Articles (Grammar)

Mr. Gourashi
 Articles

Indefinite (a/an) definite (the)

 Indefinite Articles (a / an )
There are two indefinite articles in English: 'a' and
'an'. They are used before a singular noun that has a
plural form. 'A' is used before a consonant sound and
'an' is used before a vowel sound. The sound is more
.‘important than the spelling; we say 'an umbrella
 The usages
 the indefinite articles a/an are used with countable nouns to indicate one:
I have got a car.
 it is an orange.
I have a book.
She bought an umbrella
Use a / an with names of jobs
Examples
John is a doctor.
Mary is training to be an engineer.
He wants to be a dancer.
Use A(AN) when you are talking about a thing in general,
.NOT a specific thing
Examples
I need a phone. (Not a specific phone, any phone)
Mark wants a bicycle. (Not a particular bicycle, a
bicycle in general)
Do you have a driver's license? (In general)
Before phrases of time and measurements (per
week/weekly)

Examples
 We have English 4 times a week.
 I go on holiday twice a year.
Our car can do 220 kilometers an hour.
Tomatoes are $2 a kilo.
 ."Definite article (the) means "specific
The uses
Use THE when talking about something which is already known to the listener or
which has been previously mentioned, introduced, or discussed. Or when a
:word is used a second time
 I have a cat. The cat is black.
There is a book in my backpack. The book is very heavy.
He gave me a knife and a spoon. The spoon was dirty and the knife was clean.
A man and a woman were sitting opposite me. The man was American, but I
think the woman was British.
We use (the) when there is only one something or
.unique. When only one object exist
The earth, the sun, the River Themes
Example
 The moon goes around the sun.
The sky is blue.
:We use (the) when we are thinking of a specific thing
Tim sat down on a chair. ( perhaps one of the many chairs in the
room)
Tim sat on the chair nearest the door. ( a specific chair)
John is looking for a job.(not a specific)
Did John get the job he applied for? ( a specific job)
Have you got a car? (not a specific car)
I cleaned the car yesterday. (=my car)
 We use (the) when it is clear in the situation which thing or person we
mean, for example, in a room we talk about the light/the floor/ the
:..ceiling/the door/ the carpet etc
Can you turn off the light. (= the light in this room)
I took a taxi to the station. (=the station in that town)
(in a shop) l would like to speak to the manager, please. (=the manager of this
shop)
In the same way, we say: (go to) the bank, the post
I have to go to the bank and then I am going to the post office(the speaker is
usually thinking of a specific bank or post office).
We also say (go to) the doctor/ the dentist:
Carolina isn’t very well. She’s gone to the doctor.(her usual doctor)
 I don’t like going to the dentist.
Compare (the) and (a)
I have to go to the bank today, is there a bank near here.
.I don’t like going to the dentist, my sister is a dentist
Exercise: write a, an, or the:
1. This morning I bought……….newspaper and ……..magazine. ………..newspaper
is in my bag, but I can’t remember where I put …………magazine.
2. I saw ……accident this morning ………car crashed into ……….tree ………..driver
of ………..car wasn’t hurt, but ………….car was badly damaged.
3. My friends live in……….old house in …………small village. There is …………
beautiful garden behind ………house. I would like to have ………...garden like that.
4. this house is very nice. Has it got ………garden?
It’s a beautiful day. Let’s sit in …………..garden.
5. she has………...French name, but in fact she is English.
6. What is ………name of that man we met yesterday.
7. we stayed at …….very nice hotel. I can’t remember………..name now.
8. there is no ………airport near where I live …………nearest airport is 70 miles away.
9. Peter has a part-time job. He works three morning ………week.
Exercise two: write a, the or no article to complete these sentences
1. she is ……journalist.
2. ………..moon moves slowly round the earth.
3. I would like ………..coffee, please.
4. ………..sun is shining.
5. He gave me a lighter and cigarettes but …………lighter didn’t work.
6. There was………doctor and…….nurse in the room. ………..nurse was sleeping.
7. She took ……sandwich and ……piece of cake, but didn’t eat ……..cake.
8. yes, I work at this school, I am ………….teacher.
9. A man and two women were sitting in the car, I think ………man was Italian.
?Did you see…………… Pope when he came to England .10
.He offered me…………. cigarette, but I refused .11
.Did you send me………….post card when you were in Greece .12
.Have you met sally she’s ……….friend of mine .13
 We say: the sky, the sun, the moon, the country, the environment
We looked up to all the stars in the sky.
Would you like to live in the country?
We must do more to protect the environment.

