English grammar noun article. How to use the definite article THE - the basic rule

It is impossible to boast of knowledge of English grammar without knowing seemingly insignificant but important details, for example, articles. One of the most insidious and treacherous of them is definite article"the". When communicating with a native speaker, it is very easy to get burned by using it inappropriately, or vice versa, by missing it. Knowing the following 10 rules, you can
strengthen your knowledge on the front of articles and be more confident in the correctness of your sayings. But be extremely careful - the rules are full of exceptions and pitfalls. Don't say “thanks” just yet. Check what we have in store for ya!

Let's start with something simple. You use an article when you want to distinguish a word from its other possible versions. If there is no confusion regarding what you mean, then you don't use the article. So if everyone already knows, for example, where you go to school (university or work), you simply say: “I"m going to school,” because there is no confusion. Or if you say that are you ever going to go to school in general, you don't use articles « the" The same applies to the house - usually everyone has one, and hell and Heaven, about which everyone knows. So, the next time you think about where you will go after death, think in English, and do it correctly: “I"m going to hell.” However, when we talk about special hell of a specific religion, the article “the” should already be: “ The hell of Islam is far worse than the hell of Chirstianity.»

With that being said, it is important to remember that if countable noun (one gun, two guns), That always use the article (the / a / an). And at the same time remember that can't bet his before plural (guns, books) or innumerablenouns(water, blood, advice, chocolate, meat etc.).

Generally

We don't put « the", When talking about something generally, without specifics.

Cats are awesome pets!

Here we are not talking about one specific awesome cat or pet, but about all awesome cats and pets at once.

Women love it when men do it right.
People are evil in that neighborhood.

Sport

Names of sports and other types of physical activity don't require article "the".

I love to go skiing in the winter.
I play baseball every day after school.
He loves watching hockey on TV.
She does yoga 3 times a week.
My daughter really enjoys dancing.

Family

We use « the"when we talk about family(by last name), but not about a specific person or combinations with names:

We"re having dinner with the Smiths tonight.
The Browns are going to the play with us.

John is coming over later.
Mary Carpenter is my boss.
Prince Charles is Queen Elizabeth's son.
President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.

Numbers

We don’t put an article, When:

• after the noun there is a number:

He's staying at the Haunted hotel in room 221.
The train to Noplaceville leaves from platform 2.
My Exorcism class is in room 6 on the first floor(“first” is the adjective in this sentence and describes “the floor.”)

• year indicated:

1948 was a wonderful year.
He was born in 1995 .

We put the article before:

• adjectives in superlatives and ordinal numbers:

the third movie
the tallest kid
the last hour

• decades and other periods of years:

I"m the kid of the nineties.
This is a painting from the 1820's.

Only

If there is such a word in a sentence, then feel free to put “the” in front of it:

This is the only day we"ve had sunshine all week.
You are the only person she will listen to.
The only tea I like is black tea.

Not for the first time

We put " a"when we talk about something for the first time, and then change to « the"when what is being discussed is it's becoming clear. Also put « the"when everything is with completely obvious, or when something or someone is one of a kind. Using this rule, you will be right in most cases, but remember about hell and Heaven.

He was talking to a man. The man was laughing.
She gave him a present. The present was very expensive.
I cleaned the bathroom this morning.
The sun is hot today.
He walked around the world.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

We don't use article before the names of meals:

We had lunch at noon.
I have breakfast at 7 a.m.

Proper names

Majority names holidays, companies, languages, countries, streets, airports, stations, cities, continents, islands, individual mountains, lakes etc. - all these are proper names, and article Here usually not needed. But it is precisely in this section of the rules for using “the” that there is many exceptions, so be extremely careful.

