Unit 1: Nouns

& Articles
Section 1.1
Nouns
Part 1.1

1
 Section 1.1
One- Compound Countable
word nouns and Part 1
nouns uncountable
nouns

2
LESSON OBJECTIVES

Identify Apply them in

different kinds the right
of nouns. contexts.

3
• A noun tells us what someone or something is called
a person (John), a job title (doctor)
the name of a thing (radio), the name of a place (London),
the name of a quality (courage), or the name of an action (laughter/laughing)

• Nouns and noun phrases can be:

- the subject of a verb
Our agent in Cairo sent a telex this morning.
- the direct object of a verb
Frank sent an urgent telex from Cairo this morning.
- the indirect object of a verb
Frank sent his boss a telex.
- the object of a preposition
/ read about it in the paper.
- the complement of be or a related verb like seem
Jane Forbes is our guest.
- used 'in apposition'
Laura Myers, a BBC reporter asked for an interview.

4
NOUNS ENDINGS
❖ We often make nouns from other
Example: adding “-ance” or” -ence” words by adding different endings
or suffixes and sometimes making
appear 🡪 appearance other small changes.
resist 🡪 resistance
He appeared on many talk shows while ❖ Suffix: a letter or group of letters
promoting his book. added to the end of a word to
perform a grammatical function
He made many talk show appearances and possibly change the meaning
while promoting his book. of the word.

5
People who do things
There are 8 -er, - or, - ist, - actor, assistant,
occupation ant, - ess, - man, - beggar, driver,…
suffixes ee, - ive

Professions that use the suffix scientist,

ask for skills -ist/-ian physicist, chemist,
and are biologist, artist,
scientific in technician,…
nature

6
 TYPICAL ENDINGS WHICH MAKE NOUNS

People who come from places: Athenian, Berliner, Milanese,...

❑ Three Italians are doing the course.

❑ The Greeks invented democracy.
❑ Several Chinese were waiting in the queue.

7
Typical endings which make nouns from

VERB acceptance, agreement, arrival,….

ADJECTIVES absence, activity, anxiety, constancy,….

OTHER NOUNS
boyhood, kingdom, lunacy, mouthful,…

-ing forms used as nouns:

I’ve given your shirt the ironing.

8
 NOUNS FORMED FROM VERBS, ADJECTIVES, OTHER NOUNS
Some nouns and verbs have the same form

VERB NOUN
discount discount
entrance
entrance
export
export
import import

9
 Nouns and verbs with the same
spelling but different stress
NOUN: THE VERB: THE
STRESS IS ON STRESS IS ON
THE FIRST THE SECOND
SYLLABLE SYLLABLE

10
 NOUN VERB
contest contest
contract contract
import import
object object
process process
refund refund
survey survey
permit permit
refill refill
discount discount

11
THANK YOU

12
Unit 1: Nouns
& Articles
Section 1.1:
Nouns
Part 1.2

1
 COMPOUND NOUNS
APOSTROPHE OR
COMPOUND
NOUNS? MATERIALS &
GERUND SUBSTANCES

2
When a noun has two or more parts compound noun.
- We can make compound nouns with the –ing form: dancing-shoes
✔ The –ing form can sometimes be an adjective:
crying baby, hugging couple, speeding car
-> Never use a hyphen
✔ The –ing form is the first part of a compound noun:
fishing-rod, sleeping-bag
-> a hyphen is optional

3
APOSTROPHE ('S) OR COMPOUND NOUN

• Use apostrophe S ('s) and S apostrophe (s') with people or

something living to show possession:
Gus’s car, the girls’ shoes, a dog’s bank
• Use of for possession with things:
the leg of table

4
COMPOUND NOUNS WHICH TELL US ABOUT MATERIALS
AND SUBSTANCES

❖ Names of materials and substances (leather, gold) are like

adjectives when we use them to form compound nouns:
• For example:
🡺 a watch made of gold -> a gold watch.

