1. Unit 7 Grammar
Notes
Pages 108-109

2. 1.
Speakers use indefinite (non-specific or
generic) nouns when they do not have a
particular person, place or thing in mind.
Use the indefinite article a/an with
indefinite singular count nouns.

3. 1. For example:
He wants to buy a statue.
She wants to be an anthropologist.
He got a new car.
I’m going to take a psychology course.
She is going to ask for a raise.
I’m writing a story.

4. 2.
A noun is often indefinite the first time a
speaker mentions it.
It is usually definite after the first
mention.

5. 2. For example:
I heard of an interesting mystery. The mystery is
about Easter Island.
She’s going to ask for a raise. It will be the first raise
she has had since she started working here.
I’m writing a story. It’s the story I was telling you in
class last week.

6. 2.
NOTE:
a is used before a consonant sound and an is used
before a vowel sound:
a banana, an apple
a hat, an umbrella
a train, an airplane
a hot summer, an icy winter

7. 2.
BUT this rule applies to sounds and not letters!
a useful tool
a used car
(The letter is the vowel “u,” but the sound is /y/.)

8. 3.
Use zero article (no article) with
indefinite plural count nouns,
indefinite non-count nouns, names
of people, names of most countries,
and habitual locations.

9. 3. For example:
Kind of Noun Example
Indefinite plural count
noun
The island used to have tall trees.
Indefinite non-count
noun
Platinum and gold are valuable
minerals.
Name of a person Mr. Flenly is a botanist.
Name of a country Many statues have been found in
Egypt.
Habitual locations People spend most of their time at
work, at school, or at home.

10. 3. For example:
Kind of Noun Example
Indefinite plural count
noun
June is the season for peaches and
cherries.
Indefinite non-count
noun
Rice is the basis of the diet in many
Asian countries.
Name of a person The governor of California is Jerry
Brown.
Name of a country My classmate is from China.
Habitual locations She is usually in church on Sunday.

11. 4.
A noun is generic when it represents
all members of a class or category of
persons, places or things—generic
nouns talk about things in general.

12. 4. For example:
3 ways to use nouns
generically are:
Example
Indefinite article + singular
count noun
A computer is a machine that does
calculations and processes information.
Zero article + plural count
noun
Computers are machines that do
calculations and process information.
Zero article + non-count
noun
Computers are machines that do
calculations and process information.
Water is essential for survival.

13. 4. For example:
3 ways to use nouns
generically are:
Example
Indefinite article + singular
count noun
Drunken driving can easily cause an
accident.
Zero article + plural count
noun
Drunken driving can easily cause accidents.
Zero article + non-count
noun
Drunken driving can easily cause accidents.

14. 4.
NOTE: You can also make a generic
statement with
definite article + adjective + plural
verb:

15. 4. For example:
The rich are fortunate.
They need to help the poor, who are
not so fortunate.

16. 4. =
Rich people are fortunate.
They need to help poor people, who
are not so fortunate.

17. 5.
A noun is definite when the speaker
and the listener know which
particular person, place or thing is
being talked about.

18. 5.
The speaker may have a picture in his
or her mind of the thing she or he is
talking about, or the speaker may be
thinking about the name of the
thing.

19. 5.
Use the definite article, the, with
non-count and singular and plural
count nouns that are definite for you
and your listener.

20. 5. For example:
Non-count noun:
The food we had for lunch was terrible.
(Which food? The food that we had for lunch. I
can see and taste it in my mind.)

21. 5. For example:
Singular count noun:
The island used to be covered by forests.
(Which island? The island we were just reading
about, Easter Island.)

22. 5. For example:
Plural count noun:
The statues were made by tribal chiefs.
(Which statues? The statues on Easter Island,
the ones we have been reading about.

23. 5.
NOTE: A noun or noun phrase is normally
definite if you can ask a which question about
it.
Nouns of this type are often followed by a
phrase with of.

24. 5. For example:
The population of Easter Island has declined a
great deal.
The population of which island has declined a
great deal?

25. 6.
Use the definite article with nouns that
describe something unique.
(That means that there is only one of the
thing you are talking about.)

26. 6. For example:
The sun gives us light and heat.
The earth is becoming warmer.
Jerry Brown is the governor of California.

27. 6.
An adjective can often make a
noun represent something
unique.

28. 6. For example:
Adjective
first Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon.
last He always sits in the last row.
only Number 51 is the only bus that stops near my house.
right I didn’t know the right answer to the last question on the test.
wrong We took the wrong turn and got lost.
superlatives My grandmother is the oldest person in our family.
This is the best book that I have ever read.
China is the country with the largest population in the world.
The smallest bird is the bee hummingbird.

29. 6.
NOTE: Your textbook includes
comparatives here, but the
teacher thinks the book is wrong.
A comparative more often takes
the indefinite article.

30. 6. For example:
This is a more difficult class than
the grammar I took last semester.
This dress is too big. Do you have
it in a smaller size?

31. 7.
You can use the definite article
generically to talk about
inventions, musical instruments,
living things, and parts of the
body.

32. 7. For example:
inventions The wheel was invented thousands of years ago.
The computer has completely changed our lives.
musical
instruments
The harpsichord was a keyboard instrument
similar to the piano.
The pipa is a traditional Chinese instrument.
living things The blue whale is the largest animal in the world.
The dog is descended from the wolf.
parts of the
body
Cancer of the stomach often is not discovered
until it is far advanced.
Sugar is bad for the teeth.