Therearetwotypesofarticleswhichcanbeputinfrontofanoun:

Definite(the)and

Indefinite(some/a/an).

TheØ Thedefinitearticlethe isusedbeforeboth

singularandpluralspecificnounsthatindicateaparticularthingormemberofagroupandmaybeusedtorefertooneormanyofthesethings.

ex.:The teacherindicatesoneparticularteacher.A teachercouldrefertoanyteacher.

Ø Thedefinitearticlethemaybeusedtorefertooneormanyofthesethings.

ex.:Thedog wasseenrunningafterthecats.

Ø The isusedwhenthenouncannotbecounted.ex.:The coffeeIhadthismorningwastoosweet.ex.:The inkinmypenhasrunout.

Ø The isnotusedwithnon-countablenounsthatrefertosomethinginthegeneralsenseunlessthenon-countablenounismademorespecificbyamodifyingphraseorclause.

ex.:Coffeeismyfavoritedrink;the coffeethatIhadthismorningwasstale.

1.Torefertosomethingwhichhasalreadybeenmentioned.Example:Anelephantandamousefellinlove.Themouseloved theelephant's longtrunk,and theelephant loved themouse's tinynose.

2.Whenboththespeakerandlistenerknowwhatisbeingtalkedabout,evenifithasnotbeenmentionedbefore.Example:“Where'sthebathroom?” “It'sonthefirstfloor.”

3.Torefertoobjectsweregardasunique:Example:thesun,themoon,theworld

4.Insentencesorclauseswherewedefineaparticularpersonorobject.Example:Themanwhowrotethisbookisfamous.Myhouseistheonewithabluedoor.

5.Beforesuperlativesandordinalnumbers:Example:thehighestbuilding,thefirstpage,thelastchapter.

6.Withnamesofgeographicalareasandoceans:Example:theCaribbean,theSahara,theAtlantic

7.Withdecades,orgroupsofyears:Example:shegrewupintheseventies

ØThereisnoarticle:

Withnamesofcountries(ifsingular):

• Germany isanimportanteconomicpower.

• He'sjustreturnedfromZimbabwe.(But:I'mvisitingtheUnitedStates nextweek.)

Withthenamesoflanguages:

• French isspokeninTahiti.• English usesmanywords

ofLatin origin.• Indonesian isarelatively

newlanguage.

Withthenamesofmeals:• Lunch isatmidday.• Dinner isintheevening.• Breakfast isthefirstmeal

oftheday.

ØThereisnoarticle:

Withpeople'snames(ifsingular):

• John's comingtotheparty.• GeorgeKing ismyuncle.

(But:we'rehavinglunchwith theMorganstomorrow.)

Afterpossessivecase:• Hisbrother'scar.• Peter'shouse.

Withprofessions:• Engineering isauseful

career.• He'llprobablygointo

medicine.

Withtitlesandnames:• PrinceCharles isQueen

Elizabeth's son.• PresidentKennedywas

assassinatedinDallas.• Dr.WatsonwasSherlock

Holmes'friend.(But:theQueenofEngland,thePope.)

ØThereisnoarticle:

Withnamesofshops:• I'llgetthecardatSmith's.• CanyougotoBoots forme?

Withuncountablenouns:• Rice isthemainfoodinAsia.• Milk isoftenaddedtotea in

England.• War isdestructive.

Withyears:• 1948wasawonderfulyear.• Doyouremember1995?

Withthenamesofindividualmountains,lakesandislands:

• MountMcKinley isthehighestmountaininAlaska.

• ShelivesnearLakeWindermere.

• HaveyouvisitedLongIsland?

ØThereisnoarticle:

Withmostnamesoftowns,streets,stationsandairports:

• VictoriaStation isinthecentreofLondon.

• CanyoudirectmetoBondStreet?

• ShelivesinFlorence.• They'reflyingfrom

Heathrow.

Insomefixedexpressions,forexample:

• bycar• bytrain• byair• onfoot• onholiday• onair(inbroadcasting)• atschool• atwork• atUniversity• inchurch• inprison• inbed

SomeTheindefinitewordsomeisusedforplural

generalnouns(ex.:somestudents).

A andanØ Theuseofa andanindicatesthatthenounmodifiedisindefinite(no

particularmemberofagroup).Theyareusedwhenthenounmodifiedissingularandgeneral.

Ø Aandanareusedwhenthenouncanbecounted(ex.:avehicle,anapple).

Ø Placetheworda infrontofanynounreferringtoonethingwithinatypebutnotconstrainedtoonetokenthing.Inotherwords,usea foranyonedogbutnotnecessarilythatdog.ex.:Acat jumpedontomylap.

Ø Ifanamountisreferredto(suchasanyorone)thea isnolongerrequired.ex.:Anybox willdo.

Ø A precedessingularnounsthatbeginwithaconsonant(ex.:astudent).Exception#1: Whenasingularnounbeginswithavowelthatsounds likeaconsonant,a isused(auniform;u inuniformsoundslikeyoo).Exception#2: Anbeforeanhmute- anhour,anhonor.

Ø An precedessingularnounsthatbeginwithavowel(ex.:anaddress).

Ø Whenthearticleandthenounareseparatedbyanadjective,thearticlethatagreeswiththeinitialsoundoftheadjectiveisused(ex.:an Englishstudent;awrongaddress).

Ø Neithera/an ortheshouldbeusedwhenreferringtopropernamesunlessitispartofthename.ex.:GeorgewenttoCedarPoint.ex.:Kelly’sfavoritebookisTheLion,theWitch,andtheWardrobe.

Ø Whenapronounreplacesthenouninasentence,thea/anortheisnolongerneeded.ex.:Thecatcamerunning,oritcamerunning.

Ø Torefertosomethingforthefirsttime.Example:Anelephantandamousefellinlove.

Ø Torefertoaparticularmemberofagrouporclass:suchasthenamesofjobs,nationalities,religions,musicalinstrumentsanddaysoftheweek.Examples:Johnisadoctor.JohnisanEnglishman.SherlockHolmeswasplayingaviolin whentheycame.IwasbornonaThursday.

Ø Torefertoa“kindof,” or“exampleof” something.Examples:Themousehadatinynose.Theelephanthadalongtrunk.Itwasaverystrangecar.

Ø Withsingularnouns,afterthewords'what'and'such‘.Examples:Whatashame!She'ssuchabeautifulgirl.

Ø Meaning'one',referringtoasingleobjectorperson.Examples:I'dlikeanorange andtwolemonsplease.Theburglartookadiamondnecklace andavaluablepainting.