McDonald's has restaurants in 119 countries.
Victoria Station is in the center of London.
Can you direct me to Bond Street?
She lives in Florence.
I got some cool ideas for Halloween. (there is only 1 Halloween that everyone knows about)
Asia and Europe are two continents, in case you didn't know.
Her son graduated from Harvard. (but “He has a master’s degree from the University of Toronto»).
I"m leaving for America next week (but " the United States»).
Lake Ontario and Lake Huron are 2 of the Great Lakes(“the Great Lakes” - a group of lakes on the border between Canada and the United States requires an article).
I teach people how to speak English / Chinese / Spanish / Russian(however, when talking about the inhabitants of a particular nation: “ The Spanish are known for the ir warm hospitality").
Mount Everest is the one I plan to climb next week (but “ the Ends», « the Rockies" or unusual names of individual mountains, such as Mt. " the Matterhorn"(peak in the Pennine Alps).
Easter Island, Maui, Key West- none of these islands I "ve visited (but chains islands like " the Aleutians», « the Hebrides" or" the Canary Islands» require an article).

Names, establishments and places

We don't use « the" before:

• names of professions, school subjects, shops and some places:

My office is located on Main Street/Washington Blvd..
I usually go to church on Sundays.
Did you go to school today?
She's studying business at university.
Engineering is a well-paid career.
He'll probably study medicine.
I"ll get the card at Smith's.
Can you go to Boots for me?

• names of subjects at school:

math
geography
business
history
science

• before the following words in a general sense:

school
prison
college

I hope to go to college.
He spent three years in prison.

We use « the" before:

• names of rivers, oceans and seas ( the Nile, the Pacific,the Arctic, the Atlantic, the Black Sea, the Thames);
• countries ( the Netherlands, the Philippines), also before those whose names include the words " republic", « states" And " kingdom» ( the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, the United Kingdom);
• points of the globe ( the Equator, the North Pole);
• geographical areas ( the Middle East, the West);
• deserts, forests, sea bays and peninsulas ( the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula).
• names of newspapers and famous buildings, works of art, museums and monuments ( the New York Times, the Guardian,the Vietnam Memorial, the Louvre, the Mona Lisa, the Eiffel Tower,the Globe).
• before the names of hotels and restaurants, unless they are named after a person ( the Golden Lion, the Hilton).
• in front of already known places that people usually go to ( the bank, the supermarket, the doctor's)

Let's go the movies.
My dad is in the hospital(Americans will put the article here, but the British may omit it).
She works at the post office.
What time do you have to be at the airport?
Please drop me off at the bus stop.
She doesn't like to go to the doctor or the dentist.

Abbreviations

Or acronyms are a shortened form of the name of something, using the capital letters of each word to form a new one. So, if the acronym is pronounced like a word, We we don't use « the»:

NATO['neɪtoʊ] (North Atlantic Treaty Organization here pronounced as one word) ambassadors met to discuss the situation.
UNSECO(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) was formed in 1946.
Sorry, you've got AIDS(Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

The same goes for abbreviations names of educational institutions:

She has a Ph. D from MIT(Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

However, if the abbreviation is spelled out, That article"the" is needed. And you may well say the NATO member(NATO member).

The UN was created after the Second World War (United Nations = UN and spelled).

The same applies to the following abbreviations:

the EU(European Union)
the US(United States)
the CIA(Central Intelligence Agency)
the FBI(Federal Bureau of Investigation)

Now, in theory, you should be from “the” to “you,” but do not rush to become familiar. Don't forget about exceptions and the main rule. Good luck in learning English and keep the progress going!

Big and friendly EnglishDom family

Articles are an important part in English. But unfortunately, this topic is not always clear to Russian-speaking students. Because such a phenomenon is absent in their native speech. the rules for using articles must be studied by a person who wants to use them competently by various means in English. And in some situations, small and seemingly insignificant articles even help to correctly understand the interlocutors.

What are articles and what are they?

An article is one that is inextricably linked with a noun. It does not have its own meaning (translation into Russian), but conveys only a grammatical meaning.

In English, the article does not indicate gender or case of nouns. In some cases it conveys the only thing, or, in general, it carries only the category of certainty-uncertainty. Based on this, there can be three situations with the article: its absence, indefinite and definite. Each of these three situations has its own specifics and its own rules.

The definite article was once formed from that. Therefore, in Russian you can often find the translation “this”, “these”, etc. Formally, this is not entirely true, because the function parts of speech have no translation, but in the case of the article, especially certain, this is often allowed. It's all about the special stylistic function that it can play in a sentence, pointing in a special way to objects and people.

