THE ARTICLE - The Definite Article: the

THE ARTICLE

The Definite Article: the

1. unique nouns (only one thing mentioned)

the Earth, the sky, the weather, the North Pole

2. before an already mentioned noun

John bought an album and an atlas, but he returned the atlas.

3. collective nouns

the aristocracy, the clergy, the middle classes

4. political parties

the Labour Party, the Conservative Party

5. before a noun that is defined by a clause or a prepositional phrase

the boy I met, the lady in red, the age of Shakespeare, the soup you made yesterday

6. if the noun refers to something definite

Ann is in the garden. (= the garden of her house)

Please pass the wine. (= the wine on the table)

7. the superlative degree of the adjective

the laziest, the most beautiful, the worst

8. generalizations

The tiger is a beautiful animal. (= Tigers are beautiful animals.)

9. adjectives used as nouns

the rich, the poor

10. nationalities

the British, the French, the Germans

11. names of seas, oceans, rivers/ mountains, countries, islands (used in the plural)

the Canary Islands, the Bahamas, the Pacific, the USA, the Netherlands, the Alps, the Thames

12. musical instruments

She plays the violin/ the piano.

13. family names in the plural

The Browns are not at home.

14. parts of the day

in the morning, in the evening (but: at noon, at dawn, at dusk, at night)

15. ordinal numbers

the 8^th of May, the 12^th of August

16. newspapers

the Observer, the New York Times

17. public institutions (hotels, restaurants, inns, theatres, cinemas, museums, libraries, clubs)

the Grand Hotel, the White House, the Globe, the Tate, the Louvre

2. The Indefinite Article: a, an

1. before a countable noun in the singular, if this is indefinite

I see a man there.

You have received a letter.

2. in a general meaning

A cow has horns.

A palm tree is usually very tall.

3. jobs

He is a doctor/ a car mechanic.

4. in quantitative expressions

a couple of, a dozen of, a million, a great deal of

5. in exclamations

What a hot day! What a nice car!

6. before proper names

A Mr. Smith called. (= a man called Mr. Smith)

7. in expressions

, to make a noise, to have a knowledge of, to become a reality, to get into a rage

 in a loud voice, to have a great liking for, for a long time, to be in a hurry, to make a living, to make an improvement

3. Zero Article

1. before proper names

John is my friend.

2. proper nouns preceded by titles or rank

King Lear, Saint George, Lord Byron

3. geographical names, mountain peaks

Belgium, London, Mount Everest, Mont Blanc

4. geographical names preceded by an attribute

Old England, Ancient Rome, Eastern Europe

5. streets, buildings, bridges

Regent Street, Westminster Abbey

6. months, days, seasons, holidays

Winter begins in December.

August is a hot month.

I met him on Saturday.

I like Christmas. (but: We arrived on the Sunday before Christmas.)

7. abstract nouns

Such is life.

I like music.

(but: The life we live/ The work we do)

8. names of materials

Gold is softer than silver.

Butter is expensive. (but: Pass the butter, please)

9. meals

We have dinner at 7 o`clock. (but: The dinner yesterday was good)

10. languages

English is spoken all over the world. (but: the English language)

11. colours

Red is my favourite colour.

12. demonstrative and possessive pronouns

This book

My child is

13. nouns in the plural with generalizing meaning

Big hotels are expensive.

14. in expressions

to be/ go to bed (but: to lie down on the bed)

to be in church

to go to prison/ hospital/ school (but: to go into the school)

to be at college/ to go to university

to go by bicycle/car (but: to ride on the bike)

to leave by bus (but: to sit on the bus)

to come by car/ ship/ boat/ plane (but: to sleep in the car)

to go home/ to be at home

15. parallel expressions

The walked arm in arm. (but: He took her by the arm.)

We met face to face. (but: He punched me right in the face)

(day by day, week by week, day and night, man to man, night after night, word for word, from right to left, from dawn to dusk, from house to house, from rock to rock)

Exercises

1. Rewrite the story putting in the, a/an if necessary.

------ Elephant and ------ Mouse

------ elephant and ------ mouse fell in love and decided to get married. When ------ elephant told her father, he said: Dont be silly, ------ elephant cannot marry ------ mouse. When ------ mouse told his mother, she said: Dont be silly ------ mice do not marry ------ elephants. So ------ elephant, who was very musical, became ------ pianist and ------ mouse, who had ------ good voice, became ------ singer. They toured ------ world together for ------ many years, giving ------ concerts and bringing ------ pleasure to everyone who heard them.

Moral: There is more than one way to live in ------ harmony.

