ENGLISH ARTICLES

1. ENGLISHARTICLES INDEFINITE ARTICLES ( a, an) DEFINITE ARTICLES (the)

2. INDEFINITE ARTICLES • BEFORE SINGULAR COUNTABLE NOUNS e.g. Do you have an umbrella? What a beautiful day! • TO SAY WHAT KIND OF THING or PERSON SBD/STH IS e.g. Are you a good driver? A dog is an animal. • WHEN YOU SAY WHAT SOMEBODY’S JOB IS e.g. Tim’s father is a doctor. e.g. She is the teacher who gives us a lot of homework.

3. INDEFINITE vs DEFINITE ARTICLES • WHEN STG IS MENTIONED FOR THE FIRST TIME , A/AN IS USED e.g. I had a sandwich and an apple for lunch. The sandwich wasn’t very good but the apple was nice. • THE IS USED WHEN WE ARE THINKING OF ONE PARTICULAR THING • e.g. Ann is looking for a job. (not a particular job) Did Ann get the job she applied for? (a particular job) • e.g. Have you got a car? (not a particular car) I cleaned the car yesterday. ( = my car)

4. INDEFINITE vs DEFINITE ARTICLES • THE IS USED WHEN IT IS CLEAR IN THE SITUATION WHICH THING / PERSON WE MEAN. • e.g. Can you turn off the lights, please? ( the lights in this room) • I’d like to speak to the head, please. ( the head of this school) • Ann isn’t very well. She’s gone to the doctor. (= her usual doctor) • I’m goint to the post office to buy some stamps. ( the closest one) • THE IS ALWAYS USED IN: • e.g. She works in the city centre. My brother is in the army. • A IS ALWAYS USED IN: • e.g. once a month Ł1.20 a kilo eight hours a day

5. DEFINITE ARTICLE • WHEN THERE IS ONLY ONE OF SOMETHING e.g. What is the longest river in the world? Paris is the capital of France. I`m going away at the end if this month. • THE SKY, THE SEA, THE GROUND, THE COUNTRY, THE ENVIRONMENT e.g. He looked up in the sky. I’d rather live in the country. • ØSPACE vs. THE SPACE e.g. There are millions of stars in Øspace. The space was too small to park the car there.

6. DEFINITE ARTICLE • THE SAME e.g. You pullover is the same colour as mine. • THE CINEMA, THE THEATRE e.g. I often go to the cinema. (not necessarily a particular cinema) • THE RADIO, THE TELEVISION, Ø TELEVISION • e.g. I often listen to the radio or watch Ø television. • Can you turn off the television, please? ( the TV set)

7. DEFINITE ARTICLE • ØBREAKFAST , ØLUNCH, ØDINNER e.g. What time is Ø dinner? BUT: We had a very nice lunch. • Ø - BEROFE NOUN +NUMBER e.g. Øplatform 5, Ø Room 126, size 43, page 27 • Ø WORK, Ø HOME • e.g. I did not go to work yesterday. I was at home.

8. DEFINITE ARTICLE • ØBED, THE BED e.g. It is time to go to Ø bed. BUT: I sat down on the bed. • ØSCHOOL vs. THE SCHOOL e. g. Ø School begins here at 9 a.m. Anns mother went to the school to see her teacher. e.g. Mrs Kelly went to Ø church every Sunday. The workmen went to the churh to repair the roof. SCHOOL, HOSPITAL, PRISON, UNIVERSITY, CHURCH • THE=building Ø = activity in the building

9. DEFINITE ARTICLES • THE IS NOT USED WHEN WE MEAN THINGS OR PEOPLE IN GENERAL • e.g. I am afraid of Ødogs. • Do you collect Østamps? • Do you like ØSwiss cheese? My favourite Øsport is skiing. • My favourite subject at school was Øhistory and ØFrench.

10. DEFINITE ARTICLE • THE IS USED WHEN WE MEAN PARTICULAR THINGS OR PEOPLE • e.g. Ø Children learn a lot from playing (in general) • We took the children to the ZOO. (a particular group or my kids) • The film was not very good, but I liked the music. • I often listen to nice Ø music. Ø Sugar is not very good for me. Can you pass the sugar , please?

