1. Articles
- “a/an” is used:
- To introduce something for the first time.
- To refer to any one from a group of several.
- To classify people or things as belonging to a group.
- To mention a person’s job.
- “the” is used:
- When the listener/reader knows which thing is meant.
- For unique things.
- For superlatives.
- To talk about playing a musical instrument.
- With certain proper nouns.
- In common expressions after prepositions.
- No article is used:
- With plural or uncountable nouns to talk generally about things.
- With certain proper nouns, continents, countries, states, towns, cities, etc.
- With mealtimes.
- In common expressions like “at home,” “at night,” etc.
2. Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
- Used to indicate whether something is near or remote in terms of time or place.
- Can refer back to something previously mentioned in the text.
- Can refer back to whole sentences or ideas.
- “This” and “that” can often be used interchangeably when referring back.
3. Possessives
- Possessive determiners (my/your/his/her/its/our/their) show ownership.
- ‘s is used with singular nouns and irregular plural nouns.
- s’ is used after regular plural nouns.
- “Noun + of” is used instead of ‘s when the owner is not a person or animal.
4. Inclusives
- “each” and “every” are used with singular nouns and verbs.
- “Each” focuses on individuals in a group of two or more.
- “Every” is used for three or more things, focusing on the group.
- “all/most/some” are used with plural nouns and verbs to talk about things in general.
- “all/most/some” + of + pronoun/determiner + noun refers to a specific group.
- “both/neither/either” refer to two people or things.
- “both” is used with plural nouns, “either/neither” with singular nouns.
- “neither” means ‘not one’ (of a group).
- “none” means ‘not one’ and can be followed by a singular or plural verb.