GSP – Grammar

Using Articles (a, an, the)

Part 1: Five Simple Rules

  1. We use a or an when: ‘we do not know which one’
  • because there are a lot of these kinds of things
  • it is not the only one of its kind (not unique)
  • it has not been discussed before in your assignment

e.g. A theoretical framework is identified to guide the research.

  1. We use the when: ‘we know which one’
  • because it has been discussed before
  • it is defined by a phrase or clausewhich follows
  • it is the only one of its kind in this context

e.g. (Once it has been identified above), The theoretical framework provides the parameters of the study.

  1. We use no article when we make generalisations using plural or uncountable nouns,

e.g. Qualitative research places an emphasis on unpacking the meaning of a

phenomenon for participants.

  1. We normally use no article with the names of people or places (but there are exceptions to this rule see Part 2 below).

e.g. According to Jones (2004), ...; Research conducted at London University...

  1. We use the / a as part of a fixed phrase, e.g. a number of,the end of

Part 2: Five More Rules

  1. With: prison, college, church, home, hospital, etc. - when discussing the normal purpose of institutions, rather than a particular building, you don’t use an article,

e.g. to be in prison, to leave school, to go to university

BUT when you are talking about a specific building you use an article,

e.g. The University of Bradford is in the centre of Bradford.

2. We use a or an with jobs,

e.g. [Name] is a researcher at...

3. We use the in superlative phrases,

e.g. the most rigorous study

4. Normally with phrases of time, there is noarticle,

e.g. on Friday, at lunch, last semester, in 1997, BUT onthe 25 th of December.

5. Generally there is no article with place names,

e.g. In Africa, In Oxford street, In Bradford, etc. BUT, in the U.K., the Rocky

mountains, the Suez canal, the United States

(Adapted from: Cunningham, S. and Moor, P. 2000. Cutting Edge Upper Intermediate, Longman by Marion Bowman

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Activity 1: Practicing the rules for using articles (a, an, the)

Fold this piece of paper in half longways. Test yourself by reading column A and identifying any mistakes relating to the use of articles. Then check your answer by looking at column B.

Column A: Test yourself / Column B: Check the answers
  1. The research is important as it improves the nursing practice.
(NB: In this case the author is speaking generally about research, not about a particular piece of research). / 1. Research is important as it improves nursing practice. (see Part 1, rule 3)
  1. One of strengths of qualitative research is that it captures participants’ real experiences.
/ 2. One of thestrengths of qualitative research is that it captures participants’ real experiences. (see Part 1, rule 5)
  1. The defendant was then sent to the prison for to serve a five year sentence.
/ 3.The defendant was then sent to prison to serve a five year sentence. (See Part 2, Rule 1)
  1. The aim of this essay is to critique the research article on evidence based practice. A research article is a longitudinal study of a small number of participants.
/ 4. The aim of this essay is to critique a research article on evidence based practice. Theresearch article is a longitudinal study of a small sample number of participants (see Part 1, Rule 1 and 2).
  1. According to a study by the Hornville and Jowell (1994), conducted at the Leeds University, qualitative research is more suitable when there is not specific theory being tested.
/ 5. According to a study by Hornville and Jowell (1994), conducted at Leeds University, qualitative research is more suitable when there is not specific theory being tested. (see Part 1, rule 4)
  1. The third study had largest sample size, however, the research was conducted by research assistant. This may have resulted in bias.
/ 6.The third study had thelargest sample size, however, the research was conducted by aresearch assistant. This may have resulted in bias. (see Part 2, rule 3 and 2)
  1. Researcher recruited participants by advertising in the professional magazine providing details about a study.
/ 7.The researcher recruited the participants by advertising in a professional magazine providing details about the study. (see Part 1, rules 1 and 2)
  1. The researcher conducted the semi-structured face-to-face interviews to have better understanding of the phenomenon under study.
/ 8.The researcher conducted semi-structured face-to-face interviews to have abetter understanding of the phenomenon under study. (see Part 1, rules 3 and 5)

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