11. DEFINITE ARTICLE • THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GENERAL AND PARTICULAR IS NOT ALWAYS VERY CLEAR.COMPARE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES. • I like working with people.(people in general) • I like working with people who are lively.(still general) • I like the people I work with.(a particular group of people)

12. DEFINITE ARTICLE • THE IS USED TO DENOTE ONE PARTICULARTYPE OF ANIMAL, MACHINE, INSTRUMENT, CURRENCY ect.(and not one particular thing) • The bicycle is an excellent means of transportation. • Can you play the guitar? BUT: I`d like to buy a guitar. • The kangaroo is found in Austraia. • The dollar is the currency in the USA. • BUT:Øman (the human race, human beings in general) • What do you know about the origins of Øman?

13. DEFINITE ARTICLE –names of people and places • THE IS NEVER USED WITH NAMES OF PEOPLE AND PLACES i.e. continents, (Africa, Europe)countries (Slovenia, France; The Netherlands),states(Texas, Florida), regions ( Tuscany, Corinthia), islands ( Sicily, Hvar), cities,( Ljubljana, Madrid, London) towns , mountains(Everest, Triglav, Etna) • THE is used with the names of “Republic”, “Kingdom”, “States” • e.g. The Republic of Slovenia; The USA; The United Kingdom • THE IS NEVER USED WITH Mrs/ Mr/ Captain/ Doctor • E.g. We called the doctor. We called Ø Doctor Johnson. • THE IS NEVER USED WITH mount AND lake • E.g. Ø Mount Everest, Ø Lake Bled, Ø Lake Superior

14. DEFINITE ARTICLE – nationality words • THE + ADJECTIVE (the young, the rich, the disabled, the homeless, the dead, the unemployed…) = plural meaning • singular meaning = A young man, an unemployed woman • THE + NATIONALITY ADJECTIVES (=the people of that country) • e.g. The French, the Dutch, The Welsh (= plural meaning) • Singular meaning: a Frenchwoman, anEnglishman • THE + NATIONALITY ADJECTIVES in –ese (= plural meaning) • e.g. The Chinese, The Japanese … also The Swiss • Singular meaning: a Chinese, a Sudanese… a Swiss • WITH OTHER NATIONALITIES, THE PLURAL NOUN ENDS IN -S • E.g. an Italian,the Italians; a Slovene, the Slovenes; a Scot, the Scots

15. DEFINITE ARTICLE – geographical names • THE + the names of OCEANS( the Indian Ocean),SEAS (The Mediterannean), RIVERS(The Nile, The Ljubljanica), and CANALS(the Channel, The Suez Canal) • THE + PLURAL NAMES OF PEOPLE (The Taylors,(= the Taylor family); AND PLACES countries:The Netherlands, The Philippines, The United States) groups of islands:The Cannaries/The Canary Islands, The British Isles mountain ranges: The Rocky Mountains/The Rockies, The Alps e.g. The highest mountian in the Alps is ØMont Blank. • The north / Ønorthern e.g. the south- east of France Ø south-eastern France BUT: South Slovenia; West Africa; South-East Spain • The Middle East; The Far East

16. NAMES WITH AND WITHOUT THE • Ø + the names of most STREETS (Union Street), ROADS(Broadway), SQUARES (Times Square, Piccadilly Circus), PARKS (Hyde Park),Waterloo Bridge ect. • Ø + the two-word names: 1st word: usually a person 2nd word: usually building/institution e.g. Kennedy Airport; Cambridge University; Victoria Station; London Zoo; Edinburgh Castle; Buckingham Palace • BUT : The White House; The Royal Palace (White and Royal are not names) • THE + most other names of places, buildings etc. restaurants, hotels, pubs: the Hilton Hotel; The Red Lion (pub) theatres, cinemas: the National Theatre; the Odeon Cinema museum, galleries: the British Museum; The Tate Gallery other buildings: the Empire State Building; The White House Newspapers: the Washington Post; the Financial Times; The Delo Organizations: The European Community, The BBC

17. NAMES WITH AND WITHOUT THE • Sometimes we leave out the noun: e.g. The Hilton (hotel); The Sahara ( desert) • Sometomes the name is only THE + NOUN: e.g.The Vatican (City); The Sun ( newspaper) • THE + names with …. of ….. e.g.the Bank of England; The Tower of London; The Houses of Parliament; The Museum of Modern Art, The Great Wall of China;The Gulf of Mexico; The University of London ( but: London University) • Ø + names of shops, restaurants, hotels, banks named after their founders. These names end in –s or -`s. e.g. Ø Loyds Bank; McDonalds; Harrods; St. Paul`s Cathedral • Ø + names of companies, airlines ….etc. ( not always: The BBC) e.c. Fiat, Sony, Kodak, British Airways, IBM

18. ARTICLES THAT`S ALL FOLKS…