The use of the article the will be the topic of this article. We will look at various situations and give examples. There will be quite a lot of cases of use, but don’t be alarmed if you can’t understand everything at once, much less remember. As you become more and more immersed in the English language through constant study, you will understand this logic and will soon be able to easily determine which article is needed in each case.

The definite article before nouns

The classic case when it is necessary to use the article the before the name of an object (person, animal) is the latter.

1. The called noun is unique.

For example: the sun - the sun, the world - the world.

2. The noun is unique in a given situation.

Do you like the pie? − Did you like the pie?

3. This subject (person, animal) has already been mentioned in this conversation and therefore the interlocutors understand what (whom) we are talking about.

I've got a cat. Her name is Lucy, she’s very cute. May I take the cat with me? − I have a cat. Her name is Lucy, she is very sweet. Can I take my cat with me?

4. This article is also placed before proper names when you need to designate a whole family. For example: the Smiths.

The definite article before other parts of speech

Of course, the article the and any others are used only with nouns. Articles are not needed before other parts of speech. But it often happens that between the article and the associated noun there is a numeral or an adjective. We will consider such cases.

1. The definite article is always placed before ordinal numbers: the twentieth century − twentieth century.

2. The article the is also invariably placed before adjectives: the brightest star - the brightest star.

3. It is necessary to use the definite article when denoting a group of people united common feature: the young − youth.

Definite article with geographical names and concepts

With those concepts that in one way or another relate to geography, the article the is used especially often.

1. Cardinal directions: the East (East).

2. Names of individual countries: the Russian Federation.

3. Oceans, seas, rivers, waterfalls: the Indian Ocean.

4. Groups of islands, lakes, mountains: the Bahamas.

5. Deserts and plains: the Great Plains.

When using an article (or its absence) with geographical names There are also many exceptions, so the most reliable option is simple memorization. And if you have any doubts, you should always look at the grammar reference book and clarify the question for a specific case.

The definite article in special cases

There are also a number of words that can serve as a modifier before a noun. These words are given in the table below.

	previous
	past, past, last
	the only one
	next
	next
	upcoming
	correct, on the right
	central
	exactly the same one
	wrong, wrong
	the same
	upper, highest

You should always use them English article the. For example:

This is the very book I need! - This is exactly the book I need!

The last time I saw him was Friday − Last time I saw him on Friday.

The definite article is also required before words:

Definite article to enhance meaning

Separately, situations are highlighted when the article the carries a stylistic function. In these cases, it can be used before proper names, which under normal conditions remain without an article. This is best seen with an example. Compare two sentences: the first with the usual use of a proper name, and the second with a stylistic reinforcement of meaning.

This is Jack, always cheerful and generous! - This is Jack, always cheerful and generous!

This is the Jack I love most − cheerful and generous! - This is the same Jack whom I love most - cheerful and generous!

As is easy to see, there is something common in all cases of using the definite article: it is usually placed before words that carry a certain, specific, narrow, unique meaning. Remember this when you doubt the choice of a function word, and the reference book is not at hand.

In this article we will touch on the topic "Articles"- one of the most “unloved” topics of our students.

Many admit that, although they have gone through this topic many times, they continue to put articles at random and cannot systematize their knowledge in any way. The article THE is particularly difficult. Perhaps you have this problem too.

In preparing this article, we asked our students and subscribers to formulate questions related to the use of the article THE, which they find it difficult to answer on their own. I would like to note that the questions were very similar, so we have summarized them. And here are the questions that interest students:

• Which article should I choose: A or THE?
• How to determine whether the article THE is needed with plural nouns and with uncountable nouns?

If you are also not completely confident in the depth of your knowledge about the use of the definite article THE and your previous experience of studying “from a textbook” turned out to be useless, then this material will help you systematize your existing knowledge and, perhaps, learn something new.

Which article should I choose, A or THE?

Let's remember a little from the theory. A(an)- this, he points to an indefinite object, and emphasizes that there is only one object. THE- definite article (definite article), it is used when something is mentioned that is already known to the speakers.

Let's look at an example:

My father bought me a dog.
- Great! What color is the dog?
- The dog is black. And my mother bought me a book.

