Art cles - A An The

Table of Art cles

NUMBER INDEFINITE DEFINITE

S ngular a / an the

Plural noth ng the

Non-Count noth ng the

Qu ck H nts

a before consonants (a book)

an before vowels (an exam)

Pronunc at on s what matters.

an hour ('h' s s lent and t's pronounced: an our)

Temporary llnesses: (I have a headache, a cold, a fever, a backache)

"The" w th superlat ve forms (He s the smartest k d I have seen.)

Some Rules us ng Art cles

S ngular count nouns:

ndef n te: use 'a'

def n te: use "the"

My daughter wants to buy a dog th s weekend. (Indef n te-Could be any dog)

The dog n the backyard s very cute.(Def n te-The one n the backyard)
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 He requested a puppy for h s b rthday.
He wanted the puppy he played w th at the pet shop.
She ordered a hamburger w thout on ons.
D d you dr nk the coke I just ordered?

Plural count nouns:

Use "the" or Noth ng, never 'a'.

Come and look at the ch ldren. (def n te)

Ch ldren are always cur ous. ( ndef n te)
She loves flowers. ( ndef n te)
The flowers n her garden are beaut ful. (def n te)
Do you l ke read ng grammar rules?
Do you l ke read ng the grammar rules on th s page?

Non-count nouns:

Use "the" or noth ng.

He has exper ence. ( f ndef n te or ment oned for the f rst t me)
He has the exper ence necessary for the job. ( f def n te or ment oned before)

The med c ne the doctor prescr bed had unpleasant s de effects.

Wr t ng n a second language s espec ally challeng ng.
Have you stud ed the h story of South Afr ca?
H story rem nds us that events repeat themselves.

Def n te Art cle THE Rules

Adject ves as Nouns

When referr ng to a group of people by use of an adject ve rather than a noun, use "the".

the elderly the d sabled the unemployed

the r ch the sesck
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 the homeless the young the restless

Names of Countr es

Some countr es are preceded by "the", usually f the name s plural, conta ns an adject ve, or ncludes
"of".

The Un ted States The Sov et Un on The Republ c of Congo

Amer ca Russ a Spa n
Japan Ch na Mex co

C t es and Streets use noth ng

Ch cago F fth Avenue San Franc sco

H ghway 5 London Kennedy blvd.

R vers, Oceans, Seas, Groups of Mounta ns & Islands use "the"

the Amazon the Atlant c the Med terranean

the Cascades the Hawa an Islands the Bahamas

Numbers

Card nal numbers(1,2,3) use noth ng

World War 2 Page 7 Chapter 1
M ss on 1 Paragraph 5 Channel 6

Ord nal numbers (1st,2nd,3rd) use "the"

The Second World War the seventh page the f rst chapter
the f rst m ss on the f fth paragraph the s xth channel

T tles Th
ofs webs
People
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 When a t tle s g ven w th a name, use noth ng
Pres dent M tchael Queen Mary Professor Scott

When a t tle s used w thout a name, use "the"

The pres dent the queen the professor

Schools

When a school has "of" n ts t tle, use "the"

The Un vers ty of Ar zona The Un vers ty of London Chapter 2

When a school does not have "of" n ts t tle, use noth ng

L ncoln H gh Ar zona State L verpool John Moores
School Un vers ty Un vers ty

Locat on versus Act v ty

When referr ng to an act v ty, use noth ng

I am go ng to school now.(act v ty-study)
He s always on t me for class. (act v ty-learn)

When referr ng to the locat on, use "the"

The meet ng s at the school. (locat on-campus)

They are remodel ng the mov e theater. (locat on-bu ld ng)
The new student had trouble f nd ng the class. (locat on-classroom)

Un que Objects - Use THE

the earth the human race the world

the moon the sun the un verse

Part of a larger group, Use THE

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 -One of the students
-None of the students
-Both of the students
-All of the students

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