5
 WOOD & WOOL
EXCEPTION
FOR EXAMPLE

A table made of A dress made of

wood a wooden wool
table a woolen
dress

6
THERE ARE ADJECTIVAL FORMS FOR WORDS LIKE GOLD

glass/glassy,
gold/golden
leather/leathery
silver/silvery
silk/silky
For example:
A golden sunset (= a sunset like gold)

7
USING COUNTABLE & UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
COUNTABLE NOUNS
+ We can use a/an in front of it:
a book an envelope
+ It has a plural and can be used
in the question How many?
How many stamps 'envelopes? -
Four stamps/envelopes.
+ We can use numbers one
stamp; two stamps.
UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
+ If a noun is uncountable, we do not
normally use a/an in front of it:
Sugar is expensive
+ does not normally have a plural and it
can be used in the question How
much? How much meat/oil?
a lot of meat
a little oil
+ We cannot normally use a number
(one two) in front of it.
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SPECIAL CASES

1. Nouns which can be either countable or uncountable:

Some nouns can be used either countable or uncountable, but with

different meanings:

+ Some nouns are countable when they refer to single items, but are
uncountable when they refer to substances.
Example:

COUNTABLE NOUNS UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

He ate a whole chicken! Would you like some chicken?

(a single item) (Food)

9
III. SPECIAL CASES

Nouns which can be either countable or uncountable:

+ Some nouns are uncountable when they refer to a material, but they
are countable when they refer to an object made from that material:

COUNTABLE NOUNS UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

I picked up a stone. We used stone to build our walls.

(thing) (material)

10
 Nouns which can be either countable or uncountable:
COUNTABLE MEANING UNCOUNTABLE MEANING
We keep six chickens in our garden. (animals) Do you like chicken? (food/meat)

A coffee and two teas, please. (cups of tea)
Did you get a paper today? (a newspaper)
You can stay with us. There is a spare room (a
room in a house)
Sam prefers lemon tea. (drink)
I need some writing paper. (material for
writing on)
You can’t sit here. There isn’t room.
(space)

I had some interesting experiences on holiday. Experience is more important than

(things that happened to me) qualifications. (learning by doing
something)

Did you hear a noise just now? (a specific noise) Using a single chip reduces the noise on
the output signal by 90 percent. (bad
change in signal, especially in a signal
produced by an electronic device).
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USING COUNTABLE & UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Singular equivalents of uncountable nouns

• To refer to one or more quantities of an uncountable noun, expressions

such as a bit of, a piece of, an item of or words for containers and
measures must be used:
a loaf of bread, a slice of bread, a drop of rain, a tin of soup...
• We use a coat, a shirt instead of a clothing or a suitcase, a room
instead of a luggage, an accommodation when we have to say exactly
what we want.

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SPECIAL CASES
Other cases:

+ Some nouns always are in plural form but they are uncountable because we
cannot use numbers with them. Other nouns of this type are: shorts, pants,
pyjamas, glasses (for the eyes), binoculars, scissors:
I bought two pairs of trousers.

+ A number of nouns, like information, are countable in many languages, but they
are uncountable in English. This means we cannot use a/an in front of them or
give them a plural:
I’d like some information, please. (Not an information, not
informations)
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III. SPECIAL CASES

Other cases:

+ News is plural in form but takes a singular verb:

The news is bad.

+ Hair is singular. My hair is long (Not ‘my hairs are…’). We

use hairs only for individual strands of hair. There are
three hairs on my nose.

14
THANK YOU

15
Unit 1: NOUNS
& ARTICLES
(cont.)
Section 1.1: Nouns
Part 2 Number (singular and
plural)

1
LESSON OBJECTIVES

• Identify singular and plural forms of nouns.

