ARTICLES - Final Version
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ARTICLES A, AN The Indefnite Article To acilitate pronunciation, A is used in ront o any word that begins with a consonant or consonant-like vowel sound. Conversely,AN is put in ront o any word that begins with a pure vowel sound or a mute h. !ur town has a theatre, a university, a large park and a conerence hall. "any Chinese still believe an #nglishman always carries an umbrella. It s an old custom. It s a strange old custom. $ote that spelling is not a reliable indicator o when to use a or an% The coastguard received an &!&. 'e spent an hour standing in line. 1 The indefnite article a(an is placed in ront o a countable noun that is being mentioned or the very frst time. !nce introduced, all urther reerences to it can be preceded by the defnite article the. I have two cars) a *ord and an Audi. The *ord is white and the Audi is silver. 2 In #nglish, an indefnite article is needed in ront o proessions. &he is an architect and he is a doctor. 3 The indefnite article can also be used instead o per when giving the rate or pace o something. 'e earns + a day. &he swims twice a week. 'e drove at miles an hour. 4 $ote too that little and ew become positive when preceded by the indefnite article% &he has a little money and a ew riends, so she ll probably get by. Compare) &he has little money and ew riends, so I doubt i she ll get by. THE The /efnite Article 1 The defnite article the is used in ront o any noun the listener or reader already knows about. I have two cars) a *ord and an Audi. The *ord is white and the Audi is silver. 2 The is also used when the e0istence o something is common knowledge or comes as no surprise because o the conte0t in which it is mentioned. 1ast week a fghter plane crashed into a fe but the pilot managed to e2ect saely. 3esterday I spent the aternoon at home. I put my clothes into the washing machine went outside to sit in the garden. 3 The is used in ront o things generally regarded as uni4ue. The sun, the moon, the sea, the sky, theAr Circle, the environment, the capital, thea the ground 4 5ecause nouns preceded by superlative ad2ectives and ordinal numbers are by their very nature uni4ue, they too re4uire the defnite article. Irregularity) &poken American #nglish drops the in dates. It was the worst day o my lie% The captain was the frst person to leave the burning tanker. Am# 6une twenty-frst. 5r# 6une the twenty-frst. The twenty-frst 7day8 o 6une. 5 The is used in ront o countable nouns representing a whole class or category o The computer has changed our lives. It is let up to the consumer to decide 9
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Transcript of ARTICLES - Final Version
ARTICLES
A, ANThe Indefinite Article
To facilitate pronunciation,Ais used in front of any word that begins with aconsonantorconsonant-like vowel sound.
Conversely,ANis put in front of any word that begins with a pure vowel sound or a mute'h'.Our town hasatheatre,auniversity,alarge park andaconference hall.
Many Chinese still believeanEnglishmanalways carriesanumbrella.
It'sanold custom.It'sastrange old custom.
Note that spelling isnota reliable indicator of whento useaoran!The coastguard receivedanSOS.
He spentanhour standing in line.
1 The indefinite articlea/anis placed in front of a countable nounthat is being mentioned for the very first time. Once introduced, all further references to it can be preceded by the definite articlethe.I have two cars:aFord andanAudi.TheFord is white andtheAudi is silver.
2 In English, an indefinite article is needed in front of professions.She isanarchitect and he isadoctor.
3 The indefinite article can also be used instead ofper when giving the rate or pace of something.He earns $200aday.
She swims twiceaweek.
He drove at 60 milesanhour.
4 Note too thatlittleandfewbecome positive when preceded by the indefinite article!She hasalittle money andafew friends,so she'll probably get by.
Compare:
She has little money and few friends,so I doubt if she'll get by.
THEThe Definite Article
1 The definite articletheis used in front of any noun the listener or reader already knows about.I have two cars: a Ford and an Audi.TheFord is white andtheAudi is silver.
2 Theis also used when the existence of something is common knowledge or comes as no surprise because of the context in which it is mentioned.Last week a fighter plane crashed into a fieldbutthepilot managed to eject safely.
Yesterday I spenttheafternoon at home.I put my clothes intothewashing machine and
went outside to sit inthegarden.
3 The is used in front of things generally regarded as unique.Thesun,themoon,thesea,thesky,theArctic Circle,theenvironment,thecapital,theair,
theground
4 Because nouns preceded bysuperlative adjectivesand ordinal numbersare by their very nature unique, they too require the definite article.
Irregularity: Spoken American English dropsthein dates.It wastheworst day of my life!
The captain wasthefirst person to leavethe burning tanker.
AmEJune twenty-first.
BrE Junethetwenty-first. Thetwenty-first (day) of June.
5 The is used in front of countable nouns representing a whole class or category of something.Thecomputer has changed our lives.
It is left up totheconsumer to decidewhich one to buy.
We all have a responsibility to look aftertheold and infirm.
Thewhale is the largest mammal.
6 Theis used in front of oceans, seas, rivers, island and mountain chains, deserts, countries with plural names, and noun forms of points of the compass.ThePacific,theMediterranean,theAmazon,theWest Indies,theRockies,theSahara,theNetherlands,theFar East, etc.
7 Theis used in place names and titles includingof.
In the case of official job titles,theis usually dropped if there is only one such incumbent at any given time.It is unlikelytheQueen of Denmark hasever swum intheBay of Bengal.
