A native Korean speaker and I have spent many hours pouring over her writing in a hunt for missing articles. What is an article? In the English language, we often put the word "the" or "a" or "an" in front of nouns (person, place, or thing). Then again, sometimes we don't put an "an" or "a" or "the" there at all. Knowing when not to use an article, when to use one, and which one to use when one is needed confuses many non-native English speakers. Here is my explanation. Use "the" if the noun is specific. Use "a" if the noun is part of a general group. Use "an" if the noun is part of a general group and begins with a vowel sound. Don't use an article at all if the noun is SO general that it isn't even part of a group.
I will go to college next year. (College is SO general that it isn't part of a group.)
I will go to a college in Florida. (College is part of a general group of colleges located in Florida.)
I will go to the college that my father attended. (College is the specific one that Dad went to.)
P.S. In my paragraph to explain articles, I used sixteen articles and three instances of nouns so general that they did not need an article at all. Clearly, it is understandable why articles are not clearly understandable by those who didn't grow up using them!
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