2
Nouns with plurals ending in -s or -es: 'friends', ' matches'
1. We usually will add -s to form the plural of most nouns:

Pronounce -s as /s/ after these Pronounce -s as /z/ after these

sounds
/f/ chiefs, coughs, proofs
/k/ cakes, forks, knocks
/p/ drops, taps, tapes
/t/ pets, pockets, skirts
vowel + /r/: chairs, doors, workers
sounds
/Ɵ / depths, months, myths
/b/ tubs, tubes, verbs
/d/ friends, hands, roads
/g/ bags dogs, legs
/l/ bells, tables, walls
/m/ arms, dreams, names
/n/ lessons, pens, spoons
/ ɧ /songs, stings, tongues
3
Nouns with plurals ending in -s or -es : 'friends', ' matches'

2. We will add –es to nouns ending in:

-o potato potatoes
-s class classes
-x box boxes
-ch match matches
-sh dish dishes

We do not pronounce e in plurals like We pronounce the plural as /iz/ after

the sounds
cakes , clothes, tables, names, eyes. /z/ noises; /dʒ /: oranges; /s/: buses; /ʃ/:
dish; /tʃ/: matches; /ks/: boxes.

4
Nouns with plurals ending in -s or -es: 'countries’, 'knives'

1. If a singular noun ends in “-y” and the letter before the “-y” is a consonant,
change the ending to “-i” then add “-es” to make the noun plural:

Singular Plural
lady ladies
baby babies
lily lilies
trophy trophies
jelly jellies
story stories
5
Nouns with plurals ending in -s or -es: 'countries', 'knives'

2. If a singular noun ends in “-y” and the letter before the “-y” is a vowel (a, e,
o and u), simply add a “-s” to make it plural:

Singular Plural
bay bays
way ways
key keys
jersey jerseys
toy toys
boy boys
6
Nouns with plurals ending in -s or -es: 'countries’, 'knives'

3. If a singular noun ends in “-f” and the letter before the “-fe”, the “-f” or “-fe”,
is often changed to “-ves” to form the plural nouns:

Singular Plural
leaf leaves
wolf wolves
knife knives
wife wives
life lives
7
Nouns with plurals ending in -s or -es: 'countries', 'knives'

4. With some nouns that end in f or fe, we just add s to form the plural:

Singular Plural
chief chiefs
cliff cliffs
roof roofs
giraffe giraffes

8
Nouns with plurals ending in -s or -es: 'countries', 'knives'

5. In some cases, both ways are acceptable:

Singular Plural
hoof hoofs/hooves
scarf scarfs/scarves
dwarf dwarfs/ dwarves
wharf wharfs/ wharves

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Nouns ending in -o

1. If the singular noun ends in -o, add -es to make it plural:

Singular Plural
hero heroes
potato potatoes
tomato tomatoes

10
Nouns ending in -o

2. Or we add only -s to make it plural:

Singular Plural
photo photos
piano pianos
halo halos
bamboo bamboos
radio radios
solo solos

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Irregular plural forms

Singular Plural
foot feet
goose geese
man men
woman women
tooth teeth
mouse mice
child children
ox oxen
person people/person
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Note

Some nouns have the same singular and plural forms:

aircraft, deer, salmon, trout, sheep

Nationality nouns ending in –ese and –ss have the same

singular and plural forms:

a Chinese – the Chinese, a Swiss – the Swiss

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Collective nouns followed by singular or plural verbs
• Nouns can use with singular or plural verbs:

government, committee, family, company

- What will you be doing while the family is on vacation?

- The family arrives for the party at different times.
- The families need help.

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Nouns followed by singular or plural verbs
• Nouns can use with singular or plural verbs:

the majority, the public, the youth of today

- The public want to know how they are governed.

- The public wants to know how it is governed.

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Nouns with a plural form + singular or plural verbs
Nouns ending in –ics, s:

acoustics, economics, phonetics and statistics

- They take a singular verb only when they refer to the academic subject:

Statistics is a branch of economics. (Not *statistics are*)

- They take a plural verb when the reference is specific:

Your statistics are unreliable.

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Nouns with a plural form + singular or plural verbs

crossroads, headquarters, kennels, series, species and works (= factory)

- They take a singular verb when they refer to one:

This species of moth is rare.