Margareth II is(the)Queen of Denmark.
Donald was elected chairman of the board.
8 Theis also used in proper names consisting of noun(s) and/or adjective(s) + noun.TheEmpire State Building,theEnglish Channel,theWhite House,theFestival Hall,theRolling Stones,
theBerlin Philharmonic Orchestra,theBritish Museum
9 Theis used in hotel names.TheHilton Hotel,theSavoy,theSheraton
10 Theis used for newspapers.TheTimes,theBaltimore Sun,theDaily Mail
11 Theis used for many larger organizations andinstitutions (notcommercial enterprises), including those with initials that are normally spelled out.
Acronyms (initials read as whole words) are treated in the same way as regular names (proper nouns) and so do not require any article. If you are uncertain, please monitor usage in the media or consult a dictionary.TheCommonwealth,theFed,theEU,the WHO,
theBBC,theFDA,etc.
Compare:
OPEC, NATO, ICANN, etc.
12 Theis used for currencies.TheU.S. dollar has risen againsttheyen but fallen against
theeuro.
13 In front of people's names, however,theis only used to avoid confusion.I'mtheDavid Appleyard that lives in Japan.
14 Theis used with the names of musical instruments.Richard Clayderman playsthepiano.
15 Thecan be used instead of a possessive form when referring to parts of the body and items of clothing.She was hit onthehead by a snowball(= a snowball hitherhead).
Joe grabbed the youth bythecollar(= Joe grabbedthe youth'scollar).
16 Many forms of entertainment are preceded by the definite article, but not the medium of television.I go tothecinema/movies,thetheatre,thecircus,theballet andtheopera.
In the daytime I listen totheradio, but in the evenings
I like to watch television.
The Zero Article
1 No article is needed before abstract nouns used in a general sense.Love is all you need.
Crime is a growing problem in the inner cities.She studies physics.
2 No article is needed for most places consisting of just the name of a person, or the name of a person/place followed by a noun.Harrods, Macy's, McDonald's, Lloyds Bank,
St. Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace,
Kennedy Airport, Waterloo Station,
Cambridge University, etc.
3 No article is usually needed in front of company names.Cisco Systems, Microsoft, CBS, EMI, Hitachi, Lufthansa
4 No article is used in official job titles, if there is only one person holding this position at any given time.George Osborne is(the)Chancellor ofthe Exchequer.
Compare:
George Osborne isacabinet minister.
5 No article is needed in front ofmostroads, streets, parks, squares or bridges.Queen's Road, Oxford Street, Central Park,
Times Square, Tower Bridge, etc.
6 No article is needed in the names of single mountains.While in New Zealand I climbed Mount Cook.
7 No article is needed before the names of meals, unless it is a formal occasion.Roger had breakfast in his hotel room.
Compare:
I attendedadinner at the Rotary Club.
8 No article is needed for the names of games or sports.Anna Kournikova plays tennis to keep in shape.
9 No article is needed beforebed,church,court,hospital,prison,school,college,university, etc. when these are used for their primary purpose.
If, however, they are used for any other purposes,theis required.She stayedin bedon Sunday instead ofgoingto church.
The dissatisfied customer threatened totake himto court.
The dissident was releasedfrom prison.
After graduating from high school he wentto university.
Compare:
She sat onthebed while she changed her
socks.
He enteredthechurch to photograph its
interior.
The decorators forgot a ladder intheprison
and the place was empty when they came
back for it.
10 No article is needed in more abstract expressions of situation liketo/at sea, to/at/out of work,in/out of town,in/out of office, etc.
If, however, you start talking about somewhere concrete or some place in particular, then the definite articletheis required.My uncle first wentto seaat the age of 15.
He used to spend monthsat sea.
I goto workevery day. I wasat workyesterday.
Jack's beenout of workfor almost a year.
What's onin town(= my local town) this
weekend?
Julie'sout of town(= the town she lives in)
until Thursday.
This government has beenin officefor about
a year now. The opposition parties would
dearly love to vote themout of office.
Compare:
I went tothesea/seaside to swim.I stayed bythesea/seaside all day.
What's on inthetown (= a particular town, not
necessarily my own) this weekend?
How do I get out ofthetown?
Sally spent all day intheoffice
(= her workplace).
She didn't get out oftheoffice much before 7 o'clock.
11 No article is needed before television as a medium,only as an appliance.Carol saw her brother on television.
Compare:
She had an indoor antenna onthetelevision.
There is no article before a noun followed by a categorizing letter or number.The students have just read section C.
The Chicago train is about to departfrom track 5.
Her flight leaves from gate 32.
He fell asleep on page 816 of"War and Peace".
She is staying in room 689.
12 To give added punch, no articles are used in the titles of books, movies, music and other works of art.
Even if an article exists in the original title, as inJ.R.R. Tolkien's'The Lord of the Rings', people tend to omit this when making reference to it in everyday speech or writing."Journey into Hell"sounds even more
exciting than
"The Journey into Hell".
"Have you read'Lord of the Rings'?"
13 In order to save space, no article is usually used in headlines."Iraqi Head Seeks Arms"
"Stolen Painting Found by Tree"
"Police Confirm Shotgun Attackon Bullet Train"
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