ARTICLES

Made by the Group 1

LB1-11-40
Articles
THE
INDEFINITE
ARTICLE
THE
DEFINITE
ARTICLE

ZERO
ARTICLE
THE INDEFINITE
ARTICLE (A/AN)

We use a/an : We do not use a/an:
with singular countable nouns
when we talk about them in general.
with uncountable nouns or plural
countable nouns. We use some
instead of a/an.
with the verbs to be and have
(got).

before Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms when
we refer to an unknown person.

to show price in relation to
weight.

to show distance in relation to
time.

to show frequency.


DRILLING EXERCISES
Need ____ new handbag.
Jane has (got) ______ cat. It's ____ Siamese.
____ Mr Wells is waiting for you
This ____ dress is well-made.
My car can go 250km ______ hour.
We bought ___some chocolate and ___some walnuts.
The tomatoes cost one pound twenty ______ kilo.
work at the library three days _____ week.

a
a a
a
a
a
an
CORRECT!
THE DEFINITE ARTICLE
We use the:

with nouns when talking about something specific.
with nouns which are unique (the sun, the Acropolis, etc.).

with names of
1.cinemas (the Odeon),
2.hotels (the Hilton),
3.theatres (the Plaza),
4.museums (the Louvre),
5.newspapers/magazines (the Guardian),
6.ships (the Titanic),
7.organisations (the United Nations),
8.galleries (the National Gallery).
with the names of rivers,
seas,
groups of islands,
mountain ranges,
deserts,
oceans,
canals,
countries when they include words such as
State, Kingdom, Republic, etc. and names or nouns with "of"

with the names of musical instruments and dances
with the names of families and nationalities ending in -sh, -ch
or -ese . Other plural nationalities are used with or without 'the'
(Egyptians/the Egyptians).

with titles.

with adjectives/adverbs in the superlative
form.
with the words morning, afternoon, evening
and night.
with historical periods
with the words only, last, first (used as
adjectives).
with the words beach, station, cinema, theatre,
coast, country(side), ground, jungle, seaside,
weather, world, shop, library, city, sea, etc.

DRILLING EXERCISES
Have got __ car and __ motorcycle. ____ car is second-hand and
___motorcycle is brand new.
He's ____ most successful businessman I know.
She was ___ only person who came on time.
I leave the house early in ____ morning
the
the
the
the
the
a a
CORRECT!
ZERO ARTICLE
We dont use zero article:
In the technical literature, especially in instructions even if they are
stated informally.
e.g. Supply the correct adaptor for the different standard of telephone
plug.
with uncountable and countable nouns in concrete sense.
e.g. For the first time, oil is reported on the shores of Seward, at the head
of Resurrection Bay
In advertisements and signatures to photos
e.g. Very demanding but challenging role for articulate secretary bursting
with enthusiasm! Experienced, confident secretary needed by disorganized
lawyer in well-established legal practice!
In culinary recipes
DRILLING EXERCISES
1. I wrote to her but ... letter never arrived.
2. Britain is ... island.
3. What is ... name of this village?
4. Jane is ... very nice person. You must meet her.
5. Montreal is ... large city in ... Canada.
6. What is ... largest city in ... Canada?
7. "What time is it?" "I don't know. I haven't got ... watch."

DRILLING EXERCISES
8. When I went to ... Rome, I stayed with ... Italian friend of mine.
9. You look very tired. You need ... holiday.
10. Don't sit on ... floor. It's very dirty.
11. "Let's go to ... restaurant this evening." "That's ... good idea. Which
restaurant shall we go?"
12. Can you turn on ... radio, please? I want to listen to some ... music.
13. Tom is in ... bathroom. He's having ... bath.
14. This is ... nice room, but I don't like ... colour of ... carpet.
15. We live in ... old house near ... station. It's ... two miles from ... center.

CORRECT!
RESOURCES:
Virginia Evans and Jenni Dooley
Enterprise 3, 4