- They take a plural verb when they refer to more than one:

There are thousands of species of moth.

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Nouns with a plural verbs : 'trousers'

Clothes, pants, scissors, shorts, trousers, belongings, earnings, clothes,

congratulations, thanks, outskirts, premises, surroundings, stairs, savings, goods,
manners, brains (= intellect).

- These nouns have a plural form only and followed by a plural verb:
My trousers are dirty.
The scissors are sharp.
I bought a pair of shorts yesterday and two pairs of trousers.
I need a new pair of sunglasses.
If your clothes are wet, you can dry them upstairs.
The outskirts of Washington are really pretty, and they stretch for miles.
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THANK YOU!
19
Unit 1: Nouns & Articles
Section 1.1
Part 3
Gender + The genitive
1
Identify gender and the genitive
of nouns.

Lesson objective
2
 In many languages, the names of things such as book, chair,
radio, table may be grammatically masculine, feminine or
neuter. Often gender doesn’t relate to sex, so that the word for
‘girl’ might be neuter and the word for ‘chair’ might be feminine.

There is no grammatical gender for nouns in English. Though

there can be exceptions, we can use only “he”, “she” to refer to
people and “it” to refer to everything else. It is the pronouns, not
the nouns, that tell us whether the reference is to male or female.

- She is the owner of this hotel.

- Is he the person who asked
you out on a date?

3
 Contrasting nouns describing people
MALE FEMALE
Father Mother
Husband Wife
Son Daughter
3/ MALEUncle
AND Aunt
FEMALE WORD
Actor Actress
FORMS IN
Waiter Waitress
ENGLISH
Steward Stewardess
Man Woman
Bachelor Bachelorette /
Spinster
Policeman Policewoman
Salesman Saleswoman

4
Contrasting nouns describing animals

MALE FEMALE
Bull Cow
Drake Duck
Tiger Tigress
Lion Lioness
Fox Vixen
Boar Sow
Rooster Hen
Peacock Peahen
Stallion Mare
Ram Ewe

5
With many nouns we don't know whether the person
referred to is male or female until we hear the
pronoun:

-I try to help a child who was crying her eyes out.

- The child who was crying eventually found his mother.
- My cousin lost the phone which I gave him.
- My cousin lives with her husband in France.

6
Other typical nouns like this are

adult, artist, applicant member, minister, musician

baby / infant / child neighbour

candidate, companion, cousin, orphan, owner

colleague
parent, passenger, person,
dancer, darling, director, doctor president, pupil

employee, enemy, engineer relation, relative, reporter

foreigner, friend Scientist, singer, student, speaker,

stranger
guest, guardian
teacher, tourist, teenager
journalist
visitor
lawyer, leader
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walker, worker, writer
Possessive ‘s / s’
? Singular Noun

• the producer’s job is.....

• the girl’s hair is..... One person
• Jane’s hand is...... or
• the bag’s colour is ....... thing

8
Possessive ‘s / s’
? Singular Noun ending in -s

• an actress’s career
• the waitress’s job

9
Possessive ‘s / s’
? Names ending in -s

• Doris’s party
• St James’s Park

10
? Irregular plural noun

• the people’s pockets

• children’s toys the nouns that
• women’s bag change
• men’s hair
• mice’s tail

11
? Plural Noun

• the actors’ coffee break

• the computers’ price more than one
• the shoes’ heels person or
• the noticeboards’ colour thing

12
Note
The spelling of possessive its. This word never
takes an apostrophe. We can’t say:
? The bull lowered it's head.
We must use of when we can’t form compound
noun:
the book of film => the film’s book
If you are in doubt, use of

13
APOSTROPHE S
(‘S/S’),
COMPOUND
NOUN, OR ‘ OF’

14
When we want to show possession with things, we
can use “of”: the leg of the table. However, we often
prefer to use a compound noun instead of “of”: the
table-leg.

