Rule for English articles. The article the in English - a total analysis

Today we will talk about the rules for using articles in English. There is no such concept in Russian grammar, so this topic is considered one of the most difficult. But in our article we will try to clarify everything. Using clear examples, we will show when the definite article the is used, and in what cases - indefinite article a/an or zero article.

General rules for using articles in English

Why do we need an article in English at all? Its main function is to indicate the definiteness or uncertainty of a noun. Therefore, there are two articles in English - the indefinite article a/an (indefinite article) and the definite article the (definite article). There is also such a thing as a zero article.

The choice of one of the articles is inextricably linked with:

Indefinite article a/an is used with singular countable nouns.
Definite article the can be used with countable nouns (regardless of their number) and with uncountable nouns.
Zero article used with uncountable nouns or with plural countable nouns.

I heard a story(singular countable noun). - I heard history.
It is good advice(uncountable noun). - This is good advice.
I liked the films(plural countable noun). - I liked it movies.

Students often make three common mistakes when choosing an article:

Use the indefinite article a/an with plural countable nouns:
I'd like to buy a books. - I would like to buy books.
Use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns:
I love a modern furniture. - I love modern furniture.
Use singular countable nouns without articles:
You should visit doctor a doctor. - You should go to doctor.
Give this toy to dog the dog. - Give me this toy dog.

If a noun is used with an adjective, then the article is placed before the adjective.

It is a hot day. - Today hot day.
It is the hottest day of this week. - This hottest day for this week.

We do not use the articles a, an or the if the noun already has:

(my - mine, his - his);
(this - this, that - that);
numeral (one - one, two - two).

This is my house. - This my home.
I have one sister. - I have one sister.

The main principle of choosing an article in English: we use the indefinite article a/an when we are not talking about a specific object, person or phenomenon, but about one of many. If we are talking about something or someone specific, we use the definite article the.

Articles are not translated into Russian, but if you try to translate according to their meaning, the indefinite article means “one”, the definite article means “this”, “that”.

I need a purse. - I need handbag. (just one handbag)
I need the purse I took yesterday. - I need handbag which I took yesterday. (that same, specific handbag)

A/An	The
I had an orange for lunch. - For lunch I ate orange. (just one orange)	The orange was delicious. - Orange was delicious. (the same orange I ate for lunch)
My parents bought a car. - My parents bought car. (just one car, we don’t know which one)	The car is incredible. - Car amazing. (the same car that my parents bought)
Would you like to watch a film? - Do you want to look? movie? (we don’t know what movie yet)	Sure, let's watch the film that has been released this week. - Of course, let's see movie, which came out this week. (specific movie)

Watch two video clips: the first is about any film, and the other is about a specific one:

To make it easier for you to remember the general rules for using articles in English, we suggest keeping our author’s diagram for yourself.

The indefinite article a/an in English

The choice of the indefinite article a or the indefinite article an depends on the sound with which the word following the article begins.

We put the article a, if the word begins with a consonant: a f ilm /ə fɪlm/ (film), a c ake /ə keɪk/ (pie), a p lace /ə pleɪs/ (place).

We put the article an, if the word begins with a vowel sound: an a rm /ən ɑːm/ (hand), an e gg /ən eɡ/ (egg), an i nteresting /ən ˈɪntrəstɪŋ/ book (interesting book).

Please note:

The words house (house) and hour (hour) begin with the letter h. In the word house /haʊs/ the first sound is a consonant, which means we put the article a - a house in front of it, and in the word hour /ˈaʊə(r)/ the first sound is a vowel, which means we choose the article an - an hour.

The words university (university) and umbrella (umbrella) begin with the letter u. In the word university /juːnɪˈvɜː(r)səti/ the first sound is a consonant, which means we need the article a - a university, and in the word umbrella /ʌmˈbrelə/ the first sound is a vowel, which means we use the article an - an umbrella.

