In what cases should the article the be used? The indefinite article A\AN in English

Articles are an important part of the English language. 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 competently use various means of the English language. 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'll consider various situations, let's 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− peace.

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 by a common characteristic: 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.

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.

This article explains the difference between the indefinite (a/an) and definite (the) articles.

What is an article? At its core, the article is an adjective. Like adjectives, the article modifies the noun.

There are two articles in English: the and a/an. The article the is used before definite or special nouns; The article a/an is used to change the meaning of indefinite and non-special nouns. We call the article the definite article, and the article a/an the indefinite article.

the = definite article

a/an = indefinite article

For example, if you say “Let”s go in the room,” then this means a certain specific room. If you say, “Let”s go in a room,” then you mean any room, and not any specific one.

Another explanation is that the article the is used to highlight some particular or special member of a group. For example, "I just heard the most horrible story." There are many stories, but only one of them is the most terrible. Therefore, the definite article the is used here.

The article "a/an" is used to highlight some non-special or non-special member of the group. For example, "I would like to go to a pub." This phrase does not refer to any specific pub. This means any pub. There are many pubs and I want to go to any of them. I don't mean any specific pub.

Let's look at each of the articles in more detail.

Indefinite articles: a and an

The articles "a" and "an" indicate that the noun is indefinite and it refers to any member of the group. Example:

• "My son really wants a cat for Christmas." This means any cat. We don't know which cat exactly because we haven't found it yet.
• "Somebody call a doctor!" This also means any doctor. We don't need any special doctor; we need any available doctor.
• "When I was in the church, I saw an angel!" Here we are talking about one, non-specific object, in this case about an angel. There may be several angels in the church, but there is only one that we are talking about here.

Remember that the use of the articles a or an depends on what sound the word following the article begins with. So...

• a + singular noun starting with a consonant: a toy; a cat; a zoo; a bike; a dog
• an + singular noun starting with a vowel: an angel; an apple; an avocado; an olive an ear
• a + a singular noun starting with a consonant: a user (sounds like “yoo-zer”, that is, starting with a consonant “y”, so the indefinite article “a” is used); a university; a unicycle
• an + noun starting with an unpronounceable "h": an hour
• a + noun starting with a pronounced "h": a horse
  • In some cases, if the letter "h" is pronounced, for example in the word "historical," then the indefinite article an can be used.
    However, the use of the indefinite article a is more common and desirable.
    A historical event is just something that happened in the past.

Remember that these rules also apply when using acronyms:

Who is a Member of Technical Staff (MTS)? This is an engineer and his/her work effort in a technical subject area within the organization mission and all the elements needed to support that engineer. Therefore, an MTS can also be considered a "manyear of technical service".

This rule also applies in another case, when acronyms begin with a consonant letter, but a vowel sound is pronounced:

Apply Now for an MBA (Master of Business Administration) Program in one year.
The algorithm to compute the Cholesky factor of an SPD (Symmetric Positive Definite) matrix is ​​close to the Gaussian elimination algorithm.

If a noun is qualified by an adjective, then the choice between the articles a and an depends on the first sound in the adjective that follows the article:

• a broken wing
• an unusual gem
• a European city (sounds like "yer-o-pi-an", that is, the word begins with a consonant sound "y")

Remember that in English we use indefinite articles to indicate group membership:

• I am a welder. (I am a member of a large group known as welders.)
• Cody is an Irishman. (Cody is a member of the group of people known as the Irish.)
• Frank is a practicing Catholic. (Frank is a member of the group of people known as Catholics.)

Definite article: the

The definite article is used before both singular and singular nouns. plural in case the noun is definite or special. The article the indicates that the noun is definite and refers to some member of the group. Example:

"The cat that scratched me ran away." Here we are talking about a certain cat who scratched me.

"I was happy to see the doctor who saved my dog!" It also talks about a certain doctor. Even if we don't know his name, he is still a special doctor because he saved my dog.

"I saw the tiger at the zoo." Here we are talking about a certain definite noun. Perhaps there is only one tiger in the zoo.

Countable and uncountable nouns

With uncountable nouns, you can use the definite article the, or you can do without the article at all.

• "I like to sail over the water" (meaning a specific part of the water) or "I like to sail over water" (meaning any water surface).
• “He spilled the drink all over the floor” (meaning a certain drink, perhaps one that was purchased in the morning of the same day) or “He spilled drink all over the floor” (any drink in general).

The indefinite articles "a/an" can only be used with countable nouns.

• "I need a bottle of rose."
• "I need a new glass of drink."

In most cases, you cannot say "She wants a water" unless you mean, for example, a bottle of water.

Using the definite article the with place names

There are special rules for using the definite article the with place names.