We must use of when we can’t form a compound

noun:
the book of the film (Not “the film’s book”);
the top of the box (Not “the box’ top)

15
THE USE OF 'S AND S'
WITH NON-LIVING
THINGS

16
The use of 's and s' with non-living things

1. Time phrases:
Single ('s) Plural (s')

Example:
An hour's journey Two hours' journey
A day's work Two days' work
A month's salary Two months' salary

2. Fixed phrases: the Earth's surface, journey's end, the ship's

company.

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OMISSION OF THE NOUN
AFTER 'S

18
We generally omit the noun after 's when
referring to work-places, shops and houses
? the doctor’s surgery the doctor’s
? my mother’s house my mother’s

❖ Your mother has gone to the hairdresser’s the shop.

Your mother has gone to the hairdresser’s.
❖ I’m going to spend the night at my aunt’s house.
I’m going to spend the night at my aunt’s.

19
THANK YOU!

20
 UNIT 1: NOUNS & ARTICLES
SECTION 1.2/PART 1

THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE: A/AN

1
 Identify the use of
indefinite articles
a/an.
LESSON
OBJECTIVES

Apply them in
different contexts.
2
 ARTICLES
An article is a word used before a noun and indicates whether the noun
refers to a definite or indefinite object. We use the when the object noun is
known to both the speaker and the listener. Conversely, when using the
indefinite articles like a, an the speaker refers to a common or unknown
object.

Articles in English consist of only three words and are divided as follows:
• The indefinite article: “a / an”
• The definite article: “the”
• The article Zero (Zero article) or nouns without an article.

3
 1. The indefinite article: ‘a / an’

a. General statements with ‘a/an’ and zero (ø)

b. The ‘plural form’ of ‘a/an’

c. Describing people and things with ‘a/an' + noun

CONTENT d. ‘a/an’ when something is mentioned for the first time

e. The difference between ‘a/an’ and one

f. ‘a/an’ for price, distance and frequency

g. ‘a/an’ or zero with reference to illnesses

4
 1. THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE: ‘A / AN’

General statements with ‘a/an’ and zero (ø)

A and an have the same meaning. We use a in front of consonant

sounds and an in front of vowel sounds (u, e, o, a, i):
a man, a year/ an umbrella, an eye, an hour
Mai had a sandwich and an apple for lunch.
We can talk about people or things ‘in general’ with a/an or with the
plural:
Instead of: Tigers are dangerous animals. (= tigers in general)
We can say: A tiger is a dangerous animal. (= tigers in general)
5
 1. THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE: ‘A / AN’

The ‘plural form’ of ‘a/an’

• The plural of a/an is zero (ø) when we refer to ‘things in general’:
A tiger is a dangerous animal. => (ø) Tigers are (ø) dangerous animals.
• The plural of a/an is some or any when we refer to ‘quantity’. We use
numbers in place of a/an and some/any only when we are counting:
There’s a picture on the wall.
There are some pictures on the wall.
There’s only one picture on the wall.
There are only four pictures on the wall.
Are there any pictures on the wall?
6
 1. THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE: ‘A / AN’

Describing people and things with ‘a/an' + noun

• We use some words as adjectives or nouns when we want to describe
people. When we use them as countable nouns, we always put a/an in front
of them:
- He’s a Vietnamese. (Nationality)
- I’m a Buddhist. (Religion)
- She’s a conservative. (Politics)
• We use some words only as countable nouns (people and things) and we
always put a/an in front of them. We can also use adjective + noun:
- He’s a dentist. (Not He’s dentist.)
- She’s a good student. (Not She’s good student.)
7
 1. THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE: ‘A / AN’

Describing people and things with ‘a/an' + noun

• We use a/an in front of proper nouns (names spelt with a capital letter)
for:
- Members of a family: He’s a William. (= a member of the William family)
- Literature and art: It’s a Gordon Ramsay novel.
- Sometimes we can use the name on its own: It’s a Rembrandt lighting.

