Articles
How we see the world through English
A, An, The, are called ‘ARTICLES’ in
grammar.
A = one
An = one (for easy pronunciation with vowel sounds)
The = this, these, that, those
When we look at anything we see it through the defining non-defining filter as shown above. A noun may be used with or without A, An, The.
An = one (for easy pronunciation with vowel sounds)
The = this, these, that, those
When we look at anything we see it through the defining non-defining filter as shown above. A noun may be used with or without A, An, The.
The Indefinite
Article
Used
for singular countable nouns for general meaning.
-
the first mention of a noun e.g.
There is a strong wind, the wind is
often strong here
-
numbers and fractions e.g.
It’s a quarter of the total.
-
means ‘every’ with expressions of time e.g.
Take the pills three times a day
-
to describe a person’s job or situation e.g.
She’s an architect, he’s an engineer.
The Definite
Article
Used
for singular countable nouns for specific meaning
-
the second mention of a noun e.g.
There is a strong wind, the
wind is often strong here
-
for something unique e.g.
please can you move the television
no article is used with:
cities,
towns, villages I’m
going on holiday to # London.
possessive
adjectives It’s
# my brother’s birthday next week.
lakes # Lake
Bala is in Wales.
sports
/ games I
prefer playing # chess to # football.
countries,
regions I
live in # Calabria (but the region of Calabria).
streets The
shop is in # Montague Street.
islands I
had a holiday on # Capri.
continents #
Asia is bigger than # Africa.
planets There
is no life on # Mars.
festivals It
will soon be # Christmas.
years He
was born in # 1990.
meals They
are having # dinner (but the Annual
Dinner)
individual
mountains In
1953 an English expedition conquered # Everest.
named shops I
bought my shirt from # Dunn & Sons.
weights and
measures It’s
# 250 metres
above sea level.
***plural countable nouns (general
sense) # Dogs are not permitted in
the park.
***uncountable nouns (general
sense) # Oxygen is essential
for # life.
the article is used with:
the
superlative James is the tallest boy in our
class.
nouns
representing a class of people / things
We are having a charity show
for the blind.
ordinal numbers This
is the third match of the season.
the adjective
‘only’ She’s
the only one who knows.
provinces I
live in the province
of Cosenza.
groups of islands They are on holiday in the Maldives.
newspapers I
always read ‘The Independent’.
musical
instruments He
plays the flute and the oboe.
nationalities The
French consume a lot of wine.
oceans, seas,
rivers The
River Trent flows into the North Sea.
republics The
People’s Republic of China
is in Asia.
points of the
compass Rome is to the north of Naples.
federations The
United Kingdom and the
Netherlands.
mountain ranges Our
flight crossed the Alps.
inventions The
bicycle was invented before the car.
species The
dog is a relative of the wolf.
shops I’m
going to get some aspirins from the chemist’s.
Nota: (pronuncia)
l’articolo determinativo viene pronunciato ‘the’ normale davanti a consonanti,
ma per facilità di pronuncia thii davanti
alle vocali.
Normalmente si usa l’articolo
indeterminativo ‘a’ davanti ai consonanti e ‘an’ davanti alle vocali, ma ci
sono delle eccezioni a questa regola:
a uni- a uniform, university, unicorn, unique etc.
eu- a euro, European, Eucharist, euphemism etc.
one/once a one-and-only opportunity, once-in-a-lifetime chance etc.
use a use
an
an hour, heir, honour, honest and variations of these words
in
all other cases ‘a’ is used before ‘h’.
Exercise 1
Put the correct article: a, an, the or no
article in the spaces provided.
Facts about gorillas
____ big male gorilla can weigh ___ 200 kilograms.
____ gorillas build ___ nest to sleep in
___ each night.
____ big gorilla’s hands are ____2.65
metres from its shoulders.
____ gorillas live in ____ groups and
only move about one third of ___ mile ____ day.
____ gorillas are afraid of ____ snakes.
____ gorillas never have ____ fleas.
Exercise 2
Put a, an, the or no article in the
spaces provided
___ robin is a plump brown bird 14 cm. long. It has ___ red
face and ___ breast and ____ white belly. ____ males and ____ females look
alike, but ____ amount of ___ red on ____ breast varies in ___ individual
birds.
____ robins live all over ___ Great Britain and ___ Ireland, and are often found in ___
gardens. Each male or pair has ___ territory which ___ male defends.
___robins eat ___ fruit, ____worms and
____ insects. ____ female lays ____four to ___ six eggs in ____ nest made of
____ moss and ____ hair. ____ eggs are white with ___light red spots.
Exercise 3
Put a, an,
the or no article into the following
passage:
____ Cosenza
is an interesting city. It has always played ___ important role in ____
intellectual and commercial life of ____ Calabria.
