The article (0)

 
 
 
 
The Article 
 
Table of Contents 
 
General Rules ....................................................................... 2 
The Definite Article ............................................................... 5 
Names that take the Definite Article...................................... 6 
No article.............................................................................. 7 
Countable and uncountable nouns ....................................... 9 
 
 
 
 
 
General Rules 
 
There are two articles in the English language – the  Indefinite Article and 
the Definite Article.  
 
The Indefinite Article has two forms – a and an (a precedes words  
beginning with a consonant sound and an precedes words beginning with a 
vowel sound). It comes from the Old English word ãn, which meant one. 
 
The Definite Article is the. It comes from the Old English word ţis, which 
meant this.  
Thus, in most general terms, a and an  cannot be used with countable nouns 
in the plural and with uncountable nouns. Countable nouns are names of 
the things you can count (one elephant , two elephants, three elephants, etc). 
Uncountable nouns are names of the things you cannot normally count  
(love, air, philosophy , etc).  The can usually be used when we mean  this. 
 
The Indefinite Article – a/an (= one!) can only be used with  singular  
countable nouns. 
a  child , a book, an elephant, an apple 
On the other hand , singular countable nouns cannot be used without any 
determiner. Determiners are both articles (a/an and the) and different  
pronouns (e.g., one, another , each, every, this, that; personal pronouns: my, 
your, his, her, its, our, their). Only one determiner can be used at a time:     
           
My house was deserted.  Or: The house was deserted.  
Another problem is the pollution that the  factory   causes  to the  
environment. Or: One other problem is the pollution the factory 
causes to the environment. 
           
 
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The Definite Article – the, can be used with both singular and plural 
countable and uncountable nouns. 
By the time we got to the bus stop, the bus had already left . 
The  children I saw in the playground were my  brother 's friends. 
The  weather  is awful today ! 
  
Another general rule about the use of the Indefinite and Definite Article is 
that the Indefinite Article is used when mentioning someone or something  
for the first time and the Definite Article is used when referring to 
someone/something that has been mentioned before . 
We passed  a beautiful house on our way to Birmingham. – Was 
the house for sale ?  
I saw a man standing near  the house. The man was well-dressed 
and looked like a businessman. 
  
In case of plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns, in ordinary 
situations, when something is mentioned for the first time, some is used. 
We passed some beautiful houses  on our way to the  beach .  
There were some people at the  station . There was some  sand  on 
the  building site. 
In extraordinary situations or when we want to emphasize something no 
article is used. 
 
 
Poor people cannot afford to  live in beautiful houses. 
 
 
There were people inside the house on fire! 
  There 
was 
sand on my plate! 
   
The Indefinite Article is used when referring to an indefinite object (just 
any of the kind). 
Could you lend me a pen? (Any pen would do, I just need 
something to write with.) 
I'll take a  sandwich . (Any of those on the plate.) 
  
 
 
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The Definite Article is used when the context specifies which particular  
one(s) is (are) meant. 
Could you  turn off the  light ,  please ? (the light in this room ) 
I  took  a taxi to the  airport . (the only airport in our town) 
The  woman  who is crossing  the  street  is our new  neighbour . 
(“who is crossing the street” makes it clear which woman is 
referred to) 
Could you give me the book on the top shelf , next to the Estonian-
English dictionary? (the description where to find the book 
clarifies which book is meant) 
Where is the  sugar  that I bought yesterday? Are  these  the  books  
that you wanted  me to read? 
   
The Indefinite Article is used when referring to a representative of its class , 
category or profession: 
I am a  teacher . You are a  student . 
A table is a  piece of furniture. 
Mary   works  as a  secretary . 
  
In the plural these nouns take no article: 
Both of my  parents  are teachers. 
Tables are pieces of furniture. 
Mary and Anne work as secretaries. 
   
