Shadowing Practice: A, AN, THE - Articles in English - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Hello, and welcome to the next video.
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Today, I'm going to teach you about a very difficult, confusing, fun, maybe, grammar point.
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It's called articles.
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Oh, really?
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Yeah.
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Articles are confusing.
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There are many, many rules in English about articles.
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I do not have the time the energy to teach you all of them
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but I'll do my best okay
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and what are articles first of all articles are a
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and and the articles come before a noun a A noun is a person,
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a place, or a thing.
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So, I'm going to generalize here and say that before most nouns in English, you have to use an article.
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Of course, there are millions of exceptions to what I've just said.
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Sometimes we do not use an article with a noun.
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That's a whole other lesson, a whole other time warp for your brain.
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We're going to stick to these ones.
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When to use a, an, and the before a noun in a proper English sentence.
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We use these when we speak, when we write, and they're very important in grammar.
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So there's no way to avoid these.
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I'll help you.
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Don't worry.
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The first one is an.
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An's easy.
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It's the easiest.
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We'll do this one first.
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An is a singular noun.
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is used in a singular noun, it's an article and we use it before the noun that starts with a vowel.
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Now, the pronunciation of this word sounds like vowel.
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The vowels in English, we have five vowels in English.
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They are a e me, I,
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O, and you.
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Now, everyone who speaks Spanish,
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Portuguese, Italian, any of our Latin American friends or Latin language speakers, you're going to mix up these two vowels, E and I.
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Let me teach you one thing that will help you.
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If you can remember that you have to dot your I, you're going to get the pronunciation of this word.
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So this word, or this letter, sorry, when you write this letter, you always have to put a pink, a dot, in the middle of a word.
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So you're going to remember that this I, you can make a nice little I here to help you. So I.
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When you write this word by itself, you have to use a capital.
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So this would only be in the middle of a word, but the pronunciation is the same, I.
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So, if you have a vowel, A -E -I -O -U,
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that begins the noun, you have to use an. For example, I.
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Yay!
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We have to say an I, Because the word I begins with a vowel.
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If the word begins with this word, with this letter I, for example, ice cream!
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Yay!
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We have to say, I'd like an ice cream.
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Do you like ice cream?
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Or, if the word begins with a vowel sound.
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What is a vowel sound, Ronnie?
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A vowel sound is usually always the letter H.
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For example the word
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Hour we do not even say the H word it sounds like we're saying hour
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So because this word hour sounds like a vowel because the H is silent.
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We have to say an hour Okay, you got it you're with me an hour so
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an We used before a vowel or before a vowel sound usually a noun that begins with an H
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The next one is A.
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The very first letter of our alphabet.
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A is a vowel.
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Don't let that confuse you.
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A we use for, again, a singular noun.
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All of these are going to be used with singular nouns.
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If the noun is plural, if the noun has an S, do not use an article.
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So, a, we use for a singular noun in a general form.
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You can think of this easier as replacing it with the word any.
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So, if you go to a coffee shop and they have five muffins and they're all the same muffin,
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you're going to say to the person that works at the coffee shop, Hello, I'd like a muffin.
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You do not get to choose or pick what muffin you get.
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You can choose the flavor, but you cannot specifically choose which muffin you would like.
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It's the same as saying any.
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It's like saying, I'd like any muffin.
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Just give me a muffin.
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I want a muffin.
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I'd like anything.
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Just give me something.
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Okay?
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It's used for when you don't care which one it is.
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You just want one of something.
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A. If my nose was stuffy and I had to blow my nose, I would ask someone, do you have a Kleenex?
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I don't have to go through the box of Kleenexes.
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No, I don't want that one.
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Yes, this, no, you're just going to get a Kleenex and you're going to blow your nose, okay?
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So, a and an, the only difference is an you use before a vowel.
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As an example, you can say, I'd like a cookie.
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I was gonna write coffee.
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Maybe I want a coffee right now, but I would definitely rather have a cookie.
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I don't care which cookie you give me.
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Just give me a cookie.
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I'm a cookie monster.
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Okay, so I'd like a cookie.
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I'd like any cookie.
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The next is the.
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The next is the.
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The is opposite to a.
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The means something very, very, very specific.
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General and specific are opposites.
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This means you actually choose which one you are going to get.
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Think about this when you go shopping.
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You do not walk into a store and go, hi, could I have a shirt?
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I don't care what it looks like I don't care how
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much it is just give me a shirt this never happens ladies
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when you go shopping for shoes you just don't go into the shoe store
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and say just a pair of shoes please just a pair
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of shoes don't care size 8 fine anything no we want
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to go through all of the shoes we want to try them all on we want to get a handbag
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and match them with our shoes and choose the shoes of our dreams
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so you're gonna not say a pair of shoes you're gonna
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say the shoes another very confusing thing about
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the is the second time you talk about the same noun in a phrase.
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You have to put the second noun with the.
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For example, this is a little more difficult.
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I bought some fruit.
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Okay, fruit is an uncountable noun.
