Articles

1. Articles

2. Use of articles • basically  adjectives  modifynouns • English has twoarticles: a/anand the • can be absent in non-specific cases and are indicated by the Ø (zero article) • a/anisusedtomodify non-specificor non-particular nouns • theisusedtorefertospecificor particular nouns • the = definitearticle • a/an = indefinitearticle

3. ARTICLES ARE USED WITH: COMMON NOUN OR NOUN PHRASE Uncountable Countable Singular Plural the (specific) zero (Ø) (generic) a/an (non-specific) the (specific) the Ø

4. INDEFINITE ARTICLE • when first mentioning or introducing new people, places or objects There is an ERASMUS student from Spain at the faculty. • when categorising A car is a vehicle. • when indicating membership in a group I am a teacher. My colleague is anIrishman.

5. A vs. AN • a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy; a car; a bike; a zoo; a dog • an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant; an egg; an apple; an idiot; an orphan • a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins with a consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used); a university; a uniform • this rule also applies when you use acronyms: • a UN charter • an NGO

6. Definite article • when identifying something or refering to a specific thing 1. Back reference: They came back from the ride. I spent some time with the man inside. 2. Shared knowledge: You could be calmly sitting on the beach, dozing in the sun and looking at the ocean.

7. The proper nouns below require ‘the’ Categories Museums and galleries Buildings Highways Seas and oceans Rivers and deserts Periods and events in history Bridges Countries with United, Union, Kingdom, Republic Island groups ending in (e)s Examples the Asian Civilization Museum the University Cultural Centre the Pan-Island Expressway the South China Sea the Mississippi, the Gobi desert the Middle Ages the Manhattan Bridge the United States, the People’s Republic of China the Philippines

8. These categories of proper nounsdo not require ‘the’ Categories People’s names Cities and states Singular names of countries Months/days Streets Religious buildings Mountains Parks Lakes Examples John Locke Bangkok, Negri Sembilan Indonesia, Australia May, Tuesday Pickering Street, Holland Road St. Andrew’s Cathedral Mount Fuji Hyde Park Lake Victoria

9. Don’t forget ‘the’ • the centre, the top, the middle, the bottom, the left, the right, the end of, the beginning of… • the same, the main … • the best, the worst, the first ... → superlatives & ordinal numbers • the sun, the moon, the world, the sky, the sea, the country… • the police, the fire brigade, the army… • the piano, the guitar, the trumpet, the flute… • the radio (but television, without ‘the’) • the doctor, the toilet, the bank, the theatre, the post office, the dentist, the cinema…

10. Don’t use ‘the’ • breakfast, lunch, dinner • go to work, get to work, be at work, start work, finish work… • got to school, be at school, start school, leave school… • go to university, be at university… • go to church, be in chuch (or mass) • go to bed, be in bed • go to hospital, be in hospital • go to prison, be in prison • go home, get home, arrive home, come home, walk home, leave home, be at home, stay at home

11. OMISSION OF ARTICLES • with proper nouns such as places, people and companies I met a young man from Norway. Tom Brown had a job with Microsoft. • the indefinite article means ‘one’, so it can’t be used with plurals or uncountable nouns There are plenty of ideas. The love of money is the root of all evil. • in general statements Men are a mistery to women. Time is money. • names of languages and nationalities: Chinese, English, Croatian • names of sports: volleyball, hockey, baseball • names of academic subjects: mathematics, history, computer science

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