Writing Prompt ~ Forgetting Articles
Posted by: Tara Benwell
Writing Prompt: Native English speakers use articles (a, an, the) naturally. In some other languages, articles are not used. Occasionally, English language learners insert an article where one is not necessary. Other times they use a definite article (the) instead of an indefinite article (a, an). More commonly, language learners omit an article (or other determiner) when one is necessary before a singular, countable noun. There are some cases when determiners aren’t necessary. For example, you don’t use an indefinite article before plural nouns. You also don’t use an article before a proper noun. You will learn many exceptions related to articles and determiners during your language journey. Review the basic use of articles a, an, and the. Then demonstrate your understanding by writing a short story about an animal in your neighbourhood. Try not to forget any necessary articles. (Notice in the story below that the first reference to the “bunny” is preceded by “a”. Subsequent uses require “the”.)
Example
There is a bunny living under my house. The bunny is a nuisance. It eats my flowers and digs up the soil in my flowerbeds. I get a headache every time I see the bunny. I have a neighbour who isn’t helping matters. She feeds the bunny lettuce and seeds in her backyard. She took a picture of the bunny munching on a flower in her garden. She thinks the bunny is cute. My neighbour has a boy and a girl just like I do. Her kids are younger than mine. They love the bunny. My kids understand that I work hard on my garden. They know that I want the bunny to go find a different place to live. My kids help me chase the bunny away. I guess you could say we’re at war with the bunny. I hope the battle is over soon.
2 comments
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germgerm says:
There is a puppy in (on) my street. In my point of view (this is unnecessary, start with I really hate…), I really hate dogs. Maybe due to (because of) that, the puppy is my big (worst) enemy. Every time, when ever (whenever is redundant) I pass through (by not through) the street, he just starts to follow. Moreover, the puppy enters my home anytime (often) and ruins all of my paintings. Although (Even if) my family loves him, I hate him. He ruins all my long hard working works in just a minute (all of my hard work). I am on the (a) mission to make him escape (run away) from our street, I hope this mission will get it’s success (will be a success).
aside from the grammatical errors, the paragraph is illogical. the writer needs to clarify whether the puppy is her family’s. because if it is a feral pup, there is no sense in trying to make it runaway if it already lives on the streets.
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Riya Singhania says:
There is a puppy in my street. In my point of view, I really hate dogs. Maybe due to that, the puppy is my big enemy. Every time, when ever I pass through the street, he just starts to follow. Moreover, the puppy enters my home anytime and ruins all of my paintings. Although my family loves him, I hate him. He ruins all my long hard working works in just a minute. I am on the mission to make him escape from our street, I hope this mission will get it’s success.