; 11-8 Guidelines for article usage
h
USING A OR 0 (NO ARTICLE) USING A OR SOME
,., A dog makes a good pet.
@) A banana is yellow.
o z (c) A mcil contains lead.I I(d) 0 Dogs make good pets.
(e) 0 Bananas are yellow.( I (g)^0 Fruit is good for you.
A speaker uses a with a singul-
count noun when she is maldng
a generalization.
In (a): The speaker is talking
about any dog, all dogs, dogs in
general.A speaker uses no article (0)
with a plural count noun when
she is making a generalization.*
In (d):The speaker is talking
about any dog, aU dogs, dogs in
general.
Note: (a) and (d) have the same
meaning.A speaker uses no article (0)
with a noncount noun when she
is making a generalization.
In (&:The speaker is talking
about any fruit, all fruit, fruit in
general.(j) I saw a dog in my yard.
[k) Mary ate a banana.
:I) I need a pcil.[m) I saw some dogs in my yard.
:n) Mary bought some
bananas.
(0) Bob has somopencils in his
pocket.$) I bought some&uit.
:q) Bob drank some coffee.
:r) Would you like to listen to
some music?*Sometimes a speaker uses pn nrprrssion of quantity (e.g., ahnost dl, most, some) when she makes s gcncralhation:
Almm dl dogs ntalrr gwd pnr. Most dog, an-. Smne &@ haw shon hait.326 CHAPTER 1 l