INDEFINITE ARTICLE

Classification by means of descriptive labels

Descriptive labels: Origin, occupation, religion, and politics.
Adjectival equivalents can be used when possible: You are an angel!
Things, animals, objects: It is a rose; it's a bottle
To classify people: it's a Dickens novel
To refer to certain person: a Mr Wingate phoned and left a message for you
When something is mentioned for the first time: I looked up and saw a plane

DEFINITE ARTICLE: for classifying

Three ways of making general statements:
The cobra is dangerous + sing noun = a certain kind of snake
Cobras are dangerous + plural nouns ZERO ARTICLE= the meaning has to do with the whole
class, all the animals with these characteristics
A cobra is a very poisonous snake = example of a class

When we want to talk about the group as a whole: “the” + nationality adjective
“The” + plural names (the prince sisters have opened a boutique.
Specified groups: “the” + collective noun or plural count = this new increase in fares won’t
please the public.

For specifying:
By means of back reference: something that has been already mentioned: Olavarria is a quiet
village. The village…
“the” + noun + of : the freedom of the individual is worth fighting for. GENITIVE OF
CONSTRUCTION
By means of clauses and phrases: The letters on the shelf are for you
Within a limited context: the def. article can be used in context which are limited enough for
the reader to identify who or what I referred to.
People: who’s at the door? – it’s the postman
Places: Where’s Jenny? She’s gone to the buthcer’s
Parts of a whole: to name the parts of that whole, “the body” “the hair” “the door” “the
ceiling”
Things: pass me the salt

With unique items:

Institutons and org por example ONU
Historical Events
Ships
Documents and official titles
Political parties
Public bodies (the government)
The press
Titles
Beliefs
Climate, etc
Species
ZERO ARTICLES. (in gral statements)
Plural countable
Uncountable
Proper nouns

 Zero article + plural countable nouns:

Women are fighting for their rights.
Museums are closed on Mondays
Beans contain a lot of fibre
Doctors always support each other
Italians make delicious ice-cream
Cats do not like cold weather.
Bullets were flying everywhere
Teachers want good materials (denotes members of a group)
Tigers are dangerous (denotes a specie)

 Zero article + uncountable nouns:

Refined foods like sugar should be avoided
Water must be pure
Oil is essential for…
There’s milk in the fridge if you are thirsty = There’s some milk in the fridge

ABSTRACT NOUNS – ZERO ARTICLES

Nouns preceded by zero articles can denote a particular meaning that contrasts with that
denoted by nouns preceded by definite and indefinite articles. With abstracts uncountable
nouns: zero article + abstract uncountable noun denote the general concept or the general feel
expressed by the noun.
Is intelligence hereditary?
Education is becoming more specialized these days
Beauty is ephemeral but character is definable.
How can you relate the use of article with abstract nouns?
In these cases zero articles contrast with the definite article bc the definite article means
something specifically identifiable, and also contrast with the use of the indefinite article which
means a type of or a kind of.

The intelligence we saw was remarkable

The education I received at ….
The beauty of her smile

Apes display an intelligence similar but not identical to..

He received a good old-fashioned education
She has a beauty that I find exclusive.
ZERO ARTICLES: GENERAL CONCEPT
DEFINITE ARTICLE: THAT SPECIFIC SOMETHING. SOMETHING THAT WE CAN SPECIFICALLY
IDENTIFY
INDEFINITE ARTICLE: WE ARE REFERRING TO A KIND OF, A CLASS OR A TYPE OF SOMETHING.

ZERO ARTICLES: NAMES

People
Places (not applicable for all the names of geographical places)
Institutions (not applicable for all the names of institutions)
PROFESSIONAL TITLES

Mary is a successful interior decorator (personal name zero article)

I would like you to meet Dr. Philips (professional title)
She went to Harvard (Institutional name)
John lives in Melbourne (city name)
They have a large house on Lake Michigan (geographical name)

Nouns designating customs or institutions

Zero Articles often receives nouns that are being used to designated customs.
He always eats breakfast in the kitchen (it is a custom) referring to the custom.
The breakfast was delicious (a particular morning meal that has been eaten known to the
listener)
They serve a fantastic breakfast at the restaurant (a particular kind of morning meal that
restaurant serves)

Nouns designated institutions.

He’s in church right now (we are referring to the institution)
They held the ceremony in the church (we are referring to the building/place)
It is used with jail too.
American: Use the university and the hospital
British: Use in hospital, at university

Parallel structures
Two identical or semantically related countable nouns are joined either a preposition or a
coordinating conjunction they take zero article:
They went from place to place
Father and son
Lawyer and client.

DEMONSTRATIVE DETERMINERS.
Physical distance: This and these indicates that something is close
That those: something is farther
Dimension of time
This, is something that happened recently
That something that happened in a more distant past.

Information
Noun phrases with this and these generally add new info. Using non referential there.
Noun phrases with that and those generally convey info that the speaker is familiar with the
listener.

Si el agent esta ommitted pongo en el Segundo cuadro: Here the short passive is used because
the agent is obvious from the context.

We use a wh-question for seeking content information relating to persons, things, facts, time,
place, reason, manner, etc. Wh-questions differ depending on the kind of content information
sought. Wh- questions expect as an answer some information