8
 1. THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE: ‘A / AN’
The use of ‘a/an’ when something is mentioned for the first time

• We use a/an to introduce a person or thing for the first time. This shows
that the listener or reader doesn’t know what we are referring to. After this
first reference, we use the:
I watched a car as it came up our road. The car stopped outside our house
and a man got out. The man was carrying a case in his hand. With the
case in his hand, the man looked like a salesman.

9
 1. THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE: ‘A / AN’

The difference between ‘a/an’ and one

• We do not use a/an + noun and one + noun in the same way:
⮚ We use a/an to mean ‘any one’.
I’d like a coffee, please.
• We use one when we are counting: one ice cream, one coffee, one boy:
Do you have one sandwich or two?
It was one coffee I ordered and not two.

10
 1. THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE: ‘A / AN’
The difference between ‘a/an’ and one

• We use one with day, morning, evening when we are telling a story:
One day, when I was working as a salesman, I received a
strange telephone call.
One day, many years later, I learnt the truth.
• Compare:
I had to stay in bed for a day. (= any day, it doesn't matter which)
I had to stay in bed for one day. (= one day and not two or more)

11
 1. THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE: ‘A / AN’
The difference between ‘a/an’ and one
• We use a/an or one with:

- Whole numbers: a/one hundred, thousand. 1,000= One thousand

- Fractions: a/one quarter (¼), half (½), one and a half kilos (1 ½ kgs), a kilo
and a half (1 ½ kgs, one third (1/3), one quarter (¼), a dozen (12), a quarter
of an hour (15 minutes), half a minute (30 seconds)
- Money: a/one pound, dollar,
$165: One hundred sixty – five dollars
1 pound is equal to 1.36 US Dollars (£1 = $1.36)
- Weights, measures:
Weight: a/one kilo (1kg), Pound, ton, barrel, gallon
Measure: The pool length is not very deep, maybe a metre
12
 1. THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE: ‘A / AN’
‘a/an’ for price, distance and frequency:
We use a/an or per when we talk about prices or times, speed in relation to
weights, frequency, distance and other times:
Price/weight: 80p a kilo
This cheese is £12.50 a kilo. (or £12.50 per kilo)
Distance/speed: 40 km an hour
The traffic moves at a fast pace; a speed of over one hundred kilometres an hour i
not difficult. (or … 100 kilometers per hour)
The speed limit in towns in the UK is 30 miles per hour. (or 30 miles an hour)
Distance/fuel: 30 miles a (or the) gallon
How many miles can 1 gallon take?
Frequency/time: twice a day
13
The villa is cleaned twice a week.
 1. THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE: ‘A / AN’
‘a/an’ or zero with reference to illnesses

• We always use a/an with these illnesses: a cold, a headache, a sore throat:
Don't come near me, I've got sore throat.
• We can use or omit a/an with these: catch (a) cold, have (a/an)
backache/earache/stomach-ache/toothache:
I was awake all night with a toothache.
I've had a terrible backache.
Put on your overcoat, or you will catch cold.
• We use no article at all with these plurals: measles, mumps, shingles.
Can children go to school with mumps.
• We use no article with these: (high) blood pressure, flu, gout, hepatitis.
14
Is there a link between high blood pressure and gout?
Thank you

15
Unit 1: Nouns & Articles
SECTION 1.2: Articles
PART 2.1

1
CONTENT

The definite The zero

article: ‘the’ article

2
Lesson objectives

Identify the use

of definite Apply them in
article ‘the’ and various contexts.
the zero article.
3
The definite article: ‘the’
Form and basic uses of ‘the’
• Referring to people or things, singular or plural:
The teacher that I met yesterday is my sister-in-law. ( People- Singular)
They're the books I read yesterday. ( Things- Plural )
• Referring to something that is known:
I'll pick you up at the airport.
Would you pass the salt, please?