2. Which of these names are written with the

Brussels, West Indies, Philippines, New Zealand, Isle of Man, East Africa, Sicily, Lake Constance, Black Sea, River Thames, Pacific, Arctic, Pyrenees, Great Britain, Sahara, South Pole, South America, Los Angeles, Atlantic Ocean, Athens, USA, Middle East, Straits of Gibraltar, Trafalgar Square, British Empire, Baltic Sea, Oxford Street, Westminster Abbey, English Channel, British Museum, National Museum, National Gallery, Fleet Street, North Cape, North Hill, Margaret Bridge, Yellow River, United Kingdom, Hide Park, Buckingham Palace, Canterbury Cathedral, House of Commons, Convent Garden, Windsor Castle, Royal Opera House.

3. Put the, a/an into these sentences if necessary:

1. Is this ------ book you were telling me about? Yes, it is about ------ life of Queen Victoria.
2. It is ------interesting book. It gives ------ wonderful picture of what ------ life was like in ------ Victorian times.
3. Is there ------ newsagents near here? There are several: ------ nearest one is just down ------ road on ------ left.
4. We always stay at ------ Palace Court Hotel because it is ------ only one with ------ facilities for ------ disabled.
5. ------ Playhouse is ------ old theatre, but puts on ------ modern plays.
6. ------ Swiss Alps are ------ good place to go if you like ------ skiing. There is usually plenty of ------ snow during ------ winter months.
7. Just look at ------ snow! It seems to be just ----- right kind of ------ snow for ------ skiing.
8. ------ English people are forever complaining about ------ weather, but in ------ fact ------ British Isles have ------ reasonable climate on ------ whole.
9. This is ------- toughest steak I have ever eaten. It is ------ last time I eat in this restaurant.
10. ------ otter used to be ------ common animal, but is now found only in ------ north of ------ Britain.
11. In ------ old days, you used to see ------ otters all over ------ place, but now you can only find them in ------ certain parts of ------ country.
12. Robin Hood is ------ legendary hero that ------ children learn about from ------ story books. He used to take ------ from ------ rich and give it to ------ poor.
13. Martin King lives in ------ little village on ------ edge of ------ New Forest. He writes ------ books about ------ natural history in ------ general and about ------ natural history of ------ New Forest in particular.
14. Martins book deals with ------ wide range of animal species from ------ blackbirds to ------ rare animals like ------ otters.
15. It is ------ wonderful part of England and ------ scenery reminds you of ------ mountainous countries like ------ Switzerland. As ------ matter of ------ fact, we had such ------ good tome that we have decided to have ------ holiday there again ------ next year.
16. We also paid ------- short visit to ------ Scotland. We went to Edinburgh to see ------ usual sights, including ------ Castle and ------ Princes Street. Then we spent ------ week in ------ Highlands.

4. Use the patterns What! Or What a(n)! to make exclamations from the following.

Example: good advice - What good advice!

good idea - What a good idea!

1. terrible weather/ terrible climate
2. beautiful luggage/ beautiful suitcase
3. elegant clothes/ elegant dress
4. heavy rainfall/ heavy shower
5. healthy cow/ healthy cattle
6. awful rubbish/ awful mess
7. clever people/ clever person
8. difficult job/ difficult work
9. fresh bread/ fresh loaf
10. delicious food/ delicious meal
11. horrible tune/ horrible music
12. tough beef/ tough steak

4. Put the into the sentences if necessary.

1. I dont take ------ sugar, thanks.
2. Although ------ brown rice is better for you, ------ most people prefer ------ white rice.
3. Roger knows a lot about ------ classical music. He seems to like ------ string quartets of Beethoven best.
4. I studied ------ modern history at university. In ------ last year I specialized in ------ history of ------ American Civil War.
5. What can you tell me about ------ history of this town? Well, I can tell you that ------ Cathedral was begun in ------ twelfth century and that is supposed to be a fine example of early Gothic architecture.
6. Do you think I could ever learn to speak ------ Japanese ------ way ------ Japanese speak it?
7. They say that ------ Japanese language is particularly difficult for ------ Europeans.
8. The two kinds of ------ dog I detest most are ------ show dogs and ------ lap dogs.
9. What an interesting piece of ------ furniture! ------ top is made of ------ Spanish mahogany and ----- legs are made of ----- iron.
10. Here is a picture of ----- village where I was born. It is about ten minutes by ----- car from Wellington, ------ nearest big town.

(Cassell`s Students English Grammar)

4. Complete the text with the definite/ indefinite/ zero article.

Jan Hals comes from ------ Netherlands. He was born in ------ small village not far from ------ city of Rotterdam. He is now ------ sports trainer with ------ English football club. He like living in ------ London and in his spare time he goes to ------ cinema and plays ------ guitar in ------band. He starts ------work early. He gets up at six thirty in ------ morning and cycles to ------ club. I dont like travelling by ------ underground during rush hour. ------ crowds are terrible- says Jan. apart from that, ------ life in London is great.

(Snapshot Intermediate)