THE ARTICLE WITH A GENERIC NOUN
The Article with Generic Nouns:
Article with a generic noun: The Generic is a noun that is used to make the generalization. A generic noun is showing the whole class of things that are present and it is not a specific thing but it is a sign of a whole group.
We will use Article ( a and an ) with the singular generic nouns and countable nouns and use 0 mean ( no article ) with plural generic coun and non-countable nouns.
Examples:
1: A forset cat is black.
2: 0 forest cats are black.
Here, ( In this sentence, The speaker is talking about any foreset cat, all forest cats, forest cat all in general and here there is not talking about only one and specific for about thing. 0 shows the no article ).
- 0 cake goes well with catchups.
Here, ( In this Example, The speaker is talking about any cake, all cakes and cakes in general ).
Use of ( A and An ) with Singular coun nouns
Examples:
- A laptop is a very helpful machine for making college homework.
- An apple shape is round.
- A bus is dangerous for driving.
In Plural form and with 0 article
Examples:
- non computers are helpful in work.
- 0 onions are shapes is round.
- Non/0 buses are dirty for driving.
Article ” The “is used with singular Generic Noun
Sometimes Article ” The ” is used with a Singular generic count noun and ” the ” generic is commonly used with:
- Species of animals
- Invitations
- Musical instruments
- Who discovered the pen?
- I did not want to learn the piano.
- Do you drive the car?
| Generic | Definite | Indefinite | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular Count Nouns | A / An | The | A / An |
| Plural Count Nouns | No Article / 0 | The | 0 / No article / some |
| Noncount Nouns | No Article / 0 | The | 0 / No article / some |
Related Topics:
2: Agreement with Generic Nouns
5: Antecedent definition Usage & examples