The first sentence uses article A, since the dog is mentioned for the first time and the interlocutor still knows nothing about it. Further used article THE, since it became clear to both speakers what kind of dog they were talking about. In the last sentence the word book also used with the indefinite article, since it is mentioned for the first time, the interlocutor has not yet determined what kind of book it is.

A few more examples:

Yesterday I got a letter. The letter was from my friend. - Yesterday I received a letter. The letter was from my friend.

I am reading a newspaper. I bought the new paper from the newsagent. - I am reading a newspaper. I bought a newspaper from a periodical seller.

Remember the rule: If you have a singular countable noun in front of you, then use A if this item is mentioned for the first time or it is vague, unimportant. THE is used if the subject has already been mentioned before and is known to the interlocutors.

Sometimes, even though something is mentioned for the first time, we can understand from the context what it is about: when it is given Additional Information about the subject, an explanation, or when it is clear from the situation itself. Let's look at examples with explanations:

I was at a party yesterday. - I was at a party yesterday.
(Referring to some kind of party that we don’t know anything about yet)

I was at theparty organized by my friend. - I was at a party organized by my friend.
(We understand what kind of party we are talking about)

He saw a woman in the corridor. - He saw (some) woman in the corridor.
(No additional information is given about the woman)

He saw the woman who lived next door to him. - He saw a woman who lived next door.
(We understand what kind of woman this is)

He entered a door. - He came through the door.
(He entered one of the doors, we do not know which one).

He entered the door nearest to the stairs. - He entered the door closest to the stairs.
(Specify which door exactly)

In what cases is the article THE always used?

Remember a number of cases in which the article THE is always used:

• when something is mentioned that exists in one copy, something unique of its kind: the sun, the moon, the world, the earth, the capital, the ground, the environment, the universe
• with names of groups of people expressed by adjectives: the elderly, the young, the old, the rich, the poor, the unemployed, the disabled and others
• with names that end in -ese And -sh (-ch): the British, the Scottish, the Spanish, the Chinese, the Japanese. With other nationalities, the article THE may not be used: (the) Russians, (the) Americans
• in combinations related to space: the end, the beginning, the middle, the center
• in combinations related to time: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening; the next, the last, the present, the future, the past
• with names of titles and positions: the King, the president, the Prime Minister, the Queen
• with and superlative adverbs: the best, the worst, the fastest, the most interesting, the most beautiful
• s, including dates: the first (of May), the third (of November), the twentieth, the thirty-first
• in combinations like: THE something OF: the legs of the table, the topic of our lesson
• with titles musical instruments: the guitar, the piano, the cello
• with the word same: the same
• in many set phrases and idiomatic expressions.

When is THE used with place nouns?

Nouns denoting various places (not to be confused with place names!) can be used with or without the article THE. The use of the article directly depends on the context in which the noun is mentioned.

Let's look at an example. If someone is sick, he is in the hospital:

He is at hospital.

When we say this, we do not mean a specific hospital, but we are talking about the hospital in general, as an institution where patients are treated.

If a friend of our patient decided to visit him and came to the hospital, then about him we need to say:

He is at the hospital.

He is not sick and should not be in the hospital (in the general sense of the word), he came to a certain hospital (the one where his friend is lying), which is why the article THE appears.

One more example:

My little sister goes to school. Today it is a school concert so all our family will go to the school.

Children generally go to school to learn, so when talking about students, the article is not used. Other family members are not students. They will go to a certain school where their child studies to watch a concert, respectively, before the word school Let's put an article.

The same miracles happen with the words prison, church, university.

Remember the rule: if you mean some place All in all(emphasizes his special purpose), article THE not used. When it means specific establishment or building, article THE used.

As for other nouns denoting places, THE is most often used with them: the beach, the station, the coast, the seaside, the city, the countryside.

With cinema and theater, the article THE is used even when the speaker does not mean a specific place:

We go to the cinema every weekend.
They have never been to the theater.