But we say space(without the)

There are millions stars in space.
I tried to park my car but the space was too small.
We use (the) before same
your pullover is the same colour as mine.
Are these keys the same?
Use the with names of geographical areas, rivers, mountain ranges,
.groups of islands, and oceans

Examples
 Our ship crossed the Atlantic in 7 days.
Hiking across the Rocky Mountains would be difficult.
We went to the Himalayas mountains.
 I travelled along the Mississippi river.
I have been to the Black Sea.
Use the with countries that include the words "republic",
"kingdom", or countries that have plural names

Examples
 She is visiting the United States.
James is from the Republic of Ireland.
I have never been to the Netherlands.
Do you know anyone who lives in the Philippines?
Use the with the names of famous buildings, works of
.art, museums, or monuments

Examples
 Have you been to the Vietnam Memorial?
We went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa.
I would like to visit the Eiffel Tower.
Use the with the names of families, but not with the
.names of individuals

Examples
We're having dinner with the Smiths tonight.
The Browns are going to the play with us.
The: is used with musical instrument

Can you play the guitar?

I love listening to the piano.
The is used with musical instruments when we are talking about
playing them or listening to them but note:
I would like to buy a piano.
The with listen to the radio, no article with watch television, but
note: have you got a new television? This is an expensive radio.

 No article before names of academic subject, languages, sports, meals

English isn’t too difficult to learn

History is my favourite subject.
She plays tennis very well.
I usually have my toast for breakfast.
 Exercise: complete these sentences with: a, an, the or no article

1. she plays……….piano beautifully.

2. we usually meet once…….week.
3. I enjoy studying languages, but I find …………Latin quite difficult.
4. I always listen to …………..radio when I get up.
5. can your daughter play ……….violin.
6. I can cycle 15 miles…………hour.
7. Do you enjoy learning ……………Spanish?
8. I take the children swimming twice…….week.
9. I think you watch………..television too often.
10. Do you study…………physics at school?
This flat costs 100 £………..week .11
12. I love listening to ………….saxophone.
13. The potatoes are 80 pence …………bag.
14. Can you speak………….Russian.
.15. I really enjoy playing …………….football at the weekends
 We say: the cinema, the theater
 I go to the cinema a lot, but I haven’t been to the theater for many year.
We don’t use the before noun+ number:
 Our train leaves from platform 5. (not the platform5.
(in a shop) have you got these shoes in size 43? (not the size)
In the same way, we say: room 16 (in a hotel), page 29 (of a book), question 3 (in an
exam), gate 10 (at an airport)
Put in (the/ a/ an) where necessary
1. Where did you have……..lunch.
2. We went to…………restaurant.
3. Did you have……..nice holiday?, yes, it was ………best I have had.
4. Do you often listen to ………..radio, no in fact I haven’t got……..radio.
5. Do you go to…………cinema very often? Not, not very often, but I watched a lot of films on …………
television. Would you like to travel in ……….space? Yes I’d love to go to………moon.
Put in (the) where necessary. If you don’t need (the), leave the space
empty
1. I haven’t been to ………..cinema for ages.
2. Sarah spends most of her free time watching ………..television.
3. ………….television was on, but no body was watching it.
4. Lisa and I arrived at ………..same time.
5. you’ll find…………information you need at …………top of
……………..page 15.
6. What is…………capital city of Canada.
 :With adjectives like rich, poor, elderly, unemployed to talk about groups of people

Life can be very hard for the poor.

I think the rich should pay more taxes.
She works for a group to help the disabled.

:to say something about all the things referred to by a noun

The wolf is not really a dangerous animal (= Wolves are not really dangerous animals)
The kangaroo is found only in Australia (= Kangaroos are found only in Australia)
The heart pumps blood around the body. (= Hearts pump blood around bodies)

:to refer to a system or service

How long does it take on the train?
I heard it on the radio.
You should tell the police.
.Use the before superlatives and ordinal numbers

EXAMPLES

.This is the highest building in New York

.She read the last chapter of her new book first
.You are the tallest person in our class
.This is the third time I have called you today
 .Use the with decades

EXAMPLES
.He was born in the seventies
.This is a painting from the 1820's
Use the with clauses introduced by only
Use the with clauses introduced by only

EXAMPLES
.This is the only day we've had sunshine all week
.You are the only person he will listen to
The only tea I like is black tea
:Because there is only one in that place or in those surroundings

