Using Articles Correctly 正確使用冠詞
Articles refer to three small words in English – a, an, the. Although students are familiar with these three words, they often make mistakes when they use them. 冠詞指的是英語中的三個小詞 — a、an、the。學生雖然對這三個詞很熟悉，但在使用時經常會出錯。 Can you complete the following story using the correct article in each blank? Use a, an or the. 你能在每個空白處使用正確的文章完成以下故事嗎? 使用 a、an 或 the。 There is a new teacher in our school. He is (1) ____ European, coming from Italy, so he is (2) ____ Italian. Although he comes of a teaching family, he did not want to work as a teacher in Italy. He wanted to travel round (3) ____ world. That was (4) ____ reason he applied to work here. His name is Mr Russo, but he told us to call him Mario, (5) ____ name that makes us recall (6) ____ famous game called Mario Brothers. Mr Russo has got (7) ____ MA - a master degree - in chemistry and he can speak English very well. Mr Russo is not only (8) ____ humorous person but also (9) ____ honest teacher. When we make a mistake, he will point it out immediately. ‘In (10) ____ laboratory, you cannot make (11) ____ error,’ he often says. ‘(12) ____ minor mistake may lead to a fatal accident.’ (13) ____ longer he teaches us, (14) ____ more we like him. 我們學校來了一位新老師。他是歐洲人，來自意大利，所以他是意大利人。雖然他來自一個教師家庭，但他並不想在意大利當老師。他想環遊世界。這就是他申請在這裏工作的原因。 他的名字是 Russo 先生，但他告訴我們稱他為馬里奧，一個讓我們想起了一款名為馬里奧兄弟的著名遊戲之名字。Russo 先生獲得了化學碩士學位，而且他的英語說得很好。Russo 先生不僅是一個幽默的人，也是一位誠實的老師。當我們犯錯時，他會立即指出。 ‘在實驗室裡，你不能犯錯，’ 他說。‘一個小錯誤可能會導致致命事故。’ 他教我們的時間越長，我們就越喜歡他。
Grammar Notes 文法筆記 There are two types of articles: definite and indefinite. A definite article (the) defines a noun as specific whereas an indefinite article (a/an) defines a noun as general or unspecific. 冠詞有定冠詞和不定冠詞兩種。定冠詞 (the) 將名詞定義為特定的，而不定冠詞 (a/an) 將名詞定義為一般的或非特定的。 Definite Article 定冠詞: the • ‘Can you pass me the salt please?’ she said. (The salt is specific.) • I am looking forward to seeing the film. (The film is specific.) • The man you talked to last night is my cousin. (The man is specific.) Indefinite Articles 不定冠詞: a/an • I want to buy a new dress. (The dress is unspecific.) • Can you lend me a pen? (The pen is unspecific.) • I am still waiting for an answer. (The answer is unspecific.) Compare: • The dress that you wear is beautiful. (The dress is specific.) • I am sorry that the pen you lent me was broken. (The pen is specific.) • The answer that they gave us is nonsense. (The answer is specific.) A or An The simple rule is that we use a before a word beginning with a consonant sound whereas we use an before a word beginning with a vowel sound. 簡單的規則是，我們在以輔音(啞音)開頭的單詞之前使用 a，而在以元音(響音/母音)開頭的單詞之前使用 an。 Before a consonant 在輔音之前: a boy / a coat / a fox / a melon / a lawyer / a taxi Before a vowel (a/e/i/o/u) 在元音之前: an applicant / an effect / an item / an octopus / an umbrella In the notes above, we talk about a consonant sound or a vowel sound, not simply a consonant letter or a vowel letter. What does it mean? 在上面的註釋中，我們談論的是輔音或元音， 而不僅僅是輔音字母或元音字母。這是什麼意思? A word may start with a consonant letter but it actually begins with a vowel sound when it is spoken. In this case, an will be used. 一個單詞可能以輔音字母開頭，但在說出時實際上以元音發音。在這種情況下，將使用 an。 an honest man / an heir (H is a silent letter in these two words.) When a word begins with a vowel letter, but when it speaks, it begins with a consonant sound, then use a. 當一個單詞以元音字母開頭，但在說話時以輔音發音，則使用 a。 a European / a ewe / a eulogy / a unit / a university / a uniform For numbers, letters and acronyms, you have to read the word to decide whether it begins with a consonant sound or a vowel sound. 對於數字、字母和首字母縮略詞，您必須閱讀單詞以確定它是以輔音還是元音發音。 number: a 7-year-old boy, a one-hour notice an 8-year-old girl, an 11-month contract acronym: a BA, a NASA engineer an MA, an MTR engineer letter: a D, a U an F, an X The answer 答案 1. a European (European begins with the consonant sound.) 2. an Italian 3. the world 4. the reason 5. a name 6. a famous game 7. an MA (The letter M begins with a vowel sound.) 8. a humorous person 9. an honest teacher 10. the laboratory 11. an error 12. a minor mistake 13. The longer 14. the more In the last two items, we use a special structure where ‘the’ is used before a comparative adjective. 在最後兩項中，我們使用了一種特殊的結構，在比較級形容詞之前使用 ‘the’. (The + comparative ... , the + comparative ... 越 ... 越 ...) The bigger the house, the more expensive it is. 房子越大，價格越貴。 The longer he waited, the more anxious he got. 等得越久，他就越焦慮。