Why is the article used with these words? The explanation is that when we use them, it is clear from the context what we mean, and the interlocutor understands what we are talking about. Let's look at examples of situations where it is clear from the situation itself what place we are talking about:

1. When, being in a room or apartment, we talk about its parts:

Switch on the light! - Turn on the lights! (In this room, in the room where you are)

I closed the door and opened the window. - I closed the door and opened the window. (In the room where I was at that moment, in my room)

The floor was clean. - The floor was clean. (The floor in the room I was in.)

2. When we talk about city buildings, if it is clear which city we are talking about:

Where is the railway station? - Where is the railway station? (The station of this city. If there are several stations in the city, you will have to clarify which one you need. If you are located near the station, then the interlocutor will understand that you are asking about the nearest station)

The city hall is very old. - The city hall building is very old. (There is only one city hall in the city, so your interlocutor will understand what we are talking about)

The market was crowded in the morning. - The market was crowded in the morning. (The market of this city; the nearest market; the market where the speaker goes)

3. When mentioning organizations that provide services, if it is clear from the context what exactly the speaker means:

I need to go to the bank tomorrow. - I need to go to the bank tomorrow. (The bank where I have an account; the nearest bank; the bank whose services I use)

Tom went to the post office to send a letter. - Tom went to the post office to send a letter. (This refers to the nearest post office; the only one in a given city)

You should go to the doctor. - You should go to the doctor. (To your doctor)

She is seeing the dentist on Friday. She is going to see the dentist on Friday. (To your dentist).

Be careful, in some situations, of course, article A can be used. Most often, when a speaker means: “any”, “one of many”, “no matter which”, “any”:

How to determine whether the article THE is needed with uncountable nouns and plural nouns?

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The topic of articles in English is one of the most difficult for a Russian-speaking person. This lesson will help you deal with 99% of the difficulties when using articles.

Basic Rules

Indefinite article

A/an used when "we don't know which one" because the thing or person:

• One of many.
  He's an artist.(= there are many artists, he is one of them)


• not unique.
  I"ve just bought a Ferrari.


• not mentioned before.
  There was a new student in class today.

Definite article

The used when "we know which one" because the thing or person:

• unique (or unique in a given context).
  The Australian Prime Minister(= he is the only one)
  I looked inside - the engine was in a terrible state.(V in this case, there is only one engine)


• mentioned earlier.
  The man gave me a ticket. I looked at it, and saw that the ticket was a single.


• is determined by the phrase that follows it.
  What's the new student's name?

No article / Zero article

Articles are not used when talking about something All in all:

• using uncountable nouns or plural nouns.
  Do you like sport?


• with names of people and places, but there are many exceptions (see below)
  a book by Professor Jones

Fixed phrases

There are many fixed phrases that are used with and without articles. You just need to remember them. For example:
at home, at work, at the beginning, at the end, go to bed, go to the cinema/shops/station, in the world, once a week, sixty kilometers an hour, the other day, the same etc.

There may be problems with

Work (who doesn't have problems with it? :)

If there are many people doing a particular job, use a/an

My husband is an architect.(= there are many architects, he is one of them)

But if the work is typical for only one person, it is used the .

He is having conversations with the French foreign minister.(= he is the only one)

In general, everything here complies with the basic rules.

Superlative

The used for superlative adjectives.

She's the best person for the job.

last and next

These adjectives can be used with articles the , and without it, but with a difference in meaning.

I saw James last night.(= night before this night, previous)
It's the last night of our holiday.(= last night)
I"ll see you next week. (= next behind the current one)

Institutions: school, prison, university, church, home, hospital

With words school, prison, university, church, home, hospital, etc., the article is not used when we think of them as institutions intended for a specific purpose (study, get treatment, etc.)

My sister had to stay in hospital overnight.

However, if we think of a building as a physical object, the article is used the .

Our flat is opposite the hospital.

Use of definite articles with marks of time and place

Time notation

The used in

Dates: the 25th of December / December the 25th
Parts of the day: in the afternoon, in the evening, in the morning(But at night, at lunchtime)
Decades/Centuries: the 1980s, the 21st century

Other tenses are used without an article.