In addition to the general rules, there are also special cases of using the indefinite article a/an:

When we classify someone or something, that is, we indicate which group, type, genus this someone or something belongs to.
She's a nurse. - She works nurse.
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink. - “Coca-Cola” - non-alcoholic carbonated drink.
To indicate singularity when expressing measures of time, distance, weight, quantity, periodicity.
Lemonade costs 2 dollars a liter. - Lemonade costs two dollars per ( one) liter.
I drive at 50 kilometers an hour. - I drive at a speed of 50 kilometers in ( one) hour.
I want a hundred roses. - Want one hundred (one hundred) roses

You will find more information on this topic in the article “The indefinite article in English".

The definite article the in English

In the general rules, we described the main cases of using the article the, now we will consider many special cases:

The definite article the is used with one-of-a-kind, exceptional objects: the sun (sun), the environment (environment), the internet (Internet).
An adjective will help make objects unique: the tallest building (the tallest building), the best singer (the best singer), the most expensive car (the most expensive car).
And thanks to the words only, same, first, objects also become unique: the same exam, the only person, the first time.
Yuri Gagarin was the first person in space. - Yuri Gagarin was first person in space.
To describe or indicate a group of objects, a certain class as a whole, use the construction “the + singular countable noun.”
The cheetah is the fastest animal in the world. - Cheetahs- the fastest animals in the world. (we are not talking about one cheetah, but about a species of animal)
I play the piano. - I play on piano.
I consider the telephone to be the most important invention. - I think that telephone- this is the most important invention.
Also, when talking about a group of people, use the construction “the + adjective”. Please note that the verb in this case will be plural.
For example: the young (youth), the poor (poor), the homeless (homeless).
The young always argue with their parents. - Youth always argues with his parents.
The same construction is used with adjectives that end in -ch, -sh, -ese, if all representatives of a nation are meant.
For example: the French (French), the English (English), the Chinese (Chinese).
The French are charming. - French adorable.
The Vietnamese are very hard-working. - Vietnamese very hardworking.
When referring to all family members as a group of people, use the definite article the and the plural surname: the Joneses.
The definite article the is often used with names:
- buildings (hotels, cinemas, theaters, museums, galleries, restaurants, pubs) - the Plaza hotel, the Odeon, the Kremlin, the Red Lion pub (Red Lion pub);
- newspapers (the article is part of the name and is written with a capital letter) - The Times (the Times newspaper), The Guardian (the Guardian newspaper);
- sporting events - the FIFA World Cup (World Cup);
- historical periods and events - the Bronze Age (Bronze Age), the Vietnam War (Vietnam War);
- famous ships and trains - the Mayflower (ship "Mayflower");
- organizations, political parties, institutions - the Red Cross (Red Cross), the Democratic Party (Democratic Party);
- with those names in which there is a preposition of - the Leaning Tower of Pisa (Leaning Tower of Pisa), the University of Cambridge (Cambridge University)
The definite article the is also used with some geographical names:
- with countries that contain the words states (states), kingdom (kingdom), federation (federation), republic (republic), emirates (emirates) in their names - the United States of America (United States of America), the United Kingdom (Great Britain) , the Dominican Republic ( Dominican Republic), the Russian Federation (Russian Federation);
- with the names of rivers, seas, canals, oceans, deserts, groups of islands, chains of mountains: the Amazon, the Maldives, the Black Sea, the Sahara, the Panama Canal ).
With the words theater (theater), cinema (cinema), radio (radio), when we talk about pastime.
I often go to the cinema with my friends. - I often go to movie with friends.

Zero article in English

In English there are nouns with which the article is not used; such an article is called zero.

The article is not used in the following cases:

