There are two types of articles in English: definite (the) and indefinite (a and an). The use of these articles mainly depends on whether you are referring to any member of a group or to a specific member of a group. Had a look at these sentences:
This is a football.
The football is blue.
Footballs are usually white.
Why do we use a in the first sentence, then the in the second, when we're talking about the same football? Why is there no article at all in the third sentence?
Let's look at the rules for articles:
Indefinite Articles: a and an
A and an indicate that the noun modified is indefinite, referring to any member of a group. These indefinite articles are used with singular nouns (and only singular nouns) when the noun is general, as in the example sentence above. Initially, the football could be one of many. (Note that the corresponding indefinite quantity word some is used for plural general nouns, but this isnt an article, but a determining adjective.)
The rules are:
> a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a ball
> an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant
> a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a uniform (this sounds like "yooniform" i.e. begins with the consonant "y" sound, so a is used)
> (some + plural noun: some balls, some elephants)
If the noun is modified by an adjective, the choice between an and an depends on the initial sound of the adjective that immediately follows the article, rather than the noun itself:
> a broken egg
> an unusual parrot
> an Asian country
> a Europian country (sounds like "yoorupian", i.e. begins with consonant y sound).
Note also that in English, the two indefinite articles are used to indicate membership of a category or group as in a profession, nation, type of plant or religion.
> I am a teacher.
> Seamus is an Irishman.
> Henrietta is a practicing Buddhist.
> A lotus is a flower.
Definite Article : the
The definite article the is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is particular or specific. The signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular member of a group, in other words "you know which one." The is used either when we have mentioned it before, as in The football is blue or it's clear which one we mean, as in Please close the door.
The is also used when a noun refers to something which is unique:
> the White House
> the theory of relativity
> the computer age
> the earth
There are a number of specific rules for the geographical uses of the.
Do not use the before:
> names of countries ( except some such as the Netherlands, the Ukraine etc)
> names of cities, towns, or states
> names of streets
> names of lakes and bays (except with group of lakes, such as the Great Lakes)
> names of mountains (except with ranges of mountains like the Andes or the Rockies, or unusual names such as the Matterhorn)
> names of continents
> names of islands (except with island chain, such as the Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands, or if the name of the island follows, as in the Island of Vancouver or the Isle of Wight)
Do use the before:
> names of rivers, oceans and seas (the Nile, the Pacific)
> points on the globe (the equator, the North Pole)
> geographical areas ( the Middle East, the West)
> deserts, forests, gulfs and peninsulas (the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, Iberian Peninsula)
The is also used with uncountable nouns that are more specific by a limiting modifying phrase or clause making an uncountable noun specific:
>The coffee in my cup is too hot to drink.
>The music that Trini Lopez produced is unbearable.
>The intelligence of animals is variable but undeniable
The is not used with nouns referring to something in a general sense as in the example Footballs are usually white. This is often referred to as the zero article, and represented by the symbol "0". Consider these examples, all of which are talking about general ideas:
>(0) Coffee is a popular drink.
>(0) Music is enjoyed by many.
>(0) Intelligence is not easy to assess.
The zero article (0) is also used for general ideas about countable nouns, when the nouns is always pluralized:
> I don't like pigs.
> People are strange.
> Bananas are yellow.
To complicate matters further, there are a number of common countable nouns that are often treated as uncountable and used without an article, taking a preposition instead:
> to/at/ in college
> to/into/ out of bed
> to/into/ out of prison
> to/in/into/ but of hospital
> to/at/ from work
> to/at/ from town
> by day
> at night
> by car/ bus/ train/ plane/ boat
Putting across the intricacies of the rules for articles to students of English can be a particularly challenging task;
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