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Articles: a / an / the / no article

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In English, knowing when to use 'a' or 'the' can be difficult. Fortunately, there are rules to help you, but you need to know what type of noun you are using.

Grammar rule 1

When you have a single, countable noun, you must always have an article before it. We cannot say "please pass me pen", we must say "please pass me the pen" or "please pass me a pen" or "please pass me your pen".

Grammar rule 2

Uncountable nouns don't use 'a' or 'an' - because you can't count them. For example, ‘advice’ is an uncountable noun. You can't say "he gave me an advice", but you can say "he gave me some advice", or "he gave me a piece of advice".

Some nouns can be both countable and uncountable. For example, we say "coffee" meaning the product, but we say "a coffee" when asking for one cup of coffee.

Grammar rule 3

You can use 'the' to make general things specific. You can use 'the' with any type of noun – plural or singular, countable or uncountable.

"Please pass me a pen" – any pen.

"Please pass me the pen" – the one that we can both see/the one I am specifically referring to.

"Children grow up quickly" – children in general – NO ARTICLE.

"The children I know grow up quickly" – not all children, just the ones I know – SPECIFIC CHILDREN.

"Poetry can be beautiful"- poetry in general.

"The poetry of Hopkins is beautiful" – I'm only talking about the poetry Hopkins wrote.

We use the with:

1. PLACES

rivers mountain ranges seas/oceans geographic areas

The Thames The Alps The Atlantic Ocean The Middle East".

Countries: "He lives in England." But if the country's name has a plural/possessive meaning, we use 'the'.

• The People's Republic of China

• The Netherlands

• The United States of America

Continents, towns and streets don't have an article. Africa New York Church Street

With countries that are groups of islands or states:

• the UK

• the USA (not ‘the America’ – because it is a continent)

• the Canary Islands

2. LEISURE

Musical instruments

• He can play the piano very well.

• He plays the saxophone.

Theatres, cinemas and hotels

• The Royal Opera House

• The Hilton Hotel

• We’re going to the cinema tonight. (‘cinema’ – is also a public place)

• They went to the theatre at the weekend. (‘theatre’ – is also a public place)

• AND ALSO - THE RADIO: I’m listening to the radio (I’m listening to radio)

3. PUBLIC PLACES

Some institutional buildings don't have an article if you visit them for the reason these buildings exist.

But if you go to the building for another reason, you must use 'the'.

• Her husband is in prison. (He's a prisoner.)

o She goes to the prison to see him once a month.

• My son is in school. (He's a student.)

o I'm going to the school to see the headmaster.

• She's in hospital at the moment. (She's ill.)

o Her husband goes to the hospital to see her every afternoon.

4. ABBREVIATIONS

• The UN (the United Nations)

• The USA (the United States of America)

• The IMF (the International Monetary Fund)

• The WHO (the World Health Organization)

5. UNIQUE THINGS

• When there is only one

o the sun

o the moon

• (or only one particular place)

o the Prado Museum

o the Bernabeu Stadium

• classes of people

o the rich the poor the British the Spanish

6. DATES

on the 4th of July / on 4th July – is also possible

7. REPETITION OF SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE

To talk about the same person or thing for the second/third/fourth etc. time: the context confirms what we are talking about.

• I started a course in pottery last month. The course is real fun.

8. WITH SUPERLATIVES

o We went to the most expensive restaurant in the city.

o We had the best seats in the theatre.

We use a or an:

1. when we don’t know, or it isn’t important, which one (of something): e.g. a company, a chemist

2. with jobs: e.g. she’s a secretary he’s a teacher

3. to talk about a person or thing for the first time: e.g. I’ve just started a course in pottery

No article:

1. Sports don't have an article. He plays football. We play tennis every weekend.

2. Illnesses don't have an article. He's got appendicitis. He has Alzheimer’s.

But for minor ailments, we say He’s got a cold I’ve got a headache.

3. For most towns, cities, countries, continents: not ‘the India’’

4. You cannot use an article before a person’s name: e.g. John’s class (not ‘the John’s class’)

But, we use ‘the’ to talk about families: The Miller Family – and also – The Millers

5. For some public places: e.g. school, hospital, university, work

E.g. I’m going to school / university / work now.

6. For festivals: Christmas (the Christmas); Easter (the Easter),

but (‘the Easter period’ is possible – because it is a specific period)

7. For months: February; the February

8. Mountain ranges – use the article ‘the’ – but one mountain – no article

• The Pyrenees (a range of mountains)

• But if it is only one mountain, no ‘the’: Mount Everest (the Mount Everest)

9. Department stores – or names of shops, e.g. the Harrods, the Selfridges

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