A i an signifiquen un, una indistintament, i s'empren amb noms contables en singular. A es posa quan la paraula següent comence per consonant; an, per vocal.
A cat (Un gat)
An ocean (Un oceā)
An orange bike (Una bicicleta taronja)
Observa el exemples següents:
An hour (Una hora → La h és muda; llavors, hour comenįa per un so vocālic.)
A hot dog (Una salsitxa de Frankfurt → La h es pronuncia ací.)
A university student (Un estudiant universitari → La u de "university" no té un so vocālic, sinķ que més aviat, consonāntic. Equivaldria a la i catalana en la paraula iogurt.)
An unusual situation (Una situaciķ poc usual o inusual →La u és una vocal ací.)
El plural de a o an és some:
Some cats (Uns gats)
Some oceans (Uns oceans)
Some s'usa també per a substantius incontables: some milk (llet, un poc de llet).
En negativa i en interrogativa s'utilitza any en comptes de some:
There wasn't any milk. (No hi havia llet o gens de llet.)
Has she sent you any photos? (ŋT'ha enviat fotos, cap foto?)
Tanmateix, en els casos següents fem servir some en les interrogatives: quan demanem quelcom, quan oferim alguna cosa o quan esperem una resposta afirmativa.
Would you like some coffee? (ŋVols café, un poc de café?)
Is there some ham in the fridge, mum? I'm very hungry. (ŋHi ha pernil dolį a la nevera, mare? Tinc molta fam. → El parlant demana pernil a sa mare i espera una resposta afirmativa.)
L'article definit the (el, la, els, les) s'utilitza per a referir-nos a coses ja introduīdes en el discurs o per a referir-nos a quelcom únic:
A man and a woman were walking along the path. The man was wearing a red jumper and the woman, a pink jacket. (Un home i una dona passejaven pel camí. L'home portava un jersei roig i la dona, una jaqueta rosa.)
I would like to go to the moon. (M'agradaria anar a la lluna.)
Some, any i the no es mencionen quan els substantius expressen una idea general:
I love bananas. (M'encisen els plātans.)
Milk is very good for children. (La llet és molt bona per als xiquets.)
Exercicis:
A. Ompli els espais en blanc amb a, an, some, any o una ratlla (—), si no s'ha d'afegir res.
1. I need __________ volunteer to sweep the sitting-room and the kitchen.
2. Let's buy __________ grapes for the party.
3. May I have __________ water, please?
4. There aren't __________ strawberries.
5. It was __________ easy exam. Everybody passed it.
6. There is __________ lady at the door who asks for you.
7. We don't have __________ coke.
8. She hasn't got __________ friends
9. "Are there __________ trees?"
"No, there aren't __________ (trees). It's a desert place."
10. __________ elephants never forget.
B. Ompli els espais en blanc amb a, an, some, any, the o una ratlla (—), si no s'ha d'afegir res.
1. __________ onions aren't in __________ cellar. They are in __________ kitchen.
2. __________ whales and __________ elephants are __________ biggest mammals on earth.
3. There were __________ books and __________ comics. __________ books were broken, but __________ comics weren't.
4. "Could you give me __________ sweets, granny?"
"Of course, love!"
5. I've lost __________ crayons I bought yesterday.
6. She hates __________ garlic, but I love it.
7. We would like to spend __________ week in Barcelona.
8. __________ pollution is destroying __________ earth.
9. There isn't __________ apple juice left. Let's buy __________ (apple juice).
10. "Did they drink __________ wine?"
"No, they didn't."
____________________