ARTICLES
OBJECTIVE
By the end of the lesson, students should be able to express ideas in oral and written way using articles.
WARM UP
GRAMMAR
KAREN JOHN
John: I had a sandwich and an apple for lunch.
John says "a sandwich", "an apple" because this is the first time he talks about them.
Jhon: The sandwich wasn´t very good, but the apple was nice.
John now says "the sandwich", "the apple" because Karen knows which sandwich and which apple he means - the sandwich and the apple he had for lunch.
There are only three articles in English: a, an, and the.
There are two types of articles: indefinite "a, an" and definite "the".
THE
The definite article the is the most frequent word in English.
The definite article "THE" is the same for all genders in singular and in plural. Examples: the boy, the girl, the cat.
We use the definite article in front of a noun when we believe the hearer/reader knows exactly what we are referring to.
• because there is only one:
The Pope is visiting Cuba.
The moon is very bright tonight.
This is why we use the definite article with a superlative adjective:
He is the tallest boy in the class.
It is the oldest building in the town.
• because there is only one in that place or in those surroundings:
We live in a town next to the Magdalena River.
We use THE when we are thinking of one particular thing.
Carlos sat down on the chair neraest the door.
We also use THE when it is clear in the situation which thing or person we mean. For example in a room we talk about "the light" / "the floor" / "the ceiling"
The definite article with names:
We do not normally use the definite article with names:
William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.
Paris is the capital of France.
Iran is in Asia.
But we do use the definite article with:
• countries whose names include words like kingdom, states or republic:
the United Kingdom; the Kingdom of Nepal; the United States; the People’s Republic of China.
• countries which have plural nouns as their names:
the Netherlands; the Philippines
• geographical features, such as mountain ranges, groups of islands, rivers, seas, oceans and canals:
the Himalayas; the Canaries; the Atlantic; the Atlantic Ocean; the Amazon; the Panama Canal.
• newspapers:
The Times; The Washington Post
• well known buildings or works of art:
the Empire State Building; the Taj Mahal; the Mona Lisa; the Sunflowers
A / AN
A and AN are indefinite articles. They refer to something not specifically known to the person you are communicating with.
A and AN are used before nouns that introduce something or someone you have not mentioned before.
Example: I ate a delicious strawberry.
A and AN are also used when talking about professions.
Example: i am an English teacher.
We use A when the noun you are referring to begin with a consonant sound.
Example: a pencil a book a newspaper
We use AN when the next words begins with a vowel sound.
Example: an orange an apple an apricot
ACTIVITY
Retrievaled by
English grammar in use
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/determiners-and-quantifiers/definite-article
READING
Saint Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day is a Hallmark Holiday
Hallmark holiday refers to a holiday that is perceived to exist mainly for commercial reasons, rather than to celebrate a traditionally significant religious or secular event. Although many people view these celebrations in a negative way, others have positive views. On the negative side, hallmark holidays don't really celebrate an important event, and only exist for companies to make a lot of money. On the positive side, the term describes the perfect holiday in which family, friends, and fun come first. Everyday problems, worries, and stress can be put aside. Valentine's Day, which is celebrated on February 14, is usually considered to be one of the hallmark holidays.
In Valentine's Day billions of cards are sent. It is also an opportunity for customers to buy chocolates, flowers, engagement rings, romantic dinners, and so on. This commercial aspect can be traced back to the 19th century when printing technology improved to cheaply mass-produce greeting cards. But the origin of the celebration is much more ancient and can be traced back to a Roman festival called "Lupercalia" which was held in mid-February every year. The celebration purified new life in the spring. Around the third century A.D., the holiday became associated with Saint Valentine, although it isn't exactly clear how.
Historical Origin of the Celebration
A popular explanation of the link between Saint Valentine and the Holiday says that at the time of the Roman "Lupercalia" Festival marriage was a common tradition, but when Claudius became Emperor he changed all of that. He outlawed all marriages because he was afraid that men would refuse their duty to fight because they would not want to leave their wives behind. Young couples still fell in love though and still wished to marry and they took these desires to the Catholic Bishop Valentine who, understanding love, began to secretly marry couples. When Claudius found out, he arrested Valentine and sentenced him to death. While waiting in prison, Valentine began exchanging letters with the prisoner's daughter and soon had fallen in love with her. The day he was to be beheaded, he wrote her one last note and signed it: "From Your Valentine".
In 496 A.D. Christianity had taken over Rome and Pope Gelasius outlawed the pagan Lupercian Festival. Knowing it’s popularity, he looked to replace it with something more "appropriate" and set aside a day in February to honor the martyr St. Valentine. Even though in 1969 the church removed St. Valentines Day from it’s calendar of "official" holidays, it is still widely celebrated today. And although Valentine's Day has become quite commercial, it still contains an important aspect shared by all of the best holidays - time spent thinking of and being with the one you love.
LISTENING
SPEAKING
Prepare an oral presentation related to famous people.