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If the noun is uncountable, we do not use an article.
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I bought some fruit.
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The fruit was bad.
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But Ronnie, you just said if it's an uncountable noun, we don't use an article.
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What are you doing?
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Have you lost your mind?
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No. This is a grammar rule.
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The first time I talk about the fruit, I use no article because it's uncountable.
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But, the second time I'm talking about the same noun, I have to.
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I don't know why.
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I just have to.
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It's a rule.
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So I have to say the fruit.
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The fruit was bad.
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The third point when we use the article the, the article the, I'm using articles all the time,
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is when the speaker and the listener or the reader, whatever, if you're reading or listening,
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know, they both know which noun you are talking about.
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For example, if you and your friend go to the same school, you have to say the school.
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If I was talking to my friend on the phone and I said, hey, yeah, oh, I left my book at the school.
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My friend and I both know what school I am talking about.
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In my city, there are 2 .5 million schools.
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There's a lot of schools in Toronto.
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There are 2 .5 million people.
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And a lot of people go to different schools.
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But because my friend and I go to the same school, I have to say, the school.
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I'm going to go to the school tomorrow.
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You and I both know we're talking about the same one okay the next one is We use with countries,
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but only one percent of the countries of the world So I ask you what country are you from I?
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am from Canada We have listeners from all over the world.
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I would guarantee
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that 99 % of you would not use an article with your country name I come from Canada below Canada.
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There's a country.
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It's a big country called Anyone know below Canada geography time the United States of America or shorter the USA a
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Lot of people their ancestors I am in Canada came from a country
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or group of countries called the United Kingdom the United Kingdom
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and There's a country in the Middle East called the United Arab Emirates.
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Is anyone from there?
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I went there once in an airplane.
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It's cool.
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The United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates.
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All of these three countries,
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we have to use the because there is the word united in the title of the country.
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I do not say the Canada.
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I do not say the Japan.
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If the word has united in it, I say the.
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The second one is if the country has more than two words in the name, you're going to say the.
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For example, New Zealand.
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New Zealand only has two words.
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I do not say the New Zealand.
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If it has more than two words, I have to put the in front of the country.
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The last one is the most difficult.
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If you were like me and did not do well in geography class, this one's hard.
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We have to use the if the country is comprised of tiny or small islands.
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I do not expect everyone in the world to know which countries are made of small islands, But to help you out,
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off the top of my head, the Philippines.
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If you look in a map, the Philippines has many tiny little islands that make one country.
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Another example would be the West Indies, the Canary Islands.
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These are all places that have small islands that form one country.
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So if you look at Japan, for example, Japan has maybe five or more islands, but they're quite large
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so we cannot use this as the Japan they have to be very small islands I hope you understand this
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if you have a question please leave me a comment if you need more help with this please ask me bye
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 174 sentences and 1757 words to shadow. The speech runs for 14:12. The speaker talks at a steady 124 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| noun noun | /naʊn/ | A word that functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as person, animal, place, word, thing, phenomenon, substance, quality, or idea… |
| shoe noun | /ˈʃu/ | A protective covering for the foot, with a bottom part composed of thick leather or plastic sole and often a thicker heel, and a softer upper part made of… |
| cookie noun | /ˈkʊki/ | A small, flat, baked good which is either crisp or soft but firm. |
| singular adjective | /ˈsɪŋ.ɡjə.lɚ/ | Being only one of a larger population; single, individual. |
| litter noun | /ˈlɪt.ɚ/ | Straw, grass, and similar loose material used as bedding for people or animals. |
| confuse verb | /kənˈfjuːz/ | to puzzle, perplex, baffle, bewilder (somebody); to afflict by being complicated, contradictory, or otherwise difficult to understand |
| grammar noun | /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/ | A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general. |
| pronunciation noun | /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/ | The formal or informal way in which a word is made to sound when spoken. |
| geography noun | /d͡ʒiˈɑɡɹəfi/ | The study of the physical properties of the earth, including how humans affect and are affected by them. |
| listener noun | /ˈlɪs(ə)nɚ/ | Someone who listens, especially to a speech or a broadcast. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| silent adjective | /ˈsaɪ̯lənt/ | Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet. |
| guarantee noun | /ˌɡæɹ.ənˈtiː/ | Anything that assures a certain outcome. |
| exception noun | /əkˈsɛpʃən/ | The act of excepting or excluding; exclusion; restriction by taking out something which would otherwise be included, as in a class, statement, rule. |
| reader noun | /ˈɹi.dɚ/ | A person who reads. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| mix up verb | To mix or blend thoroughly and completely. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've just said · has united |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is comprised · are made |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the easiest · the most difficult |
| Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming | I'm going to teach · I'm going to generalize · We're going to stick |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 49 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're, I'd. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shoe /ˈʃu/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, exception /əkˈsɛpʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, geography /d͡ʒiˈɑɡɹəfi/, generalize /ˈd͡ʒɛn.(ə.)ɹə.laɪz/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like noun, shoe, cookie.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.