INDEFINITE AND DEFINITE

ARTICLES

Презентацию подготовила:

учитель английского языка

Доронина Татьяна Александровна,

МОУ Гимназия № 17, г. Волгоград

ARTICLES

ARTICLES:

While we are using nouns in English, we sometimes feel the need

to use some additions to them/ before them.

These additions are called “Articles” which is any of the English

words “a“, “an“, and “the“. They identify whether a noun is definite

(specific or particular) or indefinite (general or unspecific).

TWO CATEGORIES OF ARTICLES

Articles are divided into two categories:

1) The Definite Article – ‘the’

2) The Indefinite Articles – ‘a and an’

Note:

When we are talking about a noun, we have to ask ourselves

the following question.

‘ What Kind of a Noun Am I Describing?’

. And then

We can

choose one of the articles according to our answer

.

If our answer is nonspecific noun, we use “a” or “an”.

If our answer is specific noun, we use “the”.

INDEFINITE ARTICLES A / AN

a.

“

a/an”

is used in front of

singular

countable nouns

( a person, animal

or thing ) which are not specific.

Examples:

•

a

v

ehicle

•

a

m

an

•

a

d

og

•

an

a

pple

•

an

u

mbrella

•

There is

an apple

in the vase.

•

She is

a

wonderful

girl.

•

It is

an

unusual

vehicle.

•

There is

a

man

behind the door.

b.

We don’t use “

a/an

” before

uncountable

or

plural

nouns.

Examples:

•

Can you give me a tea? (

wrong

) Can you give me

some tea? (

correct

)

•

A weather is rainy. (

wrong

) The weather is rainy.

(

correct

)

•

There are a books on the table. (

wrong

) There are

three books on the table. (

correct

)

c.

The difference between

A

and

AN

;

If a noun starts with a

consonant sound

(b, c, d, f, g, h,

j, k, etc.), “

a

” comes before the noun.

Examples:

•

a

c

hair

•

a

b

ird

•

a

c

hild

If the noun starts with a

vowel sound

(a, e, i, o, u), “

an

” comes

before the noun.

Examples:

•

an

o

range

•

an

e

gg

•

an

a

nt

Attention!!

In English,

sounds of the words are important for using articles

“a/an”

.

Some nouns can start with a vowel letter. However, if its pronunciation (

the

sound of the word ) starts with a consonant sound

, “

a

” is used.

Examples:

•

a

u

niversity ( “u” sound like yu )

•

a

E

uropean ( “e” sound like y )

Some nouns can start with a consonant sound. However, if its pronunciation

(

the sound of the word ) starts with a vowel sound

, “

an”

is

used.

Examples:

•

an

h

our ( “h” is silent )

•

an

h

onest man ( “h” is silent )

DEFINITE ARTICLE ( THE )

We use ‘

the

’ in front of all nouns ( It does not matter whether the nouns

are

singular, plural countable or uncountable

) to describe

someone or something specific or unique.

Examples:

•

Can you give me

the

ball? ( When talking about a special ball, not any

of balls)

•

You should put

the

books on the shelf.

•

The shop is next to

the

hospital.

•

Last week I watched

the

new animated movie.

•

The

soup was really delicious.

Using “The”

a.

It is used

in front of nouns which we

mentioned before

Examples:

•

Do you remember

the

woman I told you about?

•

Give me back

the

pen I gave you yesterday.

•

Please, select a book from the library. Good! Now,

quikly turn

the

pages in the book.

b.

It is used

in front of nouns that are only one in the nature

like sun, moon, earth, etc.

Examples:

•

the

North pole

•

the

South pole

•

the

earth

•

the

world

•

the

universe

•

the

sun

•

the

moon

•

the

sky

•

the

air

•

the

weather

•

the

wind

•

the

rain

•

the

sea

•

the

planet

c.

It is used

in front of geographic nouns (

like rivers, oceans,

seas, deserts, forests, coasts, swamps, etc.) except from individual

lakes, islands and mountains)

Examples:

•

the

Nile River

•

the

Baltic Sea

•

the

Atlantic / Pacific Ocean

•

the

Sahara Desert

•

the

Amazon Forest

•

the

Ivory Coast

•

the

Vasyugan Swamp

Note:

If we talk about

collections of lakes, groups of

islands

( archipelago ), and

mountain chains

( not individual lakes,

islands, and mountains), ‘

the

’ is used.

Examples:

•

the

Island Hawai ( group of islands )

•

the

Greece Islands ( group of islands )

•

the

Himalayas ( mountain chain )

•

the

Dolomites ( mountain chain )

•

the

Finger Lakes ( collection of lakes )

•

the

Great Lakes ( collection of lakes )

•

Lake Michigan ( individual lake )

•

Utah Lake ( individual lake )

•

Cyprus ( individual island )

•

Jamaica ( individual island )

•

Everest ( individual mountain )

•

Mount Olympus ( individual mountain )

d.

It is used

in front of adjectives when we talk

about particular groups or people

within society.

Examples:

•

The

rich have much money. ( The rich mean rich

peoeple )

•

The

poor do not have money. ( The poor mean poor

people )

•

The

young are very energetic. ( The young mean

young people )

•

The

old think past. ( The old mean old people )

e.

It is used

in front of musical instruments, cultural

institutions and inventions

like violin, piano, opera, radio, etc.