Combine: Singular Plural

Uncountable
countable Countable
nouns
nouns nouns

The book The books The furniture

4
The definite article: ‘the’
‘A/an’, ‘the’ and zero in front of abbreviations
• We use a/an to introduce a person or thing for the first time. This
shows that the listener or reader doesn’t know what we are referring
to. After this first reference, we use the:

I just bought a new shirt and some new shoes.

The shirt was pretty expensive, but the shoes weren't.

I just bought a new shirt and tie. The shirt was expensive, but
the tie wasn’t.

5
 The definite article: ‘the’
‘A/an’, ‘the’ and zero in front of abbreviations
The first letters
Important words - Institutions when we
Some words are often
Like ordinary nouns and u Titles can't say them as single
used as normal words
se them words

the BBC (the British radar (Radio Detection And

ATM (Automated teller He's a M.ed (Master of Broadcasting Corporation) Raging)
machine), education UNESCO (=the United
LP (a Long Playing Nations Educational,
record) Scientific and Cultural
Organization)

A / An The Zero

Using no article (zero) with chemical symbols. NaCl2 (Natri Chloride)

6
‘The’ + nationality noun
We use the in front of nationality nouns to refer to 'all the people in general'.
We can divide nationality nouns into four groups:

Four group of ‘The’ + nationality noun

The + plural ending in –s:
The + ending ...ians, ...ans, ...other -s
nationality nouns -ese or edings ending nationality nouns -
–ss
Ex: the Austrians, the
Ex: the Vietnamese, the Americans, the
Japanese, the Portugues Koreans, the Arabs, the
Germans.
The +
Special cases
ch or –sh
Ex: the Spaniards/the
Spanish, the Swededthe
Ex: the Dutch, the
Swedish.
English, the French.

7
 ‘The’ for specifying

When we use THE => the listener or reader knows or can understand what we are
referring to:
a) Back reference:
My house is near a river.
The river is very beautiful.
b) The + Noun + of: The life of Steve Jobs.
c) Before a Noun that has been identified by a phrase, a clause or a relative clause:
-> The mechanic that I met.
d) Context: The listener knows exactly what we are referring to from the context:
-> The boy in the corner is my friend. (Both the listener and the speaker know exactly
which boy it is.
8
‘The’ for specifying
We often say the cinema, the theatre, the bank, etc. even if we don’t know
exactly which:

He’s visited the museum.

I haven't been to the cinema in a long time
Go to the theater if you want to relax.
If you want a statement, you have to go to the bank

9
‘The’ for specifying

We refer to the country, the mountains, the seaside even if we don’t know exactly
where:

We’re spending the weekend at the seaside.

They're going to the country.
When I go to Dalat, I like camping in the mountains.
There is a beautiful resort on the beach.

10
‘The’ for specifying

We use the to refer to “one of a kind”: the earth, the moon, the sun, the sky, the
universe:

The earth is always revolving around the sun.

The moon is always beautiful, and a full moon is always dramatic.
The sun always rises in the east.
Blue like the sky.
The universe is governed by laws.

11
‘The’ to refer to ‘things that are unique’ (not
place name)
a) Organizations: The United Nations.
b) Ships: The Titanic
c) Documents: The Constitution
d) Public bodies: The Government
e) Titles of books and films: The Rock, The Twilight
f) Climate: The weather
g) Historical events: The Russian Revolution
h) Official title: The Vice President
i) Political parties: The Liberal Party
j) Press: The VN express 12
We treat other, similar, words as proper nouns and use
no article (zero):
a) Organizations: Parliament
b) Titles of books and films: Avatar
c) Beliefs: God
d) Official Title: Queen Victoria
e) The whole species: Man

13
Thank you

14
Unit 1: Nouns & Articles
SECTION 1.2: Articles
PART 2.2

1
The zero article

2
Basic uses of the zero article

In front of plural countable nouns used in general statements:

a) People: # Women’s day
b) Animals: # Dogs can get depressed.
c) Food: # Beans are good for you
d) Places: # Museums are closed on Mondays
e) Plants: # Trees don't grow in the Antarctic.
f) Products: Recently, # laptops are cheaper than before.
3
Basic uses of the zero article

In front of uncountable nouns (always singular) used in

general statements:
a) Food: # Butter is made from cow’s milk.
b) Colors: # Green is the color of life.
c) Abstract: I love # nature
d) Substances: # Oil is produced in the middle east.
e) Activities: # Walking is a great way to improve or maintain
your overall health.
f) Languages: English is an international language. 4
 Basic uses of the zero article
In front of most proper nouns:
# Isaac Newton was one of the greatest scientists.

