the indefinite article

1. We use the indefinite article, a/an, with count nouns when the hearer/reader does not know
exactly which one we are referring to:
Police are searching for a 14 year-old girl.
2. We also use it to show the person or thing is one of a group:
She is a pupil at London Road School.
Police have been searching for a 14 year-old girl who has been missing since Friday.
Jenny Brown, a pupil at London Road School, is described as 1.6 metres tall with short blonde
hair.
She was last seen wearing a blue jacket, a blue and white blouse and dark blue jeans and blue
shoes.
Anyone who has information should contact the local police on 0800349781.
3. We do not use an indefinite article with plural nouns and uncount nouns:
She was wearing blue shoes. (= plural noun)
She has short blonde hair. (= uncount noun)
Police have been searching for a 14 year-old girl who has been missing since Friday.
Jenny Brown, a pupil at London Road School, is described as 1.6 metres tall with short blonde
hair.
She was last seen wearing a blue jacket, a blue and white blouse and dark blue jeans and blue
shoes.
Anyone who has information should contact the local police on 0800349781.
4. We use a/an to say what someone is or what job they do:
My brother is a doctor.
George is a student.
5. We use a/an with a singular noun to say something about all things of that kind:
A man needs friends. (= All men need friends)
A dog likes to eat meat. (= All dogs like to eat meat)

The definite article the

The definite article the is the most frequent word in English.
We use the definite article in front of a noun when we believe the hearer/reader knows exactly
what we are referring to.
• because there is only one:
The Pope is visiting Russia.
The moon is very bright tonight.
The Shah of Iran was deposed in 1979.
This is why we use the definite article with a superlative adjective:
He is the tallest boy in the class.
It is the oldest building in the town.
• because there is only one in that place or in those surroundings:

We live in a small village next to the church. = (the church in our village)

(the car that belongs to our

Dad, can I borrow the car? =
family)

When we stayed at my grandmother’s house we went to (the beach near my

=
the beach every day. grandmother’s house)

Look at the boy in the blue shirt over there. = (the boy I am pointing at)

• because we have already mentioned it:

A woman who fell 10 metres from High Peak was lifted to safety by a helicopter. The
woman fell while climbing.
The rescue is the latest in a series of incidents on High Peak. In January last year two men
walking on the peak were killed in a fall.
We also use the definite article:
• to say something about all the things referred to by a noun:
The wolf is not really a dangerous animal (= Wolves are not really dangerous animals)
The kangaroo is found only in Australia (= Kangaroos are found only in Australia)
The heart pumps blood around the body. (= Hearts pump blood around bodies)
We use the definite article in this way to talk about musical instruments:
Joe plays the piano really well.(= Joe can play any piano)
She is learning the guitar.(= She is learning to play any guitar)
• to refer to a system or service:
How long does it take on the train?
I heard it on the radio.
You should tell the police.
• With adjectives like rich, poor, elderly, unemployed to talk about groups of people:
 Life can be very hard for the poor.
I think the rich should pay more taxes.
She works for a group to help the disabled.

The definite article with names:

We do not normally use the definite article with names:
William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.
Paris is the capital of France.
Iran is in Asia.
But we do use the definite article with:
• countries whose names include words like kingdom, states or republic:
the United Kingdom; the Kingdom of Nepal; the United States; the People’s Republic of
China.
• countries which have plural nouns as their names:
the Netherlands; the Philippines
• geographical features, such as mountain ranges, groups of islands, rivers, seas, oceans and
canals:
the Himalayas; the Canaries; the Atlantic; the Atlantic Ocean; the Amazon; the Panama
Canal.
• newspapers:
The Times; The Washington Post
• well known buildings or works of art:
the Empire State Building; the Taj Mahal; the Mona Lisa; the Sunflowers
• organisations:
the United Nations; the Seamen’s Union
• hotels, pubs and restaurants*:
the Ritz; the Ritz Hotel; the King’s Head; the Déjà Vu
*Note: We do not use the definite article if the name of the hotel or restaurant is the name
of the owner, e.g.,Brown’s; Brown’s Hotel; Morel’s; Morel’s Restaurant, etc.
• families:
the Obamas; the Jacksons

ZERO Article
"—"

Sometimes it is possible to have a noun phrase with NO article—the so-called "ZERO

article".

I need a bowl of rice. ← indefinite article

I like the rice in this restaurant. ← definite article

I eat rice every day. ← ZERO article

The ZERO article usually occurs in the following cases:

ZERO Article with Plural and Uncountable Nouns

General meaning

 cars, people
 life, water

Abstract nouns

 education, happiness, music

ZERO Article with Singular Countable Nouns

Names

People: Mary, Bill, Josef

Places: Jupiter, Russia, Bangkok, Heathrow Airport, Cambridge University,

Waterloo Station

Streets: Oxford Street, Wall Street, Picadilly Circus

Languages: English, Russian

Academic subjects: History, Law, Physics

Days, months: Monday, November

Games and Sports

 football, chess

Meals

 breakfast, lunch, dinner

Noun + Number

 platform 3, room 7, page 44

Routine Places

 in bed, at home, to school, to work

Movement or Transport

 on foot, by car, by bus, by air

Newspaper Headlines, Notices, User Guides

 Plane Crashes On House, Keep Area Clean, Insert battery

Example Sentences

Here are some example sentences showing the ZERO article in context.

 Cars can be dangerous.

 We seldom see courage like that.
 I could see clouds in the sky.
 There was milk on the doorstep.
 I gave it to Mary.
 She arrived in Bangkok yesterday.
 Do you speak French?
 He is good at tennis.
 People will travel to Mars soon.
 He is in room 45.
 Please turn to page 67.
 She's in bed.
 Are you at home?
 They took her to hospital.
 I'm leaving town tomorrow by car.
 I go to school by bus.
 We usually meet on Monday.
 November is quite cold.