Articles
A / An / - The Something is mentioned for the first time. = I bought a new shirt. Something is mentioned for the second time. = The shirt is blue. With singular countable nouns when we talk about them in general. After the verb to be / have got. = I have got a cat. When we speak about inventions. =When was the telephone invented? When we refer to a group of people/animals/things. = A dolphin is a clever creature. When we speak about species of animals. = The blue whale is a sea creature. With uncountable and plural nouns when talking about something in general. = Dolphins are clever creatures. = Trees produce oxygen. When we are talking about something specific / unique = the sky; the moon; the Earth; = the equator; the North Pole; the North = The blue whale is a sea creature. Articles: Indefinite – Definite
- The With the names of islands; mountains; countries = Great Britain; = Everest; = America With proper nouns = Smith; Tom Nationality = I am Russian With the groups of islands; mountain ranges; countries when they include words: state, kingdom, republic, etc. = the British Isles; = the Urals; With names of family = the Smiths; the Browns Organizations = the UN Nationality as a whole group = the Americans With the names of languages: = I speak French. With the names of languages when they are followed by the word “ language ”: = The French language is spoken in some parts of Canada. Articles: Zero – Definite
- The With titles = Queen Elizabeth; = King Arthur With titles when the name is not mentioned = the Queen; = the Prime Minister With names of lakes = Lake Baikal ( but : = the Baikal Lake) With the names of oceans, seas, rivers, deserts = the Indian Ocean; = the Black Sea; = the Volga; = the Sahara Articles: Zero – Definite
- The Continents = North America; Countries = France; Russia; Cities = Moscow; Paris; Streets = Oxford Street Parks = Hide Park Squares = Red Square Railway stations = Victoria Station Bridges = Tower Bridge Countries = the RF; the UK; the USA = the Netherlands; the Sudan; the Vatican City Streets = the High Street; the Strand; the Mall; the A19 With the location of places = the north of England Bridges = the Bridge of Sighs Articles: Zero – Definite
- The With two-word names when the first word is the name of a person or place… = Heathrow Airport; Buckingham Palace; ( but: = the White House) With names of pubs, shops, banks and hotels named after the people who started them and end in –s or –’s : = Harrods; Lloyds Bank; Emma’s pub; ( but: = the Black Bull pub) With the names of … Hotels: = the Sheraton Hotel; Theatres / Cinemas: = the Odeon Theatre; Ships: = the Queen Mary; Museums: = the Louvre; the Eiffel Tower Newspapers / magazines: = the Times ( but : Times magazine) Articles: Zero – Definite
- The With the words school, church, bed, hospital, college, university, court, prison or home, work when we refer to the purpose for which they exist. = Jack was in prison. (He was a prisoner.) = She is at work. but: = His mother went to the prison to see him. (She went to the prison as a visitor.) With the words station, shop, cinema, pub, library, city, village, etc. … = She went to the hotel. Articles: Zero – Definite
- The With the words this / that / these / those : = this bag; those cars With adjectives / adverbs in the superlative form. = She is the most intelligent woman I’ve ever met. With possessive adjectives or the possessive case: = That isn’t my car. = It’s Kate’s car. With the possessive case: = The boy’s car is blue. With the words home / father / mother when we talk about our own home/parents. = Father is at home. With the words only, last, first (used as adjectives). = He was the last person to arrive. Articles: Zero – Definite
- The With the names of days, months: = Saturday; November With the names of celebrations: = New Year; Easter With historical periods / events. = the Stone Age; the Middle Ages; = the First World War But: = World War I With the word night / noon / midnight / : = at night; at noon; at midnight; = at 4 o’clock; = by day/ by night With the words morning / afternoon / evening : = in the morning; = in the evening; = in the afternoon Articles: Zero – Definite
- The With the names of sports, games, activities: = play football With the names of musical instruments and dances: = the piano; = the violin; = the tango With means of transport: by bus / by plane / by train / etc. = She travelled by plane. With means of transport after prepositions in / on = on the bus; on the plain; on the train; etc. = in the car; in the taxi; in the helicopter. = She left on the 8 o’clock bus. Articles: Zero – Definite
- The With the names of illnesses: = He’s got malaria. With the names of illnesses: = flu / the flu; = measles / the measles; = mumps / the mumps With the names of drinks, meals: = have breakfast; a cup of coffee With colours : My favourite colour is red. Articles: Zero – Definite