Years/Seasons: in 2002, in summer
Months/Days: in August, on Friday, see you tomorrow

Place names

The names of countries, continents, islands, states, provinces, cities are used without articles.
in Asia, to Sydney, from Texas, in Turkey

Exceptions:
the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, the UK, the Arab World, the USA

When talking about any area, use the article Not need to.
North west India, Northern Europe

But:
in the east of the country, in the south of Italy, on the coast

1. Most names of roads, streets, parks, bridges, shops and restaurants Not use articles.
   Central Park, Harrods, Oxford Street, Tower Bridge


2. The names of theaters, cinemas, hotels, galleries and museums use the article the .
   the Hermitage, the National Theatre, the Odeon, the Ritz


3. The names of rare mountains and lakes are used without article
   Lake Victoria, Mount Everest


4. Mountain systems, rivers, seas and canals are used with the article the .
   the Atlantic, the(River) Danube, the Himalayas, the Panama Canal

Additionally, it is highly recommended that you complete Lessons 76 -78 of this English Grammar section (if you have not already done so).

Now let's test your General Knowledge.

Texts for this lesson Not belong to the "Beginners" category, so if you have difficulty completing them, then you can limit yourself to only the theory of this lesson, applying it to texts of your level.

Exercise 1. Complete the General Knowledge test with the correct articles.

Exercise 2. Fill in the correct articles in place of the blanks.

Count how many correct answers you got in % (there were 50 answers in total). If it is less than 80%, then you have not mastered the topic of articles. Consult the theoretical part of the lesson when learning English, and when you feel confident, return to these exercises again.

Exercise 3. Correct errors, if any, in the sentences. (there is no need to rewrite the entire sentence).

She was determined to be author one day.

She recently became the minister in the new government.

A: What make is your computer? B: It's Mac.

I found myself talking to George Clooney! Not George Clooney, of course, but someone with the same name.

I didn't even know Clara was interested in art until I heard that she owns Van Gogh.

I"ve been offered the position of Director of Personnel.

We're going on holiday with Nielsens.

He's really keen on athletics. He likes to think of himself as the Usain Bolt.

Article is a special function word in English that is used before a noun. The article is often not translated into Russian. In English, the article is a noun determiner and is not an independent part of speech.

1. There are two types of articles: the indefinite article And the definite article.

In English it has two forms - a And an. This article comes from the numeral one - one and therefore is used with singular countable nouns. Form a[ə] is used before words beginning with a consonant, and the form an [ən] used before words beginning with a vowel sound.

Examples:a c up – cup (the word cup begins with a consonant sound);
a n ew armchair – new sofa (the word new begins with a consonant);
an a pple – apple (the word apple begins with a vowel sound);
an o ld sofa – old sofa (the word old begins with a vowel sound);

In English it has one form - the. This article comes from the pronoun. Article the used with both singular and plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns. Article the has two types of pronunciation: like [ðə] the article is pronounced before words beginning with a consonant sound and as [ði:] The article is pronounced before words beginning with a vowel sound.

Examples:the c up – [ðəˈ kʎp]; (the word cup begins with a consonant sound);
the n ew armchair – [ðə ˈnju: ˈɑ:mtʃeə] (the word new begins with a consonant sound);
the a pple – [ði ˈæp(ə)l]; (the word apple begins with a vowel sound);
the o ld sofa – [ði ˈəʊld ˈsəʊfə] (the word old begins with a vowel sound);

Place of the article in an English sentence

2. Articles are often placed before nouns. But if nouns are preceded by modifiers, then the article is placed before them.

Examples: Give me a bag, please. - Give me the bag, please.
Give me a red bag, please. - Give me the red bag, please.

But there are exceptions when the article comes after words that define a noun.

• Article a or an is put after what in exclamatory sentences and after words such, rather, quite. Article a or an may also stand before rather.

Examples:What a wonderful world! – What a wonderful world!
Today is such a good weather! - The weather is so good today!
He is rather tall man – He is quite a tall man.

• Article a or an is put after adjectives with antecedent so or too.

Examples: This isn't so difficult a problem as I first thought. - It's not like that complex problem, as I first thought. (rarely used)
Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about. – Life is too important to talk about it seriously. (rarely used)

• Article the is put after pronouns all And both.

Examples:All the children of the world should not to suffer. “Children all over the world should not have to suffer.”
I bought both the books for my classes. – I bought both books for (my) classes.