Information article. Use of definite articles with marks of time and place

Used before singular and plural nouns when talking about something definite, specific.

The criminals robbed the bank . – Criminals robbed a bank (of some specific kind).

Please close the door. – Please close the door (not any door in the house, but this door).

In other words, if you can add “some” before a noun, then there will be an indefinite article, and if “that same \ those same ones” fits, then there will be a definite article.

The definite article is also used with nouns that mean:

1. Something unique, existing in a single copy

the Sun - the sun,

the Columbia river - the Columbia River.

(about the article before proper names, see below)

2. Periods (segments) of time

in the morning - in the morning,

in the past - in the past.

3. Before adjectives in the superlative degree

the biggest mall in Moscow is the largest shopping center in Moscow.

The article can quite significantly change the meaning of the entire sentence. For example:

I met a girl yesterday. – I met a girl on the street (I was just walking and saw some girl).

I met the girl yesterday. – I met a girl yesterday (I saw THAT SAME girl, for example, the love of my life).

Zero articles in English

In some cases, the article is not used at all before the noun, for example:

1. It means something very general

Crime and punishment. – Crime (in general) and punishment (in general).

Life is strange. – Life is strange (life in general).

2. Before the names of days of the week, months, seasons

See you on Monday. - See you on Monday.

August is the last month in summer. – August is the last month of summer.

3. Before words denoting food intake

Let's have breakfast. - Let's have breakfast.

Lunch is ready. - Lunch is ready.

Article before proper names

Difficulties with articles arise when we are faced with the issue of using articles before proper names. You probably noticed that, for example, there is no article before some geographical names, while others are preceded by the. Let us first consider when articles before proper names are not needed.

When the article is NOT placed before a proper noun

In most cases, articles are not used before proper names. A proper name denotes a specific person or thing, this is understandable even without an article, so usually the article is not needed.

Here are examples of such cases:

1. Before names.

Jonh, Misha Sidorov, Lewis.

2. Before names with a form of address or title, degree, etc.

General Pupkin, Professor Pavlov, Mr. White.

3. Before common nouns that serve as addresses.

Essentially, they are treated as a proper noun:

How are you doing, sergeant? - How are you, Sergeant?

How can I help you, professor? - How can I help you, professor?

4. Before the names of family members, if they are used by members of the same family.

In such cases, the words father, mother, sister, etc. are used practically as proper names.

Let’s see what mom says - Let’s see what mom says.

I’ve got to ask father about it - I have to ask my father about this.

Note: the word “mother” is written in the USA mom, and in Great Britain - mum.

When is an article needed before a proper name?

There are cases when the article the is placed before proper names. There is not always a pattern in them, here are some typical cases:

1. Before plural surnames meaning “such and such a family”:

The Whites live in Albuquerque – The Whites (the White family) live in Albuquerque.

Have you invited the Petrovs? – Did you invite the Petrovs (Petrov family)?

2. Before some geographical names.

This is a rather confusing point, since in the use of the article before toponyms, in some places there are patterns, in others there are not, and in others it is possible both ways. For example, on maps, articles are never written before names to save space. Some general patterns and exceptions are well described in this video from Puzzle English:

My personal note: I never tried to remember all the nuances of using articles before geographical names. And that's why. I use them very rarely in speech, and if I do use them, they are the same ones (I’m from Russia). Even if I memorize everything that Anton talks about in the video, I will still happily forget most of it, because this knowledge is rarely useful. I don’t see anything wrong with looking in a reference book or Googling in a difficult situation. When I write in Russian, I often have to turn to reference literature (anyone who writes something by line of work will say the same thing), let alone talk about foreign languages.

English articles in set expressions

There are a number of set expressions in which the definite or indefinite article is used.

Greetings, my dear readers.

I know I usually start somewhere else, but today I have a task for you right away. I want you to look at these sentences and tell me what the difference is.

Tommy sat down on a chair while waiting for his turn.- Tom sat down on a chair while he waited his turn.

Tommy sat on the chair nearest to the door while waiting for his turn.- Tom sat down on the chair closest to the door while he waited for his turn.

You have probably already noticed that the difference is in the very articles and the meanings that they carry. And yes, my dears, today an exciting journey awaits us, where there will be an important topic for you and me - articles in English. I will tell you the basic rules, give you many examples, both for children and adults. I also immediately give you links to and on the topic of articles.

What is it and what is it used for?

Let's define it right away: article- this is what should always come before a noun. He, to put it very roughly, defines the noun so that we can better understand what is being said.

What are they and what are they used with?

There are three of them in total: a, an and the.

And their use depends on what noun follows. In English there are two types of nouns:

• Countable- those that we can count. For example:

Pen

Earring - earring

• Uncountable- those that we cannot count. For example:

Sugar - sugar

Water - water

To understand when articles are used, we also need to remember that nouns are singular (diamond - diamond) or plural (diamonds - diamonds).

And now, to make it absolutely clear to you, here you go table with examples where you can clearly see where and with what they are used.

Brother "a"

This article also bears the not at all proud name “ uncertain » ( ). This is because it is usually placed in front of objects, of which there are many all over the world. And it is used only with nouns that can be counted, and even then if they are singular. That is, if there is a lot of something, and you need to mention one thing, you need to use this particular article. Let's look at examples:

This morning I bought a magazine.- This morning I bought a magazine. (Not a specific magazine, but one that was in the store).

I had a sandwich for lunch.- I had a sandwich for lunch. (Just one sandwich).

My sister has got a job. - My sister got a job. (One of the existing works all over the world).

By the way, the article “a” has a small, modest brother who appears quite rarely - before words starting with vowels. This is "an". His goal is the same, so don’t be afraid - you won’t get confused.

I've got an apple and an orange with me. - I have an apple and an orange with me.

Brother "the"

The article the, also called definite , is used when we know the subject that will be discussed. Next to it, countable and uncountable nouns, both singular and plural, coexist calmly ( You can find out more about him).

In addition, it is very often used with place names and set expressions that you just need to learn. But it is important to remember that everywhere, including in the names of places, there are exceptions, which we will study separately ( Come in to find out about it).

Rosy doesn't feel well. She went to the doctor. - Rosie doesn't feel well. She went to the doctor. (To the doctor she usually goes to).

Did Molly get the job she applied for?- Did Molly get the job she applied for? (Exactly the job she applied for).

When is he not there at all?

OK then,- you say. - When these articles are used, we understand. But we don’t always use only them!

And here you will be right, because the English language has prepared a little test for us and created cases where the article is not needed at all. And this phenomenon even got its name - zero article. Its use is mainly associated with exceptions to the previous rules. Or if we use in speech proper names(Tom, Mary, Ritha) or any concepts in general.

Apples grow on the trees.- Apples grow on trees. (In general, all apples as a species).

Tom bought a bike.- Tom bought himself a motorcycle. (The article is not placed before proper names.)

There are also situations when you don’t need to put anything in front of a noun. It happens after pronouns(my, our, his, this, that, etc.).

By the way, my dears, after completing the lesson with the rules, never forget to practice. I have something for you that will help you secure the new material for a long time. You can also, which will help you remember the rules for using articles for a long time. Of course, articles are not the simplest rules for children, be it 2nd grade or 8th grade. And adults usually suffer with them too. But with my help, I hope you can figure them out faster.

Don't forget that you can receive news from my blog much faster by simply subscribing to the newsletter. Be the first to know about all important events.

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 the 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 is idiot!

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)

It is used when it is unimportant/unknown (underline as appropriate) what subject we are 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 won’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 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, using simple words and clear examples, we will 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 :)