With uncountable nouns that denote food, substances, liquids, gases and abstract concepts.
I don't eat rice. - I don't eat rice.
With plural countable nouns, we talk about something in general.
Wolves are predators. - Wolves- predators. (all wolves)
With names and surnames of people.
James likes golf. - James loves golf.
With titles, ranks and forms of address, followed by the name - Queen Victoria (Queen Victoria), Mr Smith (Mr. Smith).
With the names of continents, countries, cities, streets, squares, bridges, parks, isolated mountains, individual islands, lakes.
He went to Australia. - He went to Australia.
With names of pubs, restaurants, shops, banks and hotels that have a last name or first name that ends in -s or -"s - McDonald's, Harrods.
With the names of sports, games, days of the week, months, meals, with the word TV (television).
Let's meet on Thursday and watch TV. - Let's meet at Thursday and we'll see TV.
I don't play football in February. - I don't play football V February.
With the words church (church), college (college), court (court), hospital (hospital), prison (prison), school (school), university (university), when we talk about them in general as public institutions. However, if we mean a building, we use the definite article the or the indefinite article a/an depending on the context.
Noah is at school. - Noah in school. (he is a student)
His mother is at the school on a parents’ meeting. - His mother is in school at the parent meeting. (she came to a certain school building)
In some fixed expressions, for example:
- go to bed / be in bed;
- go to work / be at work / start work / finish work;
- go home / come home / arrive home / get home / be at home;
- go to sea / be at sea.
My husband is a night-watchman, so he goes to work when I go home. - My husband is a night watchman, that's why he goes to work when I I'm going home.
Did you go to sea while I was in bed? - You went to the sea while I was in bed?
When describing a method of transportation with the preposition by: by bus (by bus), by car (by car), by plane (by plane), by foot (on foot).

Finally, we suggest you take our test to consolidate new material.

Test for the use of articles in English

If you think that the meaning of speech will be clear without using articles in English, you are right. They will understand you, but for native speakers it will sound about the same as for us the speech of foreigners without genders and cases: “I want water,” “My car is fast.” If you want to speak English fluently and fluently, we recommend that you save this article.

Please note that we have given the basic rules for using articles in English. In addition to them, there are many more nuances, exceptions and special cases that students with a level and above study.

The scourge of all Russian speakers is articles. While this is clear and obvious to any European, it always seems to our brother that the British deliberately came up with such short words in order to confuse and mislead. But everything is much simpler than it seems.

Yes, in English (and almost any other) language, a noun does not exist without some kind of qualifying word. Whether it is an article, an adjective, a pronoun is not the point. The main thing is that Tamara and I go in pairs; the noun needs a pair: acat, mycat, thatcat, bigcat.

Now the good news: there are only two articles. Uncertain a and certain the. True, there is another variation - an. But this is a purely phonetic trick: it is impossible to say aapple(try it yourself - the feeling of stuttering is guaranteed), that's why they say anapple. And now a few nuances.

3.1.1 Indefinite article(The Indefinite Article)

Used when it is unimportant/unknown (underline as appropriate) about what subject we're talking about:

Take a pen. - Take a pen.

This means that you are simply asked to pick up a pen. No hidden meanings or hints. Compare:

Take the pen.- Take THIS/THAT pen.

Here it is already clear that you need to take a certain pen and no more. For example, the one who writes worse (so that she can get better results for herself).

The indefinite article was formed from the numeral one(one), and not at all from the first letter of the English alphabet, as you might think. Therefore, it’s easy to remember that you need to use it ONLY with a countable noun in the singular (you can’t say that you have one money). Such an article indicates a CLASS of objects, without highlighting any specific object.

I have got a dog.
But: I have got dogs.

3.1.2 Definite article(The Definite Article)

Unlike its counterpart, it was formed from demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those). Therefore, it can be used with both plural and singular nouns.

The man is rather angry.- This guy is pretty evil.
The bus near the green house is not yours!- That bus near the green house is not yours!
Thegirlsinourgrouparesokind. - The girls from our group are so kind. (meaning specifically the girls from the group)

3.1.3 Indefinite articlevsdefinite

On the one hand, it seems that everything is clear even from the name of the article: indefinite for a certain object, and definite for a specific one. However, there are nuances.

When we use the indefinite article:

. The noun is part of the nominal predicate (calm down! You can, of course, rummage through Wikipedia. But it’s enough to at least know that after any of the forms of the verb tobe, tohave article is used a)
Iamateacher. This is a lamp. There is a dress in her hands. She was a beautiful girl.

. Meaning "one".
I need an hour to be ready. - I need 1 hour to be ready.
Ican’ tsayaword. - I can't say a single word.

. A noun denotes a class of objects/living beings/people. Usually translated as any/any.
Astudentcangetupquicklywhenhereallyneedsit. - Any student will get up quickly in the morning if he really needs it.
A child will be happy to have a new toy.- Every child will be happy with a new toy.

. Before the name of the profession.
My father, a teacher of German, is rather furious today.

