ARTICLES (MẠO TỪ)

I/ Phân biệt a, an, the

a an the
 + DT bắt đầu bằng  + DT bắt đầu bằng
phụ âm nguyên âm
 + DT số ít  + DT số ít, số nhiều, không đếm được
 Khi giới thiệu lần đầu, nói về cái chưa biết  Khi nhắc lại, nói về cái xác định, cả người nói
và người nghe đều đã biết
E.g. I have a pen. E.g. The pen in your pencil case is blue.
 Đối tượng có tính khái quát (nêu định nghĩa)  Đối tượng duy nhất
E.g. A ball is a round object. E.g. The Earth is round.
* đặc biệt: a ( university, uniform, unique)  So sánh hơn nhất
E.g. the most beautiful dress

II/ Phân biệt the & zero article (Ø)

Ø (zero article): KHÔNG dùng the
 Đi với DT số nhiều/ không đếm được để chỉ
đối tượng chung chung
E.g. Sugar is sweet.
- I like cats
 + hầu hết tên riêng của người và địa danh
E.g. Ha Noi is in Viet Nam.
 + tên hồ; tên ngọn núi; tên hòn đảo, tên châu
lục
E.g. Hoan Kiem Lake; Mount Everest; Cat Ba
island
 + tên các bữa ăn, ngày, tháng, dịp trong năm
E.g. have dinner, on Monday, in June, at
Christmas
Dùng the
 Đi với DT số nhiều/ không đếm được để chỉ đối
tượng riêng biệt, xác định
E.g. The sugar in this bag is from Cuba.
 + tên một số nước, nhóm nước có nhiều bang,
quần đảo
E.g. the UK, the USA, the Philippines
 + tên sông, đại dương; tên dãy núi; tên quần đảo
E.g. the Niles, the Pacific Ocean; the Himalayas;
the Truong Sa islands

** by car/ taxi/ bus/ train/…

= in a car / a taxi/ a helicopter.
= on a train/ a bus/ a motorbike/ a plane/ a bike/ …..
 PRACTICE
Choose the best option to complete each of the following sentences.
1. We are planning to spend our next holiday in ______ United States.
A. a B. an C. the D. x
2. When I travelled to London, I had a chance to visit ______ Thames.
A. a B. an C. the D. x
3. This is ______ old costume of the Pupeo people.
A. a B. an C. the D. x
4. The chapi is ______ unique musical instrument of the Raglai people.
A. a B. an C. the D. x
5. This is my friend. She’s from ______ Philippines.
A. a B. an C. the D. x
6. Among 54 ethnic groups in Viet Nam, the Odu group has ______ smallest population.
A. a B. an C. the D. x
7. There is ______ stilt house in my grandparents’ village.
A. a B. an C. the D. x
8. We had dinner in ______ very nice restaurant.
A. a B. an C. the D. x
9. What’s ______ name of that man we met yesterday?
A. a B. an C. the D. x
10. It’s ______ unusual tourist attraction and it’s worth seeing.
A. a B. an C. the D. x
11. What did you eat for ______ breakfast this morning?
A. a B. an C. the D. x
12. It’s a beautiful day. Let’s sit in ______ garden.
A. a B. an C. the D. x
13. ______ most famous Egyptian pyramids are found at Giza in Cairo.
A. A B. An C. The D. x
14. ______ Himalayas has many of the world’s highest peaks, including ______ Mount Everest.
A. The / a B. The / the C. A / a D. The / x
15. Where’s ______ Lake Victoria? I think it’s in ______ East Africa.
A. the / the B. x / x C. the / an D. x / the
16. On average, ______ Moon is 384,000 km from ______ Earth.
A. the / the B. x / the C. a / an D. a / the
17. I went to ______ Ha Long Bay last week and it was ______ unforgettable experience.
A. the / the B. x / the C. x / an D. the / an
18. – What is ______ longest river in the world? – Not sure. Is it ______ Amazon?
A. the / x B. a / an C. a / the D. the / the
19. My teacher was born in ______ North of England, but he now lives in ______ Australia.
A. x / x B. the / x C. x / the D. the / the
20. Jane arrived in ______ car, but Tim came by ______ bus.
A. a / x B. x / x C. a / a D. the / the
21. We stayed at ______ very nice hotel, but I can’t remember ______ name now.
 A. a / a B. x / x C. a / the D. x / a
22. There isn’t ______ airport near where I live. ______ nearest airport is 70 miles away.
A. a / The B. an / The C. the / A D. the / x
23. What’s ______ capital city of ______ Canada?
A. a / x B. a / the C. the / the D. the / x
24. ______ big books on ______ table are for my history class.
A. A / a B. The / x C. The / the D. x / a
25. On our trip to ______ Spain, we crossed ______ Atlantic Ocean.
A. the / the B. the / x C. x / the D. x / x
26. He works as ______ assistant in ______ same shop as I’m working.
A. a / a B. an / the C. x / the D. the / a
27. Do you see ______ man standing next to ______ door?
A. a / the B. the / a C. the / the D. a / a
28. I keep two pets, ______ dog and ______ cat. I like ______ dog better.
A. a / a / a B. a / a / the C. the / the / a D. the / the / the
29. ______ first person who reached ______ summit of ______ Mount Everest is Edmund Hillary.
A. The / a / the B. The / the / x C. x / the / x D. x / a / the
30. This morning I bought ______ newspaper and ______ magazine. ______ newspaper is in my
bag, but I can’t remember where I put ______ magazine.
A. x / x / the / the B. the / the / a / a C. a / a / the / the D. the / the / x / x