The definite article the Not used before:

• names of most countries and territories: Georgia, Spain, Italy; but the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic, the Republic of Poland, the United States
• names of cities or states: Quebec, Miami, Texas
• street names: Independence Blvd., Elm St.
• names of lakes and bays: Lake Tahoe, Lake Bell, with the exception of names of a group of lakes, for example the Great Lakes
• names of mountains: Mount Rushmore, Mount Vernon, with the exception of names of mountain ranges, for example the Alps or the Rockies, as well as unusual names like the Matterhorn
• names of continents: Australia, Europe
• island names (Cocos Island, Maui, Key West), with the exception of island chains, for example, the Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands

The definite article the is used before:

• names of rivers, oceans and seas: the Nile, the Atlantic
• names of points on globe: the Equator, the South Pole
• names of geographical areas: the Middle East, the West
• names of deserts, forests, bays and peninsulas: the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula

Cases when articles are not used

Articles are not used with some common types of nouns:

• with names of languages ​​or nationalities: Chinese, English, Spanish, Korean (if you do not mean the population of a nation: " The Turks are known for their warm hospitality.")
• with names of sports: football, baseball, hockey
• with the names of academic subjects: physics, history, biology, geology

Articles in English: definite - the, indefinite - a (an), zero. The use of articles with geographical names.

Using articles in English is a difficult task for beginners in learning this one of the most widely spoken languages ​​in the world. There are articles in English three types, and although there are clear rules explaining their use, choosing the right article can sometimes be difficult.

• definite article the: Did you enjoy the party? - Did you like the party?
• two indefinite articles in English:

Article a- used if the following word begins with a consonant: I’m reading a book about England- I'm reading a book about England

Article an- if the word after it begins with a vowel: I read an interesting story - I read an interesting story

• “zero article” (zero article in English) is the absence of articles: Does she like meat or fish? - Does she like meat or fish?

Articles in English can appear directly before a noun:

She is an artist - she is an artist

In addition, articles in English can be separated from a noun using an adverb or adjective:

the newly renovated church - recently restored church

a beautiful young woman - beautiful young woman

Rules for using articles in English

The use of indefinite articles in English “a” and “an”:

1. Indefinite articles in English “a” or “an” are used with nouns only in the singular in the following cases:

1.1. If an object or person is mentioned for the first time, and also if an adjective precedes the noun as a descriptive definition:

Can I make a suggestion? - May I take a guess?

Suddenly there was a loud bang- suddenly there was a loud bang

1.2. With nouns in construction “ there is” (there was):

There was a noise outdoors - there was some noise on the street

1.3. With nouns combined with the adjective “such”:

Such a day, such a car etc.

1.4. In exclamatory sentences with the intensifying pronoun “what”, indefinite articles are used in English:

What a day! “What a nice journey!”

1.5. With nouns preceded by the word “half”:

half an hour, half a day etc.

1.6. Words that begin with the letter “u”, provided that it is pronounced as /ju: / (for example, “united”, “useful”), are always used with the article “a” (not “an”):

English is an universal language

English is a universal language

1.7. The words “one and ones” and all phrases beginning with these words (such as one-sided, once-over) are always used with the article “a”:

a one-parent family, a one-way trip etc.

1.8. If abbreviations begin with the letters: F, H, L, M, N, R, S or X, and the pronunciation of these letters begins with a vowel sound (for example, F is pronounced like /ef /), then in such cases the indefinite article is always used “an” (not “a”):

an MBA degree, an FBI agent etc.

1.9. As part of some stable combinations, the indefinite article is used in English:

a lot of, twice a day, as a result, it’s a pity.

1.10. With professions:

a pilot, an engineer.

Use of the definite article in English “the”

2. The definite article the in English is used as with singular, and with plural; with both countable and uncountable nouns in the following cases:

2.1. If we're talking about about a specific person or thing in a specific situation: Can you walk the dog? Can you put the book on the table? Both interlocutors know which dog and which book they are talking about. In other words, the definite article the is the equivalent of “that particular one over there.” Imagine that you are returning from the store and say to your friend: “I bought the phone.” With these words you will mislead your friend, because in fact you said: “I bought that phone », and your friend has no idea what phone we are talking about. Therefore, when mentioning an object or person for the first time, it would be correct to say: I bought a phone yesterday.

2.2. If an object or phenomenon has a description:

“This is the phone that I was telling you about yesterday”.

2.3. If an object or person was mentioned in context earlier:

This is a house. The house is very old.

the best friend, the longest trip etc.

the first day, the second chance etc.

2.7. When used with the adjective “same”:

the same day, the same time etc.

2.8. With nouns denoting the names of lakes, waterfalls, straits, mountain ranges, groups of islands, cardinal directions, rivers, seas, oceans (i.e. with geographical names):

the Thames, the Atlantic Ocean, the Alps, the Bermudas, the English Channel, the Gulf Stream, the Suez Canal, the Niagara Falls etc.

2.9. With the names of countries consisting of several words, including the following: federation, republic, union, state, kingdom. For example:

the German Federal Republic, the USA, the UK etc.

2.10. The names of deserts also use the definite article the in English:

the Sahara Desert

2.11. As an exception, the definite article the in English is used with the following geographical names: the Netherlands (translated into Russian - No Man's Land, to show that they still belong to someone, they use the definite article in English):

the Crimea, the Caucasus, the Vatican, the Congo, the Lebanon, the Hague and with some others

2.12. With nouns denoting the names of hotels, theaters, museums, ships:

the Hilton, the Covent Garden, the Titanic, the Bolshoy Theater etc.

