Articles made easy for OET Candidates !
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Articles are an important OET grammar component. These always come top of the list when it comes to those tricky bits of English grammar that take a while to click. The terminology can make the use of articles sound confusing, but it is actually quite simple! First thing to remember is that mistakes in ‘articles’ fall under Language in OET Writing Assessment Criteria.
Table of Contents
Read this article and have a go at the mini-tasks, and you’ll have solved your article worries in a matter of minutes…
1. Nouns
Articles come before some nouns, so nouns are the best place to start.
A noun can be a person, a place or an object. There are many types of nouns and reading up on them will help you to get your head around articles.
1.1. Indefinite Articles (a/an)
Indefinite articles (a/an) are used to refer to an unspecified noun or noun phrase.
Examples:
Mrs. Brooks has a history of diabetes.
Mr. Jackson was referred to an orthopedist.
She presented with features of an acute abdomen.
His X-ray revealed an enlarged heart.
On examination, he had a swollen left knee.
There are some distinct rules for using ‘a’ or ‘an.
The Article ‘a’ and Consonant/Consonant Sound
The indefinite article ‘a’ is used before a word that begins with a consonant or consonant sound when pronounced.
Common Medical Words That Begin With the Article ‘a’
| Consonant (letter) | Consonant (sound) |
|---|---|
| a fibroid | a uterine fibroid |
| a high school student | a university student |
| a blood test | a urine test |
| a stool sample | a urine sample |
| a businessman | a urine analysis |
| a history | a one-day history |
| a cough | a European |
| a dollar | a euro |
| a report | a unit |
| a feature | a unique feature |
| a biopsy | |
| a colostomy | |
| a bruise | |
| a catheter |
The Article ‘an’ and Vowel or Vowel Sound
The indefinite article ‘an’ is used before a word that begins with a vowel or a vowel sound when pronounced.
Common Medical Words Begin With the Article ‘an’
| Vowel (letter) | Vowel (sound) |
|---|---|
| an episode | an hour |
| an eight-year-old boy | an honest opinion |
| an examination/investigation | an honorable person |
| an orthopedist | |
| an American | |
| an ultrasound | |
| an injury | |
| an operation |
1.1.1 Abbreviations
Deciding which indefinite article should be used with abbreviations is tricky. You need to understand if the abbreviation is pronounced as a single word, letter by letter or in expanded form.
Here is a list of common
| Abbreviations | Full Form |
|---|---|
| an ECG/EEG/EMG | an electrocardiogram/ electroencephalogram/ electromyography |
| a URTI | an upper respiratory infection |
| a UTI | a urinary tract infection |
| an RBC count | a red blood cell count |
| an MRI scan | a magnetic resonance imaging scan |
| an MNC | an MNC( medical necessity criteria) |
| an RTA | a road traffic accident |
| an NPO order | an NPO (nil per os/ nothing by mouth) |
| an HIV positive patient | an HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) |
| an NICU nurse/doctor | a neonatal ICU nurse/doctor |
| an AIDS patient | an AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome |
| a SARS vaccine | a SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) |
| an STD test | a sexually transmitted disease |
| an Hb/Hct value | a hemoglobin/hematocrit value |
| an OTC medicine | an OTC (over the counter) medicine |
✘ Do not use indefinite articles with uncountable nouns in OET.
For example, information, tenderness, bleeding, etc.
1.1.2 Medical Conditions & Medication
✘ Do not use indefinite articles with medical conditions or medication names.
| Medical Condition | Medication Name |
|---|---|
| hypertension | aspirin |
| dementia | paracetamol |
| jaundice | heparin |
| epilepsy | ibuprofen |
| cancer | pantoprazole |
| diabetes | atorvastatin |
| depression | codeine |
| eczema | metformin |
| hay fever | Panadol |
| arthritis | Coumadin |
| pneumonia | Lipitor |
| ischemia | Atacand |
| Parkinson’s disease | Lasix |
| Crohn’s disease | Anginine |
| Murphy’s sign | Risperdal |
1.1.3 Treatment Procedures
✘ Do not use indefinite articles with medical/treatment procedures as given below.
| dialysis | physiotherapy |
| rhinoplasty | chemotherapy |
| angiography, echocardiography | occupational therapy |
| acupuncture | speech therapy |
| screening | |
| catheterisation | |
| liposuction | |
| scanning | |
| urinalysis |
However, if a countable noun follows the above, an indefinite article can be used.
| A dialysis bag(countable noun) | A physiotherapy session (countable noun) |
| A screening procedure (countable noun) | A scanning report(countable noun) |
1.2 Definite Article (the)
- This article is used to indicate something already mentioned.
