Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bigorangedot]

Title says it. They always get those wrong. Any ideas?

[peppermint]

You use "a"/ an for any one of a specific object "I'd like an apple"

You use the, for a specific object - "I'd like the red shiny apple on the table"

You could have them put all their books on the table ( not just english text books) and grab one at random- "A book", then grab another, describe it as "the whatever book".

Hope it helps

[Wangja]

And what's the rule for dropping the "the"?

[wylde]

[Zyzyfer]

In all honesty...this is one of the last things that students should be trying to get down pat. Not that it's not necessary to know; it just happens to fit into place when everything else is already settled in. I've got students who can write a killer essay but still get the/a/- mixed up. I wonder how many times they've had a lesson on it by now...?

[Yangkho]

The truth is, it can be a total mess.

A good place to start, are the areas that you can get a lasso around. What instances of "a" or "the" are semi-predictable, can be rounded up under a general rule?

The crazy stuff they just have to familiarize themselves with over time, but focus on that later.

Some very loose categories. Let's see.

You have "a" for identification or occupation (with singular, countable nouns). This is a ball. That's a wall. I'm a student. My uncle is a doctor. There is a bottle over there.

"The is married to most/-est." (Sounds silly, but at least you can tell them this is one instance where you always use "the".) The best sandwich you ever had, etc.

When there is only one of something (in a specific context), you use "the". In the room you are in, for example, you have the floor, the ceiling, the light. There are many things in nature as well, that we attach "the" to, such as the sun, the moon, the stars, the ocean, the sky, etc. There's only one sun.

Something that must be considered in any lesson about "a" and "the" usage is the third option: no article. We don't use an article, for example, when we're talking about things in general. Women, men, wine, fast cars, computer games, etc. We also obviously drop articles when modifying nouns with possessive pronouns, demonstraives and numbers. My book, one car, that girl, etc.

I'm sure you have noticed the tendency to introduce an idea or begin a description using "a", and then shifting to "the". I saw a man in the park. The man was tall and he looked scary. (Darn it, there are better examples, but my mind is blank suddenly.) I mentioned earlier thinking of "a" as an identifier and "the" once the context is established. You see something. You identify it. Now, you know what it is. It can be wrapped in context. It's the car. The one I just mentioned.

I do realize it's all much more complicated than these few rambling points, but you have start somewhere. Personally, I think the best way, picking up the differences naturally through immersion in an English-speaking country, may not be practical for all. Many of our students are people who don't have the time to go live somewhere for five years, and besides, they're paying us.

Once they can identify some of the cases that you've shown them, give them a paragraph and have them circle all the nouns. Which nouns are preceded by "a" or "the"? Which ones aren't? They can tell you things like, in this sentence, it's just "cars" because we're talking about things in general, or because it's plural, or because you've got "these" in front of it, or whatever. Not a grammar term in sight, preferrably. Explaining it and understanding it in plain English.

[Zyzyfer]

[wylde]

nice job yangkho..

it is not really that difficult and it is an area that koreans have a lot of problems with...

it can be a big lesson spanning several classes but i suggest applying it if you have the time spare..

[Zyzyfer]

[wylde]

no i haven't.. well not since about 1000 bottles of vodka ago

but it isn't too difficult.. get a print out to use and to pass around and work it for a week or 2 and they sem to be able to grasp it

[ajuma]

In general, you use "a" the first time you mention something. "A dragon lived in the forest." The NEXT time you mention the dragon, it's "THE" "The dragon was a prince."

Take a look at Collin's English Usage (my grammar bible!) to help with "real world" English. It's clear and concise about the the use of "a" and "the". (And also gets into when you use "an" in front of a consonent..."an hour" or "a" in front of a vowel "a" university).

[yoda]

There are so many exceptions that listing a set of rules will get them nowhere. Mostly because we don't calculate when we speak. Calculating the rules of definite and indefinite articles will hamper automaticity and fluency.

Instead, try to get the one basic rule acquired:

'A' introduces things whereas 'the' is for things already introduced.

Using multi-sentence constructions is the only way to do it. Consider the simple paragraph:

I saw a cat. The cat was eating a fish. The fish was poisoned so the cat died. The cat was buried the next day and the fish was thrown in the garbage.

Note: the red and green articles represent the common use. The green articles represent idiomatic uses (which can be explained by some rule or another). The red and blue articles follow the most basic rule, the green ones are just instances that we get used to.

Dropping the 'the' is another rule:abstraction. Abstract nouns often don't require an article. What's on the TV? And what's on TV? These are two entirely different questions. In the second question TV is more than just the physical object. It is the programming and the commercials. It is the medium. In the first question, it is just the physical object.

Or to put it another way, one questions asks what is showing while the other question asks what is above the TV.

So how to teach it? Get a group of two colored objects. Have the students describe the objects.

There is a black sweater and a blue sweater. The black sweater is ugly. The blue sweater matches my shoes.

There is a boy and a girl. The boy is walking but the girl is sitting down.

Or simply:
I saw a red car. The car was speeding.
I saw a man. The man was talking.

The point here is that there is a basic rule but it is best demonstrated through multi-sentence constructions.

[yoda]

Ajuma was a few seconds faster on the click :> But then again ajumas usually are: they get the taxis, the specials in stores and the elevators first.

[wylde]

[ajuma]

Ajumas RULE!!! That's why I love Korea!!!