2.13. With nouns denoting the names of English-language newspapers:

the Financial Times, the Daily Mail etc.

2.14. As part of stable combinations, the definite article the is used:

to play the piano/ the violin / the guitar / the cello etc., to tell the truth, to go to the cinema/ theater, to listen to the radio, the other way

2.15. With surnames, if the surname is plural and denotes the entire family:

the Smiths, the Browns etc.

The use of the zero article “zero article” (omission of articles in English)

3. Articles in English are omitted in the following cases:

3.1. Before proper names, as well as before nouns denoting ranks and titles:

Professor N., General B., Queen Y.

3.2. Before nouns denoting days of the week in English:

Monday, Sunday….

3.3. With nouns combined with prepositions in English “from….to, from…. till":

from beginning to end, from north to south, from nothing till everything, from head to foot etc.

3.4. With nouns followed by number or number:

page 45, room 8, tram 7

3.5. With nouns after the verbs “to appoint”, “to elect”:

to appoint director, to elect deputy.

3.6. Articles in English are not used with nouns denoting the following geographical concepts:

3.6.1. names of continents, as well as countries and cities, consisting of one proper name:

Europe, Asia, Australia, France, Italy, Spain etc.

3.6.2. names of individual islands (if these are not groups of islands), mountains (if these are not Mountain chain), as well as the names of lakes (if their name contains the word “Lake”):

Malta, Elbrus, Lake Ontario etc.

3.6.3. names of streets and squares:

Red Square, Trafalgar Square, Street, Regent Street etc.

3.7. In newspaper headlines and magazine articles:

Tasty farewell to winter, Color of Dream

3.8. In some stable combinations, articles are not used in English:

on foot, by heart, by car, at home etc.

3.9. When using such nouns in a general sense:

Time is money. Life isn't easy. Love and friendship…

When defining these nouns in a specific meaning, the definite article in English is used:

Don’t you know anything about the life of this people? Where is the money I’ve laid on the shelf?

At first glance, there are a lot of rules about articles in the English language and it’s impossible to remember them all. In fact, you don’t need to remember absolutely all the rules, since in the process of listening to English speech you will remember right choice of one or another article in English quite quickly.

In English, in addition to general rules, there are special cases use of articles. We are talking about how to correctly use articles with place names and countable/uncountable nouns. Let's look at these nuances.

English articles with uncountable and countable nouns

In English, can only be applied to countable nouns. For example:

• Jane bought a bottle of lemonade.
• Julia took a slice of butter.
• My grandmother asked a glass of juice.
• I need a cup of tea.

You can often say I need a tea, meaning a cup of tea.

Meanwhile, it can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. Depending on the meaning of the sentence, the article the may be completely omitted. Compare examples with and without articles:

• My father bought the furniture. “We are talking about a certain piece of furniture known to the whole family, which he may have wanted to buy for a long time.”
• My father bought furniture. — Here we mean any furniture that could be bought spontaneously.
• Julia put the butter in the refrigerator. — We are talking about a specific oil that may have just been purchased.
• Julia put butter in the refrigerator. - Here we are talking about any oil that was put in the refrigerator.

How to use the definite article the with place names

With geographical names, the definite article the has a number of features of use.

Here is a list of cases when it is necessary to use the:

• Designations of rivers, seas, and oceans: the North Sea, the Caribbean Sea, the Amazon, the Atlantic, the Mississippi, the Pacific.
• Designations of points on the world map: the South Pole, the North Pole.
• : the Central Asia, the Central America, the North Africa.
• Designations of peninsulas, sea bays, and deserts: the Apennine peninsula, the Mexican Gulf, the Atacama.

There are also a number of situations in which the article should not be used:

• Names of most countries: France, Germany, Australia, Argentina. The exceptions are: the Philippines, the Dominican Republic.
• Names of cities and states: Tokyo, Paris, Amsterdam, British Columbia, California.
• : Jefferson Street, Vernon Blvd, Avenue of the Americas.
• Names of lakes and bays: Lake Baikal, Lake Titicaca, Lake Michigan. An exception is the name of groups of lakes, for example, the Great Lakes.
• Mountain peak designations: Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Aconcagua. Meanwhile, the names of mountain ranges should be used with the article the: the Himalayas, the Cordilleras, the Alps.
• Continent names: Africa, Australia, Asia, South America.
• Island names: Madagascar, Greenland, Tasmania. But if we are talking about a group of islands, then the article the must be used: the Maldives, the Seychelles, the Aleutians.

Cases when the article should be omitted

In English there are several types of nouns with which the article is not used at all:

• : Japanese, Italian, Russian, American, French, German. But, if we are talking about a group of people of the same nationality, the article should be used: The Italians are known for their emotionality in communication. (Italians are known for their emotional communication.)
• Names of sports: hockey, basketball, biathlon, football.