Articles


There are three articles in English: a, an, the. How we use them depends on wether a noun is singular or plural, countable or uncountable.


a/antheno article
singular ountable nouns

one non-specific thing:


e.g. that's a book.


(it doesn't matter which book it is)

one specific thing:


e.g. This is the book wich I told you about


Generally:


e.g: The car is great invention(= cars generally)

X
plural countable nouns
X

several specific thing:


e.g. these are the books wich Karen gave me.(specific books)

Generally:


e.g. Cars are a great invention.(=cars generally)

uncountable specific: nouns
X

generally:


e.g. that was the furniture Paul gave me (specific furniture)

e.g. Furniture is expensive (=furniture generally)


BE CAREFUL

Entertaiment media and sport:

  • the television=the piece od equipement, e.g: turn on the TV.
  • watch television, on television but: listen to the radio, on the radio
  • go to the cinema/the theatre
  • no article for games and sport, e.g I love tennis.

Time

  • For years, usually no article, e.g in 2002 but: in the 1990s, in the 20th century, etc
  • For seasons, with in and during, the meaning is usually the same either with or without article, e.g. In Winter or In the Winter.
  • For month, no article, e.g. Juanuary
  • For days, no arcle, e.g. Monday
  • In the morning/the afternoon/the evening but: at night

Geographical areas

  • Use the with: seas, mountains groups, rivers island groups, regions, e.g: the mediterranean, the Alps, the Thames, the Bahamas, the Arctic
  • don't use the with: planets, continents,countries, twns/cities, streets, lakes, most mountains, individual island e.g Mars, Europe, Crete but: the Earth, the world, the Moon, the Sun, the USA

Jobs

  • usually with a or an, e.g She is an engineer. but: use the with positions of autority, e.g. the Mayor
  • go to work,be at work

Organisations

  • usually use the e.g the army/the navy/the police, etc

Public buildings

  • usually use the, e.g. the bank/the post office,etc but: go to prision/hospital is posible when the person is only visiting.

Nationalities

  • no article for particular people, e.g. She's Nigerian but: use the when talking about nationalities in general, e.g. The French drink a lot of wine.

Travel

  • go home
  • on the bus,in the car,etc but: go by bike/bus/plane, etc

Education

  • go to school/univesity, etc, be at school/university, etc but: he's gone the school is possible when the person is only visiting
  • for subject, usually no article, e.g. I love Chemistry.

"a" or "an"

  • we put an before singular countable nouns with a vowel sound. It does NOT depend on spelling. e.g an umbrella, a university, an hour, a holiday, etc