It is completely enclosed by ____mountains. To ____ east there is ____ Sila and
___ coastal mountain chain separates it from ____ sea to ____ west.
____ Cosenza
is ____ meeting point of two rivers, ____Crati and ____ Busento. ____ second,
is, by tradition, ___burial place of Alaric ____ Goth who conquered ____Rome in
____ 410 AD.
Exercise 4
Tom works in ____ hospital. He goes
there six times ___ week. Tom lives at ___ Torano Castello. He lives ___ near
to ___ bank. At ___ end of Tom’s street, there is ____ church, it is ___ parish
church and dates back to ___ eleventh century. It has ___ dome covered in ___
tiles. ___ owl nests in ___ hole in ___ wall under ___ dome.
At ___ night you can hear ___ owl
hooting. In ___ daytime, you can see ___ crows that fly to and from ___ holes
in ___ church walls.
___ Torano Castello is ___ small
village on ___ hill in ___ Calabria.
It is about ___ 350
metres above ___ sea level. About ___ 3000 people live
in ___ village. ___ Torano Castello is about ____ 30 km. from ___ Cosenza and is convenient
for ___ motorway. Tom takes ___ motorway to go to ___ work at ___ hospital. He
drives ____ German car, it is ___ grey VW. He parks ___his car in ___ hospital
car park where he has ___ his office. Tom teaches ___ medicine to ___ junior
doctors and ___ nurses. He makes ____ telephone calls abroad and writes ___
faxes and ___ e-mails. Tom is married to ___ Calabrian woman called ___
Barbara. Barbara has ___ degree in ____ Politics. She has ___ two brothers and
___ two sisters.
Exercise 5
____ bridge over ____
River Severn, from which ____ town
takes ____ its name, is ____ first iron bridge built in ____ England.
This was ____ beginning of ____use of ____ iron in ___
industrial architecture. The bridge is ___ masterpiece that was built between ___
1777 and ____1779 with
____ iron from ___ Coalbrookdale foundry. In ____ 1934___
bridge was closed to ___ vehicles. Today it is ___ important tourist
attraction.
But there is ___ problem, ___ river banks are moving
together and gradually forcing____ centre of ____ bridge upwards.
You can check your answers
on the next page.
KEY
Exercise 1
Put the correct article: a, an, the or no
article in the spaces provided.
Facts about gorillas
x big male gorilla can
weigh x 200 kilograms.
x gorillas build a nest to sleep in x
each night.
x big gorilla’s hands are x 2.65 metres from its
shoulders.
x gorillas live in x_ groups and only move about
one third of a mile a day.
x gorillas are afraid of x snakes.
x gorillas never have x fleas.
Exercise 2
Put a, an, the or no article in the
spaces provided
The robin is a plump brown bird 14 cm. long. It has a_ red face and x/a_ breast and _x/a__ white belly. The_ males and x/the__
females look alike, but the amount of _x__ red on _the breast varies in _x_
individual birds.
_x__
robins live all over _x_ Great Britain and _x_ Ireland,
and are often found in _x__
gardens. Each male or pair has __a_
territory which _the_ male
defends.
_
x robins eat _x_
fruit, _x_ worms and _x__ insects. _the_ female lays __x__ four to _x_ six eggs in __a__ nest made of __x__ moss and __x__ hair. The eggs are white with _x_ light red spots.
Exercise 3
Put a, an,
the or no article into the following
passage:
_x_
Cosenza is an
interesting city. It has always played an
important role in the intellectual
and commercial life of _x_ Calabria. It is
completely enclosed by _x_ mountains.
To the east there is the Sila and a coastal mountain chain
separates it from the sea to the west.
__x__ Cosenza is __the__ meeting point of two
rivers, the Crati and the Busento. _the_ second, is, by tradition, the burial place of Alaric the Goth who conquered x Rome in x_
410 AD.
Exercise 4
Tom works in a hospital. He goes there six times a week. Tom lives at x
Torano Castello. He lives x near to the bank. At the
end of Tom’s street, there is a
church, it is the parish
church and dates back to the eleventh
century. It has a dome covered in x
tiles. An owl nests in a
hole in the wall under the dome.
At x
night you can hear the owl
hooting. In the daytime, you can see x crows that fly to and from the holes in the
church walls.
x Torano Castello is a small
village on a hill in x Calabria. It is about x
350 metres
above x sea level. About x 3000
people live in the village. x Torano Castello is about x 30 km. from x Cosenza and is convenient for the motorway. Tom takes the motorway to go to x work at the hospital. He drives a
German car, it is a grey VW.
He parks x his car in a/the hospital car park where he
has x his office. Tom teaches
x medicine to x/the junior doctors and x/the nurses. He makes x telephone calls abroad and
writes x faxes and x e-mails.
Tom is married to a Calabrian
woman called x Barbara. Barbara has a
degree in x Politics. She has x
two brothers and x two sisters.
Exercise 5
The bridge over the River
Severn, from which the town
takes x its name, is the first iron bridge built in x England.
This was the
beginning of the use of x
iron in x industrial
architecture. The bridge is a masterpiece that was built
between x 1777 and x 1779 with x iron from the
Coalbrookdale foundry. In x 1934
the bridge was closed to x vehicles. Today it is an important tourist attraction.
But there is a
problem, the river banks are
moving together and gradually forcing the
centre of the bridge upwards.
