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 article is one of the determiners of a noun and is placed before the noun or before words that are definitions for it.

Indefinite article a(an - before words starting with a vowel) comes from the numeral one and means one of many, some, any.

I am a student. I am a student (one of many).
This is an apple. This is an apple (one of many).

If a noun in the singular is preceded by an indefinite article, then in the plural it is omitted.

This is a book. These are books.

Thus, the indefinite article a(an) can only be used before singular nouns.

The definite article the comes from the demonstrative pronoun that. Often translated by the words this, this, this, these. Used before nouns in both singular and plural.

The definite article is used:

When we are talking about a specific person or thing.
Where is the pen? Where's the pen? (known to us)

Before a noun if it is preceded by a superlative adjective or an ordinal number.
What is the longest river in the world? He was the first to come.

Before geographical names (names of oceans, seas, rivers, mountain ranges, parts of the world, etc.).
The Indian ocean, the Baltic sea, the North, the Thames, the Alps.

Before nouns that are unique in their kind.
What is the highest mountain in the world?

In a number of expressions such as
in the morning, in the evening, in the afternoon, etc.

If you are mentioning something for the first time, use the article a (an). The next time you mention this item or provide details, use the.

I have a dog.
The dog is black and has white ears.

Zero article. Articles are not used:

If any noun is used in its most general meaning.
Crime is a probe in most big cities. Crime as such, and not any specific crime.
Life has changed a lot in the last two years. Life as such, in general.

Before proper names (names of countries, cities, states, provinces, lakes, mountain peaks; the exception is the union of states or the plural in the name, for example, The United States, The Netherlands):
England, Russia, London, Mr. Johnson, Tuscany.

However, before surnames used in the plural to designate members of the same family, the definite article is used.
The Johnsons. Johnson family.

Before the names of seasons, months and days of the week.
He always goes to the South in summer. English classes are on Monday.

In cases where we are talking about eating, using transport, and also when we are talking about places (for example: home, work, hospital, university, church, prison, etc.)

I go home by bus.
I go to school. (I am a student)
We have dinner at 2 o’clock.

In the previous example - I go to school, the article is not used, since it is implied that I am a student, therefore, the purpose of going to school lies in the purpose of the building itself - study.

But such a situation is also possible: I go to the school. In this case, this means that the purpose of the visit to the school is different. For example, I go to the school, because I want to see the head master.

My mother is in hospital now. (She's ill.)
Every day I go to the hospital to see her.

Having trouble with articles? Can't remember more than a couple of rules? We promise to tell you everything you need to know about articles in English. Read our article about how to use English articles correctly!

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Articles are one of the riches of the English language... and a big problem for those who speak other languages ​​where there are no articles. It is quite difficult for most Russian speakers to understand the category of certainty-uncertainty, which is used by native English speakers... A real restructuring of the mind, a reconfiguration of logic is required.

But English has long gotten rid of the complex system of cases and the category of grammatical gender, which are preserved in Russian and so frighten everyone who is going to master it. And perhaps it was this transformation from a synthetic language to a predominantly analytical one that helped the English language achieve a truly unique worldwide recognition.

Despite all the simplifications, the rules for using articles in Englishfor a number of reasons they are difficult for speakers of other European languages. For comparison, take the sentence in German: “Da er_Botaniker ist, liebt er die Natur” (“Being a botanist, he loves nature”) and the corresponding one in English: “Being a botanist, he is fond of nature.” As you can see, in the English version there is an indefinite article before the name of the profession, but not in the German version. Conversely, English does not place articles before nouns such as “nature,” but German requires a definite article in the same position.

Even between British and American English there are differences in this case. Thus, Americans usually say about someone who is in the hospital, “in the hospital”; in the same way he could be in a bank, “at the bank,” or in a park, “in the park.” For a Briton, this means that there is only one hospital in the city, or an American talks about a specific hospital that he constantly visits. The British will say that the patient is “in hospital”, the child is “at school”, and the criminal is “in prison”. In their understanding, it is more about the profile of these institutions, and not about the buildings in which they are located. But if you just entered the building of a hospital, school or prison, then you are at the hospital, at the school or at the prison - here the British are in solidarity with the Americans.

These examples are intended to show that articles in English are a more significant part of the language than it seems at first glance. They are precise tools that help to delicately express all the subtle shades of meaning in English. In the vast majority of cases, the use of the article has a clear logical justification. Understanding this can help “disguise” non-native English when communicating with native speakers.

Getting to know articles in English

Several words can be combined with a noun, forming the so-callednoun phrase (noun phrase). A noun phrase consists of a noun and all those words that accompany it.

Let's consider the proposal:

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
(“The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”).

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Articles in English a/an And the indicate the degree of certainty of a subject in a given context or in general. In Russian, they, as function words, are absent and are not translated from English, but sometimes they can “occur” in phrases like: “I know a girl. This girl studies at our school." Or: “One boy loved to read. This boy once found a very interesting book..."