By comparison, we use the when the reference is specific, not in general

statements:
- In front of plural countable nouns: The beans I like best are kidney beans.
- In front of uncountable nouns: I used all the butter that was in the fridge.
- In front of proper nouns: The Jack Spears who bought an apartment
around here is my cousin.

5
Basic uses of the zero article

The zero article with proper names

• A proper name is normally not preceded by an article:

Turner is my favorite painter.

Where's Peter?
Uncle Jerry visited us the other day.

6
Basic uses of the zero article

Names of places and institutions which consist of a proper name and

another noun do not take an article:

Johns Hopkins University

Trafalgar Square
Victoria Station
George Washington Bridge
JFK Airport

7
Basic uses of the zero article

Names of meals normally do not take an article:

Did you have breakfast this morning?
I'll have fruit for lunch.
Let's go out for dinner tonight.
But if there is an adjective before the name of the meal or a phrase or clause
after it, an article is used:
The breakfast that they served was fabulous.
I had a quick lunch at Wendy's.
That was the most delicious dinner I've had in a while.
8
Basic uses of the zero article

Names of days, months, seasons and holidays are normally

not preceded by an article:

on Monday
in March
in summer
at Christmas

9
 Basic uses of the zero article

The same is true for certain parts of the day (with the exception
of in the morning/afternoon/evening):
at noon, at night, at midnight, before dusk, after sunset, at sunrise

But if there is an adjective before the noun or a phrase or clause after it, the noun
usually takes an article:

on the Monday of that week

the summer I met my future husband
the best Christmas I've ever had
It was a beautiful sunset.
10
Basic uses of the zero article

Names of pubs, restaurants etc. that use the

possessive 's construction do not take an article:

We went to Maggie's last night.

Let's meet at Jack's Diner.

11
Basic uses of the zero article

Names of sports, games and activities are not preceded by an article:

I love swimming.
Rummy is much more difficult than solitaire.
She suggested playing Activity.

12
 Basic uses of the zero article

Certain geographical names do not take an article:

Continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South
America
But: the Americas (North and South America), the Antarctic, the Arctic

13
 Basic uses of the zero article

Most country names do not take an article:

Chile, France, Kazakhstan, Namibia, New Zealand
But: the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, the People's
Republic of China, the Philippines, the United Kingdom
(UK), the United States of America (USA)

14
 Basic uses of the zero article

Most cities do not take an article:

Beijing, Bucharest, New York, Reykjavík, Rio de Janeiro
But: the Vatican

Most streets and roads:

Downing Street, Michigan Avenue
But: the High Street, the Mall, the E5

15
The zero article with places
Nouns that refer to certain places and institutions do not take an
article when we are talking about the purpose they are used for:
The children are at school. (studying)
What time do you usually go to bed? (to sleep)
The murderer was sentenced to 10 years in prison. (as a
punishment)
But if we mean the place (usually the building) itself, the definite
article the is used:
He went to the bed to check if the children were sleeping.
In 1985, there was a fire in the school.
The prison is outside of the city.

16
Basic uses of the zero article

Certain prepositional phrases do not take an article:

in charge, in tears, in danger, at war, by heart, beyond control, on time, by ca
• But if there is a word or phrase that modifies the noun, an article is used:
We drove in a red car.
Hurricanes are beyond the control of governments.
He got wounded in the Second World War.

17
Thank you

18