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All singular countable nouns must be modified by a determiner.
The articles a, an and the are determiners.
Other determiners are words like this, that, my, your, his, her ,..etc
That is to say; a singular countable word can not be used in a sentence without a determiner.
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The Indefinite Article
The indefinite article “ a ” or “ an ” is used;
- Before singular countable nouns to mean one . It is not used before uncountable and plural nouns.
Australia is a continent.
Turkey is a country in Asia.
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- An is used before a word that begins with a vowel sound ( a, e, i, o, u).
When words begin with “h” or “u”, either a or an can be used depending on the sound.
an uncle a home
a university a union
an hour an honourable man
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- To introduce a subject that has not been mentioned before;
I saw a snake.
I caught a fish yesterday.
- With an expression of a definite quantity in the singular;
A dozen a ton a half a third
A mile a thousand a hundred
A pound
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- With some expression of quantity;
a great many a great deal
a couple of a few a lot of three times a day a number of
a little a pair of fifty miles an hour
- With names of professions;
He is an engineer.
- When “a” or “an” means per;
Julie earns $500 a week.
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- In exclamations with “What + a countable noun
What a lovely day ! What a terrible sweater !
What a pity ! What a nonsense !
Note: In some languages, one and a , an are the same word. In English a , an for the indefinite is more common.
We use one if we want to be precise, and we want to emphasize one , not two , or three , or four.
He drives a Volswagen.
She has got one Rolls-Royce, two Cadillacs and three motorbikes.
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The Definite Article “The”
- The definite article the can be used before any noun, singular, plural, countable and uncountable when the noun is specific .
The island, the islands, the water
The definite article “the” is used;
When there is only one of the thing mentioned: (Unique objects )
The sun is shining. The moon is full tonight.
The sky is blue. The government
The King The president
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2. When it is clear to both the speaker and the listener which thing or person is referred to;
Could you open the door, please?
(Both the speaker and the listener know which door it is.)
Pass the salt, please.
Did you read the book I gave yesterday?
Have you heard the news about them?
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3. Before a noun mentioned for the second time:
A bird flew into the classroom.
The bird sat on my desk.
4. Before superlative adjectives:
The biggest island is Greenland.
The most beautiful coral island is very small.
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3. Before a noun mentioned for the second time:
A bird flew into the classroom.
The bird sat on my desk.
4. Before superlative adjectives:
The biggest island is Greenland.
The most beautiful coral island is very small.
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5. Before names of musical instruments
He plays the piano
I can’t play the gui tar
6.Before decades and centuries:
The 1800s, the twenties,
the twentieth century
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7 . Before expressions of time and place:
The morning the future
the N orth the top
The afternoon the present
the S outh the front
The evening the past
the E ast the back
The W est the bottom
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8 . Before ordinal numbers (the definite article is not used with cardinal numbers.)
Ordinal numbers Cardinal numbers
The first chapter Chapter One
The second day Day Two
The sixth lesson Lesson six
9 . When speaking about a specific noun:
Coffee originated in Ethiopia (general)
The coffee I had this morning was Brazillian (specific)
Sugar costs 50 cents a pound (general)
The sugar that he bou g ht last night was covered with ants.
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** If the noncountable noun is followed by a descriptive adjective clause or phrase, we use the article ‘ the ’.
10 .Before names of countries, states, cities, universities colleges, and schools that contain the word ‘of’ and before conutries that have a plural name or have an adjective in the name, except for Great Britain:
The United States of America
The state of Florida / The Netherlands
The city of Boston / The Philippines
The University of Texas / Texas University
The United Kingdom
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11 .When a proper noun is used as a modifier for another noun, the always precedes the proper noun.
The Simiths’ house
The Egyptian pharaohs
The European Community
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12.The always precedes ‘same’ and ‘only’
This story is almost exactly the same as a story I read last year by a different author.
He is the only person in the office who smokes.
13. Articles are usually not used with parts of the body or clothing when the owner of the parts of the body or clothing is known. In these cases a possesive adjective is usually used.
Julia cut her hair
I wore my best pants.
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14 .National groups
The British drink far too much tea.
The Turkish are known to be very brave.
15 .Classes of people
The rich / the old / the educated
The poor / the young / the accused
16. Before geographical areas, but not before names of the continents:
The Middle East Asia
The Orient Europe
17. Before names of oceans, rivers, seas, gulfs, and plural names of mountains, islands, and lakes.
The Pacific Ocean The Gulf of Mexio
The Appalachian Mountains
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The Hawaiian Islands
The Great Lakes
The Mississippi River
The Black Sea
x Mount Everest
x Manhattan Island
x Lake Michigan
18. Before the names of ships, trains, planes, and people’s family names (the definite article isn’t used with the names of people and names of magazines.)
The Browns The Mayflower Micheal Keaten
The Orient Express The Titanic Newsweek
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ARTICLE
On the radio
Newspapers ( the Times )
The whole family ( the Smiths )
Title without name
The Queen
The President
- The Queen The President
5. Plural names of mountains, islands, and lakes;
The Canary Islands
The Himalayas
The Great Lakes
- The Canary Islands The Himalayas The Great Lakes
6 . Well – known buildings
The Eiffel Tower
The World Trade Center
- The Eiffel Tower The World Trade Center
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7. Well – known buildings
The Eiffel Tower
The World Trade Center
8. Zoos
The London 200
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1. ... English book we are reading now in class will be translated into Russian ...next year.
2. Where is ... credit card? I can’t pay for ... CD.
3 . I have got ... elder sister living in Canterbury.
4 . I’m afraid I can’t answer ... question.
5 . My father is ... children’s doctor.
6 . Open ... magazine at ... page 1 7 and look at ... photo.
8. She is ... kind and gentle woman.
9. ... cell phone is ... telephone you can take with you to any place.
10. Let’s go to ... country and have ... picnic.
11. Yesterday I bought oranges for 30 rubles ... kilo.
1 2 . ... tiger belongs to ... cat family.
1 3 . Do you know where ... oldest university in Europe is?
1 4 . I am to make ... speech tomorrow at ... meeting.
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