stranger on the bus                      stranger asked for a phone call.

21) They usually spend their holidays in __________ mountains.

22) Los Angeles has __________ ideal climate.

23) This is __________ best Mexican restaurant in the country.

24) I can't live on __________ 500 dollars a month. 

25) Someone call __________ policeman! 

26) Someone call __________ police!

27) He is __________ real American hero.

28) I don't like __________ dogs, but I like my brother's dog.

29) I haven't seen him in __________ five years. 

30) Kobe Bryant is __________ basketball player. 

R E F E R E N C E S

http://www.caramudahbelajarbahasainggris.net/2013/05/aturan-penggunaan-a-an-the-dalam-bahasa-inggris.html

http://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/definite-article/

http://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/indefinite-articles/

http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/mixed-english-articles3.html#

http://www.talkenglish.com/grammar/articles.aspx

http://www.wordsmile.com/zero-article-tanpa-a-an-the