Examples:

•

the

piano

•

the

guitar

•

the

violin

•

the

flute

•

the

drum

•

the

theatre

•

the

opera

•

the

telephone

•

the

radio

•

the

television

BUT:

We do not mostly use ‘the’ with TV as an abbreviation.

Example:

•

There is a nice movie on TV. ( TV means television )

BUT:

Nationalities or ethnic groups that end in “-ans”, like

“Americans”, ‘the’ is not usually used.

Examples:

•

Mexicans

•

Hawaiians

•

Americans

•

Germans

g.

It is used

in front of a specific date while

speaking

but when we write it, we don’t use ‘the’.

Example:

Speaking:

‘We’ll go to America on

the

eighth of

August’

Writing:

We’ll go to America on 8th August.

f.

It is used

in front of the

people of the countries.

(For

the list of

Countries and People(Citize

n) in English

)

Examples:

•

The

Canadian

•

The

English

•

The

Chinese

•

The

French

•

The

Mexican

•

The

Russian

h.

It is used

in front of university names

which

are used with ‘of’

Examples:

•

the

University of Chicago

•

the

University of London

•

the

University of Texas

i.

It is used in front of newspapers, buildings, empire, dynasty, temples,

holy books, special ships and train, public enterprises, institutions names.

Examples:

•

the

Titanic

•

the

Taj Mahal

•

the

East Roman Empire

•

the

Temple of Artemis

•

the

Times

•

the

Grand Hotel

•

the

Middle Eastern Languages Research Institute

j.

It is used in front of certain numbers

Examples:

•

the

first

•

the

second

•

the

fifth

NO ARTICLES

a.

Plural countable or uncountable nouns ( as a generalization ) do

not get ‘the’

Examples:

•

Curiosity is a major feature for discoveries. ( NOT The Curiosity )

•

Mexican food is spicy. ( NOT The Mexican food )

•

Water is an indispensible need for all living things. ( NOT The

Water )

•

Religion is a very important concept for many people . ( NOT The

Religion )

•

Privacy is needed in all areas. ( NOT The Privacy )

b.

Names of people do not get “the”

Examples:

•

The John (

wrong

) John (

correct

)

•

The Susan (

wrong

) Susan (

correct

)

•

The Steven (

wrong

) Steven (

correct

)

•

The Margaret (

wrong

) Margaret (

correct

)

BUT:

Family names ( If the last name with ‘s’ is written and is

used to indicate the whole family) get ‘the’

Examples:

•

The

Smiths ( The members of the Smith family) / ( The

Smiths will come to us tomorrow. )

•

The

Kennedys ( The members of the Kennedy family )

•

The

Browns ( The members of the Brown family )

•

The

Candys ( The members of the Candy family )

c.

Countries, cities, towns, states and streets do not get ‘the’ (For The List of

Detailed Country Names in English

)

Examples:

•

The England (

wrong

) England (

correct

)

•

The London (

wrong

) London (

correct

)

•

The Germany (

wrong

) Germany (

correct

)

•

The Berlin (

wrong

) Berlin (

correct

)

•

The Ville Town (

wrong

) Ville Town (

correct

)

•

The State of Alaska (

wrong

) State of Alaska (

correct

)

•

The Oxford Street (

wrong

) Oxford Street (

correct

)

BUT:

If the countries consist of emirates, provinces or federations, unions and kingdom ‘the’

is used in front of the countries.

Examples:

•

the

United States of America (The U.S.)

•

the

United Kingdom (The UK)

•

the

United Arabic Emirates

If the form of government is mentioned, ‘the’ is used in front of the

countries.

Examples:

•

the

Republic of Italy

•

the

People’s Republic of China

If the country mentioned is the island country or the name of the

country is plural, “the” is used

Examples:

•

the

Netherlands

•

the

Philippines

d.

Geographical places like continents,

beaches, waterfalls, and canyons do not

get ‘the’

Examples:

•

Asia

•

Ora Beach

•

Angel Falls

•

Beaver Canyon

e.

Planets do not get ‘the’

Examples:

•

Mars

•

Saturn

•

Mercury

BUT:

If planets names are used with the word of planet, ‘the’ is used

Examples:

•

the

Planet Uranus

•

the

Planet Jupiter

•

the

Planet Venus

f.

Scientific branches, languages, do not get ‘the’

Examples:

•

The Chemistry (

wrong

) Chemistry (

correct

)

•

The Geometry (

wrong

) Geometry (

correct

)

•

The Mathematics (

wrong

) Mathematics (

correct

)

•

The Astronomy (

wrong

) Astronomy (

correct

)

•

The Psychology (

wrong

) Psychology (

correct

)

•

French ( language not people )

•

English ( language not people )

•

Spanish ( language not people )

g.

Games and sports do not get “the”

Examples:

•

Football

•

Voleyball

•

Basketball

•

Poker

•

Skiing

h.

If directional words (like north, west, southeast, left, right) directly follow a verb,

‘the’ is not used

Examples:

•

I should walk south.

•

At the corner, turn left and go straight.

BUT:

If a direction follows a preposition, we must use THE.

Examples:

•

They had to go to the north.

•

My country is in the west.

•

Our office is on the left.

i.

Months and days do not get ‘the’

Examples:

•

I will see you Monday.

•

April and May are very colorful months.



Thank you for attention!