Therefore, on an intuitive level, sometimes we also use the words “one / one / one / alone” when we first mention an object, and “this / this / this / these” when we use it again in speech. This can be found especially often in fairy tales: “Once upon a time there was an old man...”

Use of articles in English

Correct use of articles in English often causes difficulty. There are, of course, rules for using certain articles - a/ an, the, zero article, but since native speakers trust, first of all, their intuition and logic, then by putting ourselves in their place and trying to think like them, we could make the task much easier.

What is this certainty/uncertainty?

I have bought a dog. - I bought a dog. In this context, you are talking about a dog for the first time; this means “some dog, one of many.” It is not yet clear to the listener which specific dog we are talking about, so in this example we use the indefinite article -a.

The dog is very cute. - The dog is very cute. Now you are already talking about “a specific dog - the one that you bought. The listener already understands that we are talking about your dog, so there is already a definite article -the. In other words, as in the “bearded” joke about English for “new Russians”: the article -a means “type”, and -the - “specifically”, i.e. one of many or a specific example.

Table of articles in English

It will help to systematize all of the above. table of articles in English.

The

A/An

Zero article:

If you still have questions on the topic of articles in English, Double You Studio, an English language school in Kyiv (suburb, Vishnevoe, Sofievskaya Borshchagovka, Boyarka, Petrovskoe), will help you figure it out.

A And an are called the indefinite article. The is called the definite article.

Indefinite article a used before words starting with a consonant: a face a camera a used before u And eu when they are pronounced like y (/j/): a university, a euro.

Indefinite article an used before words starting with a vowel sound: an arm, an onion Also the indefinite article an used before words starting with h, When h unreadable: an hour, an honor.

A series of articles will soon appear on the blog in which the use of articles will be discussed in detail. This article only covers the main points.

A/an

Indefinite article a/an came from the numeral one, and is used only with singular countable nouns.

The indefinite article is used in the following cases:

• When we talk about a person and an object that mentioned for the first time, and is unknown to the interlocutor or reader.

I've been to a concert recently. — I recently went to a concert.

I live in a small town. - I live in a small town.

• When we talk about any a person or object from some class.

A triangle has three sides. — A triangle has three sides.

• With titles professions or type of activity.

My brother is a pilot, and I am a student. — My brother is a pilot, and I am a student.

The

Definite article the derived from the demonstrative pronoun that, and is used with countable nouns in both the singular and plural.

The definite article is used in the following cases:

• When we talk about a person or thing that previously mentioned in conversation or text.

I went outside and saw a car parked in front of my house. The car seemed familiar. — I went outside and saw a car parked in front of my house. The car seemed familiar to me.

• When it is clear from the context or situation that which one exactly person or thing we are talking about.

I'm going to the supermarket. — I'm going to the supermarket (the one where I usually go).

Could you open the window? — Please open the window (the window in this room).

• When we talk about a person or thing, one of a kind.

The Moon revolves around the Earth in an elliptical orbit. — The Moon revolves around the Earth in an elliptical orbit.

• With adjectives in excellent degrees.

You are the best mom ever! - You are the best mother.

5. With many expressions with of.

In the middle of the night

At the end of my holiday

The and absence of article

The is used in the following cases:

• In the names of countries that are formed using the plural, or in which there are words kingdom or Republic.

the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom

• With the names of everything related to water: oceans, rivers, seas, bays, straits (except for the names of individual lakes, which are used without an article)

the Baltic Sea, the British Channel, the Pacific Ocean, the Persian Gulf

• With the names of mountain ranges (the names of individual mountain peaks are used without an article).

the Alps, the Apennines

• With names of parts of the day.

in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening

• With many prepositions of place and time.

on the right, at the bottom

The article is not used in the following cases:

• With the names of most countries, cities and continents

Asia, Saudi Arabia, Beijing

• With the names of individual mountain peaks and lakes

Mountblanc, Lake Titicaca

• With exact indications of day, month and time

on Monday, at nine o"clock, in July

• With some prepositional phrases of place

at work, at home, in bed

School, university, hospital, prison, church, etc.

Compare:

1. Tim is studying maths at university. — Tim is studying mathematics at the university.

There is a large park not far from the university. — Not far from the university there is a large park.

2. He won't be in hospital for two weeks. — He will be in the hospital for two weeks.

Is there a chemist's shop in the hospital? — Is there a pharmacy in the hospital?

3. The kids go to school by bus. — Children go to school by bus.

There was a fire at the school last year — Last year there was a fire at the school.

If someone is in school/hospital/prison, etc. because he is a student/patient/prisoner, then the article not used.

If someone is in a school/hospital/prison for some other reason, or if we mean a building, then it is used the.

How well do you know this grammatical topic?

Test yourself! You can find all online tests on the rules for using articles.