Examples:
Suspecting peptic ulcer, a CT scan was ordered. The scan revealed multiple gall stones.
Today, Mrs. Zara reported experiencing severe chest pain for a day. The pain was constant and lasted for 5 minutes.
- However, if there is an adjective preceding the noun indicating the body part, appropriate article is used.
Examples:
On examination, she had pain in the left lower abdomen.
Further investigation confirmed a bacterial infection in the heart.
She presented with a scar on the left cheek.
Mrs X reported noticing a lump in the left breast.
- While describing the body parts, ‘the’ can be replaced with appropriate gender pronouns (his/her)
Examples:
Mrs Martha reported noticing a lump in her left breast.
An X-ray confirmed a fracture in his right foot.
2. Job Roles
In your OET writing and speaking subtests, you will often need to refer to the roles of medical professionals. Job roles will always take an article. You will need to decide whether the role/person you are referring to is general (a/an) or specific (the). Make up a few phrases with the examples below.
E.g. The doctor has referred her to a psychiatrist.
a/the doctor
a/the nurse
a/the dentist
a/the psychiatrist
a/the support worker
an/the anaesthetist
3. Nouns Describing Patients
Nouns describing patients will also need to be preceded by an article. In this case, you would sometimes be using the definite article as you are referring to a specific patient. However, there will be some instances where you would use the indefinite article. Have a look at the examples below and put them into some sentences.
E.g. The father of the child is a factory worker.
a/the woman
a/the father
a/the child
a/the widow
a/the factory worker
an/ the alcoholic
4. Uncountable Nouns
These are nouns you cannot write article ‘a’ with. Some of the uncountable nouns are”
- advice
- assistance
- nausea
- stress
- equipment
Now try and put some sentences together using both lists.
And there you have it…articles are easy!
5. Test Your Grammar Skills for the OET Exam
Fill in the following with the appropriate article
6 Quiz
Check Your Knowledge
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Thank you benchmark team for helping me to to understand the proper ways of writing.
Just know about benchmark 10 days before my exam.
Really wonderful guideline I’m receiving from them.
Very helpful.
thank you so much Benchmark for this wonderful guidelines. please i need more clarification on how to use article with uncountable nouns.
does it mean that the article use in the following sentences are wrong;
mrs Jones has a cancer
please i need more help here sir
Yes, with disease names use of article ‘a’ is incorrect. To help improve your grammar and OET writing skills, we recommend using this service: OET Writing Correction
It’s great how simply you’re describing it. please let me know whether we can put articles before symptoms, for example vomiting ,diarrhoea etc.
yes, but remember there cannot be an article ‘a’ or ‘an’ if the symptom is an uncountable noun such as pain.
Hi Dear
I want to know, how can I use articles with image investigations (e.g: MRI, endoscopy and x-ray please ?
Yes, articles (a,an) are required with diagnostics. So, you will be writing an MRI, an endoscopy, an X-ray and so on…
should I use an article for operation’s name, eg: chlecystectomy?
yes, it’s a singular noun
Should i use articles before surger name ?!
we were taught that procedures names should not be capitalized.so what do we write.An ECG was ordered or An ecg was ordered?
ECG stands for electrocardiogram, hence it’s an abbreviation. I am sure the one who taught you about procedures must have informed you about abbreviations as well. All the best
Thank you. please explain why do you use a for stroke (its disease name) in this video
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/stroke_1
can we use article before name of the surgery
for example,Mr X who underwent a hip replacement surgery/Mr x who underwent hip replacement surgeryo
which one is right?
mr x who underwent a left arthroplasty/who underwent left arthroplasty