DEFINITE ARTICLE
THE
Articles in English are invariable. That is, they do not
change according to the gender or number of the noun they refer to, e.g. the
boy, the woman, the children
'The' is
used:
1. to refer to something which
has already been mentioned.
|
An elephant and a mouse fell in love.
The mouse loved the
elephant's long trunk,
and the elephant loved the
mouse's tiny nose.
|
2. when both the speaker and listener know what is being talked about,
even
if it has not been mentioned
before.
|
'Where's the
bathroom?'
'It's on the first floor.'
|
3. in sentences or clauses where we define or identify a particular
person or
object:
|
The man who wrote this book is
famous.
My house is the one with a blue door.'
'Which car
did you scratch?' 'The red one.
|
4. to refer to objects we regard
as unique:
|
the sun, the moon, the world
|
5. before superlatives and
ordinal numbers: (see Adjectives)
|
the highest building, the first page, the last chapter.
|
6. with adjectives, to refer to
a whole group of people:
|
the
Japanese (see Nouns - Nationalities), the old
|
7. with names of geographical
areas and oceans:
|
the
Caribbean, the Sahara, the Atlantic
|
8. with decades, or groups of
years:
|
she grew up in the seventies
|
INDEFINITE ARTICLE: A / AN
A
/ AN
Use 'a' with nouns starting with a consonant
(letters that are not vowels),
'an' with nouns starting with a vowel (a,e,i,o,u)
'an' with nouns starting with a vowel (a,e,i,o,u)
Examples
- A boy
- An apple
- A car
- An orange
- A house
- An opera
NOTE:
An before an h mute - an hour, an honour.
A before u and eu when they sound like 'you': a european, a university, a unit
An before an h mute - an hour, an honour.
A before u and eu when they sound like 'you': a european, a university, a unit
The indefinite article is used:
to refer to something for the
first time:
|
An
elephant
and a mouse fell in love.
Would you
like a drink?
I've finally
got a good job.
|
|
to refer to a particular member
of a group or class
|
with names
of jobs:
|
John is a
doctor.
Mary is
training to be an engineer.
He wants to
be a dancer.
|
with nationalities and religions:
|
Kate is a Catholic.
John is an Englishman.
|
|
with musical instruments:
|
Sherlock
Holmes was playing a violin when the visitor arrived.
(BUT
to describe the activity we say "He plays the violin.")
|
|
with names of days:
|
I was born on a Thursday
|
|
to refer to a kind of, or example of something:
|
the elephant
had a long trunk
the mouse had
a tiny nose
it was a very strange car |
|
with singular nouns, after the words 'what' and 'such':
|
What a shame!
She's such a beautiful girl. |
|
meaning 'one', referring to a single object or person:
|
I'd like an
orange and two lemons please.
The burglar
took a diamond necklace and a valuable painting.
|
- Notice also that we usually say a hundred, a thousand, a million.
NOTE: that
we use 'one' to add emphasis or to contrast with other numbers:
I don't know one person who likes eating elephant meat.
We've got six computers but only one printer.
I don't know one person who likes eating elephant meat.
We've got six computers but only one printer.
EXCEPTIONS
TO USING THE DEFINITE
ARTICLE
There
is no article:
with names of countries
(if singular)
|
Germany is an important economic power.
He's just returned from Zimbabwe. (But: I'm visiting the United States next week.) |
with the names of
languages
|
French is spoken in Tahiti.
English uses many words of Latin
origin.
Indonesian is a relatively new
language.
|
with the names of meals.
|
Dinner is in the evening.
Lunch is at midday.
Breakfast is the first meal of the
day.
|
with people's names
(if singular):
|
George
King
is my uncle.
John's coming to the
party.
(But:
we're having lunch with the Morgans tomorrow.)
|
with titles and names:
|
Prince
Charles
is Queen Elizabeth's son.
(But: the
Queen of England, the Pope.)
Dr.
Watson
was Sherlock Holmes' friend.
President Kennedy
was assassinated in Dallas.
|
After the 's possessive
case:
|
His brother's
car.
Peter's house.
|
with professions:
|
Engineering is a useful career.
He'll probably go into medicine. |
with names
of shops:
|
I'll get the
card at Smith's.
Can you go to
Boots for me?
|
with years:
|
1948was a wonderful year.
1949Do you remember 1995?
|
With uncountable nouns:
|
Rice is the main food in Asia.
Milk is often added to tea in England. War is destructive. |
with the names of individual mountains, lakes and
islands:
|
Mount McKinley is the highest mountain in
Alaska.
She lives near Lake Windermere. Have you visited Long Island? |
with most names of towns, streets, stations and
airports:
|
Victoria Station is in the centre of
London.
Can you direct me to Bond Street? She lives in Florence. They're flying from Heathrow. |
- in some fixed expressions, for example:
- by car
- by train
- by air
- on foot
- on holiday
- on air (in broadcasting)
- at school
- at work
- at University
- in church
- in prison
- in bed
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