. In exclamatory sentences and intensifying constructions after what, such, quite, rather:
She is such a pretty girl! She's so pretty!
What a nasty child! What an impossible child!
It was quite a nice day. It was a pretty good day.

When we put the DEFINITE article:

If the situation makes it clear that we are talking about a specific subject.
Look at the woman! Her dress is so bright!- Look at that woman. Her dress is so bright!
Whereisthebook?!! - Well, where is (this) book?
Take the flowers and go away!- Take your flowers and get lost!

If this object has already been mentioned in the conversation.
When I came home there was a woman in the hall. Later I found out that the woman was my aunt. When I came home, there was a woman in the hall. Later I found out that this woman is my aunt.

If there is a clarification/definition that distinguishes the object from others.
The car of my boyfriend is not good enough.- My friend's car is not so good.
Showmetheletterinyourhands! - Well, show me the letter that is in your hands.

If the object is one of a kind: thesun, theEarth.

If you need to designate the entire class of objects at once:
The cat is independent.- A cat is an independent creature.
The apple-tree grows in Russia as well.- Apple trees also grow in Russia.

3.1.4 When we do not put ANY article(zero article) :

Before uncountable abstract nouns.
I appreciate kindness. I appreciate kindness.

Before plural nouns, when in the same situation they would put an article in the singular a.
There are books on the table. There are (some) books on the table.

Before proper names (first names, surnames, cities, streets, continents, islands):
I live in Kiev. America was found in 1492.

But! Used before oceans, seas, rivers, waterfalls, straits, countries in the plural (for example, the Philippines), countries with the words union/federation/kingdom/republic, and groups of islands/lake the:
The Netherlands, the Russian Federation, the Black Sea, the Atlantic Ocean.

Before the names of days of the week, months, seasons.
I like winter.
Let's go there on Friday

When the recipe for the vinaigrette in your head, mixed from articles, is finally known, we suggest chewing the dish thoroughly. Once again in simple words and clear examples Let's focus on the key points of using definite and indefinite articles.

Have you exhaled? Did you manage to get confused? You can check by taking a test on this topic and many others. Let's test and practice :)

Watch this video to get a basic understanding of articles in English before reading the article.

Why are articles needed in English?

Did you know that the article is a part of speech that does not exist in Russian?

We change stress and word order to give a phrase a flavor that is strictly fixed in English.

See how the meaning of the phrase changes:

I like the car.
I like the car.

Do you sense a catch? In the first case, it is not clear what kind of machine we are talking about, but in the second we are talking about a specific machine.

In English, words cannot be interchanged, so articles are used to give the desired connotation to a phrase A, An And The.

Article rules

The concept of an article in English grammar is associated with the category of definiteness. Simplified, the article rule sounds like this:

Remember!
If we are talking about an unknown object, then the indefinite article A / An. If we are talking about something specific, then an article is placed before it The.

Assignment: What articles should be used in the following examples?

We bought a car.

We bought the car we saw yesterday.

Click on the arrows to get the answer.

Clue.
Article The descended from This(this) - you can point with your finger.
A / An descended from One(one).

That's why the article A/An used only in the singular!

In a simplified form, the grammatical rules of articles can be represented as follows:

Plural noun?
Countable noun?
Have you heard of him before? (indefinite or definite article)
Are we talking about something in common?

What is the difference between the articles A and An?

Let's repeat!
Indefinite article A/An(which comes from one) We put only before in the singular!

So what's the difference between A And An?

Article A is placed before words that begin with consonants (a c at,a h ouse, a y ard), and An- before words that begin with vowels (an a pple, an h our).

Let this picture pop up before your eyes when you choose your food a And an.

When do we use the indefinite article?

1. When we classify an object, we attribute it to a certain group of objects.

A cow is an animal. - A cow is an animal.
An apple is a fruit. - An apple is a fruit.

2. When we characterize an object.

My mother is a nurse. - My mother is a nurse.
He is an idiot! - He's an idiot!

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 the 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 others. possible versions. If there is no confusion regarding what you mean, then you don't use the article. Therefore, 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:

superlative adjectives 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 their warm hospitality").
Mount Everest is the one I plan to climb next week (but “ the Ends», « the Rockies" or unusual names individual mountains, like 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 shortened forms 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!

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