The Definite Article is used when we refer to a particular place , person , 
animal or thing that is known to the listener/reader. It is used likewise with 
plural countable nouns. 
I'll give you the keys, only don't go near the  shed or you'll upset  
the dog. (the keys to my  garden , the shed in my garden, my 
dog) 
The  windows  were all broken  and all my valuables were  gone . 
(the windows of our house) 
 
 
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The Definite Article 
  
The Definite Article is used  
•  when referring to all there is/are: 
   
 
The  girls in our class are more hard - working   than  the  boys . 
   
 
The teacher is absent today. (the one who teaches this class) 
  
 
All the  money in the world cannot buy you happiness . 
•  when there is only one of something: 
the world, the sun, the  moon , the earth, the sky, the  ground ,  the  
environment, the atmosphere, the capital, the end, the arms trade, the 
tourist  industry    
    
 
The sun rises in the  east . 
•  when referring to general geographical areas : 
  the  country (side), the sea, the seaside, the beach, the  forest , the  west  
    
 
I like to spend my holidays in the  countryside . 
•  before some collective nouns referring to a whole group of people: 
  the  police , the public, the  army , the  management , the  government  
    
 
The government has raised the teachers’ salaries. 
•  to turn an adjective into a noun to refer to a group of people in 
general: 
the poor, the  rich , the young, the old, the  unemployed , the  homeless , the 
disabled, the  British , the  Spanish , the  Dutch  
    
 
The rich can never understand the poor. 
•  before superlatives and ordinals:  
  the  best , the most beautiful, the nicest 
  the second, the  fourth , the  twenty -first 
 
  My 
birthday  
is 
on 
the fourth of July. 
•  when referring to a particular type of something in general: 
The giraffe is the tallest of all animals . (the giraffe refers to 
the species ) 
 When was the  telephone   invented ? (the telephone as a 
certain type of device) 
 
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The  dollar  is the currency  of the United States . (the dollar as a  
      
particular type of currency) 
•  in most of the 'of'- phrases :  
  the  essence of the play, the  meaning of this 
    
 
The common currency of the European Union is the EURO. 
 
  Tallinn 
is 
the capital of Estonia. 
•  before some parts of the day:  
  in the  morning , in the afternoon, in the  evening  
 
  I 
will 
phone  
you 
in 
the evening. 
•  when referring to time in broad terms: 
    the past, the  present , the future 
               
In the past people’s lifespan was much shorter. 
•  when talking about institutions in broad terms and musical  
instruments if we play them : 
    the  cinema , the  theatre , the  radio ; the  piano , the guitar 
   
 
I hardly ever go to the theatre these  days .  
   
 
My sister plays  the guitar. 
 
 
Names that take the Definite Article 
 
In the English language there are  proper nouns (names which are unique to 
people and places ) and common nouns (names denoting things in general). 
 
Normally, proper names are used without an article (Mary Brown , John 
Smith; Eastern Europe , America). However , there are many exceptions . 
The exceptions are: 
•  names of the countries when they include a common noun: 
  the United States of America (the USA), the United Kingdom (the UK),  
  the  Republic  of Estonia 
•  names of the oceans, seas, rivers and canals: 
  the  Atlantic (Ocean), the  Indian  Ocean, the  Amazon , the    
 
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    Mediterranean (Sea), the  Thames , the Nile, the Suez Canal 
•  names of people and places when these are in the plural: 
  -people: the Browns (meaning the Brown family) 
 -countries: the Netherlands, the United States (two rules apply here :    
  States is a common noun in the plural) 
   -groups of islands : the  Canary   Island s, the Bahamas, the British Isles 
   - mountain ranges: the  Andes , the  Alps , the  Rocky   Mountains  
•  most of the names of buildings: 
   -hotels, restaurants, pubs: the  Hilton ( Hotel ), the  Olde Hansa ( restaurant ), 
     
 
 
 
     the  Hell Hunt (pub) 
   - theatres , cinemas: the  Palace  Theatre, the  Coca -Cola  Plaza  
   -museums, galleries: the National History  Museum , the  Tate Gallery 
   -other buildings: the White House, the  Empire State Building  
   -names of newspapers : the Birmingham Post, the  Daily   Mirror  
   -names of organisations: the European Union, the British Broadcasting    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Comp
  any (the BBC) 
•  names including 'of'-phrases:  
    the  Bank of England, the Tower of London, the Great  Wall of  China  
 
No article 
  
is used with 
•  some times of the day and night : 
 
 
at  midday , night, midnight, noon 
   
I’ll call you at midnight. 
•   meals :     
to have  breakfast / lunch / dinner  
 
 
We usually have lunch in the university  canteen. 
•  'by' + means of transport and communication :   
go/ travel  by car/bus/ plane ; also by air, by sea; contact/communicate  
by post/email/phone but go on  foot  
I usually go to work by car, but today I decided to go on foot. 
 