.We live in a small village next to the church= )the church in our village(
?Dad, can I borrow the car = the car that belongs to our(
)family
When we stayed at my grandmother’s house we = the beach near my(
.went to the beach every day )grandmother’s house
.Look at the boy in the blue shirt over there = )the boy I am pointing at(
countries whose names include words
:like kingdom, states or republic

the United Kingdom; the Kingdom of Nepal; the United States; the People’s Republic of
China.
countries which have plural nouns as their names:
the Netherlands; the Philippines
newspapers:
The Times; The Washington Post
well known buildings or works of art:
the Empire State Building; the Taj Mahal; the Mona Lisa; the Sunflowers
• organisations:
the United Nations; the Seamen’s Union
families:
the Obamas; the Jacksons
Do not use the before the names of

•continents (North America, Asia, Africa)

•mountains (Mount Rushmore, Mount Everest)
•islands (Saint Lucia, Antigua, Grenada)
•streets (Broad Street, Wilson Avenue)
•cities and towns (Birmingham, Seattle, Las Vegas)
•states (Alabama, Washington, Nevada)
•lakes (Lake Erie, Lake Kissimmee, Lake Rabun)
. My sister lives in……….. United States .1
Have you ever been to ………..Netherlands .2
."NO article—the so-called "ZERO article

I need a bowl of rice. ← indefinite article

I like the rice in this restaurant. ← definite article
I eat rice every day. ← ZERO article
The ZERO article usually occurs in the following cases:
ZERO Article with Plural and Uncountable Nouns
General meaning
cars, people
life, water
Abstract nouns
education, happiness, music

ZERO Article with Singular Countable Nouns

Names
People: Mary, Bill, Josef
Places: Jupiter, Russia, Bangkok, Heathrow Airport, Cambridge University, Waterloo
Station
Streets: Oxford Street, Wall Street
Languages: English, Russian
Academic subjects: History, Law, Physics
Days, months: Monday, November
Here are some example sentences showing the ZERO article
.in context

.Cars can be dangerous

.We seldom see courage like that
.There was milk on the doorstep
.I gave it to Mary
.She arrived in Bangkok yesterday
?Do you speak French
.He is good at tennis
.People will travel to Mars soon
He is in room 45.
Please turn to page 67.
.She's in bed

?Are you at home

.They took her to hospital
.I'm leaving town tomorrow by car
.I go to school by bus
.We usually meet on Monday
.November is quite cold
Games and Sports
football, chess
Meals
breakfast, lunch, dinner

Noun + Number
platform 3, room 7, page 44
Routine Places
in bed, at home, to school, to work
Movement or Transport
on foot, by car, by bus, by air
Newspaper Headlines, Notices, User Guides
Plane Crashes On House, Keep Area Clean, Insert battery
 Names of days, months, seasons and holidays are normally not
:preceded by an article

on Monday
in March
in summer
at Christmas
But if there is an adjective before the noun or a phrase or clause after it, the noun
:usually takes an article
on the Monday of that week
the summer I met my future husband
the best Christmas I've ever had
it was a beautiful sunset
The same is true for certain parts of the day (with the
:exception of in the morning/afternoon/evening)

at noon
at night
at midnight
before dusk
after sunset
at sunrise
The zero article with names of pubs, restaurants etc. ending
in 'S

Names of pubs, restaurants etc. that use the possessive 's construction do not take an article:

We went to Maggie's last night.

Let's meet at Jack's Diner.
 .…School/ the school etc
Alison is ten years old. Everyday she goes to school. She is at school
now. School begins at 9 and finishes at 3.
We say a child goes to school, or is at school(as a pupil). We are
.thinking of school as a general idea, not specific school
 Today Alison’s mother wants to speak to her daughter’s teacher. So
she has gone to the school. She is at school now.
Alison’s mother is not a pupil.
We use prison, hospital, university, college, church in a similar way. We do not
use the when we are thinking of the general idea of these places and they are
:used for
 Ken’s brother is in prison for robbery(he is a prisoner)
Ken went to the prison to visit his brother(as a visitor)
John had an accident last week. He was taken to hospital.
Jane has gone to the hospital to visit John.
When I leave school, I want to go to university, college-excuse me,
where is the university.
Sally’s father goes to church every Sunday(to a religious purpose)-
the church was built in 1960
Bed/work/home

We say go to bed/ be in bed.

It is time to go to bed now, but I sat down on the bed(as a piece of
furniture).
 what time do you usually finish work?
Do to work/be at work/start work/finish work etc….
Chris didn’t go to work yesterday.
What time do you usually finish work?
go home/come home/arrive home/get home/be at
.…home etc
It’s late let’s go home.
Will you be at home tomorrow afternoon.
Go to sea/ be at sea(without the) when meaning is (go/be
on a voyage)
 Kevin works on ships. He is at sea most of the time, but l
would like to live near the sea
It can be dangerous to swim in the sea.