How do we use the articles in the English language?

[nadir]

Test No. incompl/elem-8 "Articles", question 1

I only want ......... little sugar in my tea, please.

(a) a
(b) the
(c) such

Test No. incompl/elem-8 "Articles", answer 1

I only want a little sugar in my tea, please.

Correct answer: (a) a
_________________________

why we use an, a and the

[CBFelix]

Are you Turkish, aren't you?

In Turkish , we dont use articles. For us it is really difficult to understnd why the rest of the world using it? English is still o.k. Try French or Dutch..

Best thing to do is keep reading, keep practicing.. One day you will get it.

[Torsten]

Hi Nadir,

CBFelix is right - why do English native speakers when to use a/an or the? Simply because they have been exposed to their language for a long enough period of time. You can do the same -- surround yourself with English!

In answer to your question - in English we say 'a little sugar' if we want to describe a small amount of something that can't be counted. (a little water, a little fun etc.)
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Mara]

Hello Torsten,
I know that I could write only a e-mail for the simple present , the English articles and the alphabet but when I fineshed the exercises about present immediately I posted it not thinking there was something more to do. Never mind , in this way I can practise better my English , tring to find in my mind all the vocabulary useful for sending this e-mail. For the articlese my score is 10 out 10.It is useful tro practise the alphabet , doing so I get my prononciation better.Please tell me all the mistakes I make.
bye,bye Dora

[CambridgeGuy]

[Abeer]

hi

thank you CambridgeGuy for your nice and fun explanation

it is really useful

[Alan]

Hi CambridgeGuy,

As the writer of the test in question I should like to know why you find 'a little sugar' incorrect.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Reflections

[Torsten]

Hi CambridgeGuy,

According to your explanation a phrase like 'a little fun' would be incorrect. That's very strange, don't you think? By the way, how about trying to stick to basic spelling and punctuation rules?

Regards,
Torsten
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[*danish70]

Hi Torsten,
I've got 8 out of ten ..
Thanks

[Kiprida]

My score is 10/10.

I think,some grammar topics of elementary level are more complicated than higher levels. For example, for me learning articles of English grammar took 4-5 years of my life, and even today I can make mistakes However understanding 3rd Conditinal took 4 minits!!!!!!

Sometimes it's confusing some beer... 2 beers... But now I know the difference between them and I'm happy
_________________
incomplete....

[Soniaa]

Hi Torsten,
I have got 10 out of ten.

[Ladib]

hello Sir;
i'm sorry to say that sometimes i just get lost between what grammatical books says and some answers n this site.
they are sometimes opposite . please try to tell me about that and thanks .

[Maya k]

i did;nt understand one thing that we use vowels but in vowels there is a sound of cosonants why please let me know

Regards maya

[K.sangwan1981]

Good morning Torsten

Again thanks for your email & test

Today I have done my test English Aticles. In this test I did 9 correct answer. This time i was very happy because in previous test I did only 5 correct answer.
nowadays I was learning english 2-3 hour every day on the net. Persently I feel that I am learning English a little bit.

thanks
Krishan