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•  the words work and home: 
Ann is at work from 9 to 5. She goes  to work every other day.  
Will you be at home tomorrow? 
What time will you go home  tonight ? 
•  the words school, university, hospital , church , prison, bed, etc.  
when thinking of the general idea of these places and what they are used 
for: 
Bill goes to school. (he is a schoolboy - he goes there to do what 
this place is meant for) BUT:  The school will be closed down soon. 
Annie has broken her leg and was taken to hospital. –  Shall  we 
go to the hospital to visit her? (Annie is in hospital as a patient , but 
we will go to the hospital to visit her.) 
We go to church every  Sunday . BUT: The workmen  went  to the 
church to repair the  roof . (We go there to a religious service , but the 
workmen didn't.) 
I am tired. It's time to go to bed. BUT: I sat down on the bed as 
there were no chairs in the bedroom. (One goes to bed when one wants 
to sleep – the primary function of the bed is to offer a place to sleep. 
One can also sit on a bed, but this is not the bed’s primary function.) 
  
No article is needed 
•  when talking about things in general: 
-with countable nouns in the plural: 
I'm  afraid  of  dogs . (dogs in general) 
I love  cats .  
•  with uncountable nouns: 
Life has changed a lot over the last decade. 
I like listening to  classical music. 
  
 
No article is also used with proper names, such as names of people  
 ( Thomas , Mary Shelley ), months and days of the week ( January , 
Thursday), continents and countries (Europe, North America; Estonia, 
 
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China), states and regions ( California ; Yorkshire , Central Europe), 
islands (Corsica, Hiiumaa), cities, towns and villages (London; Tallinn),  
streets, roads, squares and parks (Aspen Road ; Hyde Park),  
mountains ( Kilimanjaro , ( Mount ) Etna), lakes (Lake Superior, Lake 
Peipsi), buildings and institutions where the first word is the name of a 
person or a place (Victoria Station, Kennedy Airport, Buckingham 
Palace, Westminster Abbey , Oxford University) 
  
 
Countable and uncountable nouns 
  
Countable nouns are the nouns you can count (e.g., one man, two men, 
three men, etc).  
Uncountable nouns are the nouns you cannot count (you can't say one 
money, two moneys, etc.).  
Abstract nouns are also uncountable (e.g., love, hatred, knowledge ), as well 
as names of substances and materials (e.g.,  wood , water,  wool ) and '-ing' 
nouns expressing activity (e.g., jogging, swimming , painting). You can find 
some examples in the table below. 
  
Countable nouns 
Uncountable nouns 
a child, a person, an elephant,  music, art, love, happiness, luck , hatred, 
a tree, an apple, a book, a car,  knowledge, advice, information, news, 
a  coin , a dollar, a litre, an acre   power , money, wood, ice, wool, silk 
electricity, water, wine , rice, flour , sugar, 
jogging, swimming, painting, singing 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
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Some nouns can be both countable and uncountable, depending on the 
meaning.  
  
Countable 
Uncountable 
A cat has nine   lives . 
Life is precious. 
Many religions are practiced in the   Religion  has been a powerful force in 
United States. 
history. 
There are two  lights  in our bedroom.  There's too much light! 
I'll take a coffee , please. 
We haven 't got any coffee left. 
We have a  spare  room, so you can 
There is not enough room. 
stay with us. 
  
This is a beautiful painting. 
My hobby is painting. 
Have you got an  iron ? 
This gate is made of iron. 
  
  
 
 
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