[11] ARTICLES [Part 1 - A/AN]

INDEFINITE ARTICLE - A/AN

[ A - um/uma ]
Usaremos antes de:
1. consoante - a clock, a wristwatch
2. som de iu (you) - a useful name, a European, a university, a uniform
3. Y - a yellow submarine
4. W - a window
5. H pronounced - a house

[ AN - um/uma ]
Usaremos antes de:
1. vogal - an egg
2. H mudo - an hour, an honest guy,  an heir, an honor

AMBOS serão usados em:
1. antes de substantivos singulares que designam nacionalidade ou profissão.
eg.: He's  an engineer. / He's an Italian. / My uncle is a lawyer.

>> não usaremos a/an quando houver plural.
eg.: They are lawyers. / I want to buy eggs.

2. antes de numerais como dozen, hundred, thousand, million,... quando estes estiverem no plural.
eg.: The tailor spent a hundred dollars on the supermarket.
eg.: I want to buy a dozen bananas.

3. com a palavra HALF.
eg.: They stayed half an hour here.
eg.: I want a half sandwich.

4. antes de expressões de TEMPO e MEDIDA.
eg.: I go to the movies once a month.
eg.: I go to the bank once a week.
eg.: I travel twice a year.
eg.: She buys jens three times a year.
eg.: twenty cents a gallon.

5. quando designamos calças compridas, meias, botas, óculos, tesouras no sentido de um.
eg.: I want to buy a pair of scissors/a pair of pants/a pair of gloves/a pair of boots/a pair of glasses/a pair of jeans.

6.depois de WHAT em exclamação com o substantivo no singular.
eg.: What a wonderful night!
eg.: What an insteresting girl!

BUT: What impolite children! (no article = plural)

7. depois de QUITE ou RATHER, quando tais palavras precedem substantivos adjetivados.
eg.: It was quite a beautiful day. (bastante)

8. depois da palavra SUCH,  precedendo substantivos no singular isolados ou adjetivados.
eg.: I was in such a hurry.

9.  antes de LITTLE ou FEW, dando o mesmo sentido de SOME.
eg.: Woudln't you have a little salt? Sugar?

NÃO USAREMOS A/AN:

1. antes de substantivos plural.
eg.: tables, sisters, relatives, etc...

2. antes de substantivos incontáveis.
eg.: poverty, snow, sugar, milk, money, time, etc...

3. antes de substantivos.
progress, furniture, luggage, baggage, advice, knowledge, news, information, thunder, equipment, etc...

OBS.:
For lunch I had a sandwich and an aplle. The sandwich wasn't very good.
(Then speaker says A SANDWICH/AN APLLE, because that is the first time he talks about them / The speaker says THE SANDWICH, because the listener now knows which sandwich he had for lunch)

eg.: I cleaned the car yesterday. (a particular car, my car)
eg.: Do you have a car? (not a particular car)

{private = particular |  particular = algo epecífico }