How to arrange articles in English. Why are articles needed in English? General rules for using articles in English

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An article is an indicator of a noun. There are two articles in English: the definite the and indefinite - a(an- if the word begins with a vowel):

In English, the article is placed before a noun in most cases. If you don’t use an article, then explain to yourself why.

The article is not used in the following cases:

1. Plural of a noun:

I see people swimming. I see people floating.

2. If the noun includes other determiners (possessive, demonstrative, interrogative and indefinite pronouns, nouns in the possessive case):

I love these Dad's jokes. I love these dad jokes.

3. With uncountable abstract nouns:

She left the room with dignity. She left the room with dignity.

4. With uncountable nouns denoting substance:

Water is a vital substance for our life. Water is an extremely important substance in our life.

1. When it is clear from the previous context or from the situation what object, phenomenon, etc. we are talking about, or when we mean a specific object, etc., known in the situation to the speaker and the listener, or when this noun has already been at least mentioned once in this context.

   Close the door, please. Close the door please.
   (specific, this door, the door in the room in which the speaker is or which he means situationally).
   Ann is in the garden. Anna (is) in the garden (which is near the house, in the one known to us, etc.).
   Please pass me the wine. Please pass me the wine (the one on the table).
   A car struck a tree. You can see the mark on the car and the tree. The car hit a tree (some car hit some tree). Traces of what happened are visible on (this) car and on (that) tree.

2. Before a countable noun in the singular, which means an animate or inanimate object as a representative of an entire class, category or group, that is, an object that expresses the general in a single concept.

   The Hon is the king of beasts. Leo is the king of beasts (all lions).
   The young man must be polite. A young man must be polite (a young man representing the younger generation).

3. Before nouns that are unique:

   the Earth - Earth, the Sun - Sun, the sky - sky.

4. Before nouns that have a definition with them, expressed by a attributive restrictive phrase, sometimes with the preposition of.

   The water in the river was very cold. The water in the river (the water in this river) was very cold.
   The girl in blue stood by the window. The girl in blue (the girl in blue, not red or white) stood by the window.
   The English teacher of our group was ill. Our group's English teacher was sick.

5. Usually before nouns:
   • which are determined by adjectives in the superlative degree (meaning “most”).

     He is the best student in our group. He is the best student in our group.

   • which are used with definitions expressed by the words same - the same, very - the same, only - the only one, next - the next, last - the last.

     Read the same text. Read the same (same) text.
     You are the very man I am looking for. You are (exactly) the (very) person I am looking for.
     The next day we went to Moscow. The next day we went to Moscow.

6. Before nouns denoting the names of rivers, seas, oceans, mountain ranges, ships, newspapers, some states, cities, as well as before proper names in the meaning of an entire family:

   the Volga - Volga, the Black Sea - Black Sea, the Pacific Ocean - Pacific Ocean, the Alps, the “Kurchatov” - “Kurchatov” (name of the ship), the “Pravda” - “Pravda” (newspaper), the Ukraine - Ukraine, the Smirnovs - the Smirnovs (the entire Smirnov family or the Smirnov husband and wife).

7. Before the names of musical instruments, when this type of instrument is meant in general, and not a unit, one of them.

   She learns to play the flute. She is learning to play the flute.

Articles are used as a function word with nouns in the general case or with other parts of speech that act as a noun in the general case. The most primitive way to explain how to separate the indefinite and definite articles of nouns in English is: “unfamiliar countable singular subject - /a/, /an/; a familiar object of any size - /the/.” But there are a huge number of categories of words and phrases for which “as an exception” the use of one or another article is regulated. Therefore, we can say that there is no single simple rule telling how to apply The table brings together and classifies many special cases.

The logic of using articles

Often the line between these groups is arbitrary, so it can be difficult to determine which qualifier to use, and even more difficult to understand why this happens. However, in reality they can all be connected by a common logic, which is not always obvious:

• /a/ and /an/ are always some part of the whole;
• /the/ is always something unique, whole, specific;
• zero (zero article) is always something universal, i.e. words that do not require additional presentation or clarification.

Functions and position of the article in a sentence

There are many nuances in the use of nouns, which become clearer depending on which articles in English are used in a particular case. Articles help us understand the role of a noun in a sentence. They give an idea of ​​the number, the state of the object, the speaker’s attitude towards it, and locality.

The article occupies either a place immediately before the noun, or, if the noun is part of a phrase, before all words that are dependent.

Mandatory use of the article. Null, undefined, definite

The question is not in what cases required use of articles in English. Because every noun or any other part of speech that acts as a noun needs an article, or otherwise a zero article - that is, its justified absence. So the question is, Which use the article in a given situation.

Indefinite article

The indefinite article has two phonetic forms - /a/ and /an/.

The open form /A/ is read as [ə] and is used with words beginning with a consonant. If the first sound in a word is a consonant, but when pronounced, the initial sound is a consonant, then open articles are also used in English. Examples: /a universe/universe/, /a Europe/Europe/.

The closed form /An/ is produced as [ən] and is placed before vowel sounds. This also applies to cases where the word begins with a consonant that is omitted during pronunciation, for example, /an hour/.

The indefinite article was once represented by the numeral /one/, and was subsequently reduced to /a/ (/an/). He gives some new information about an object located in a sentence impersonally, without reference - often he defines it into a category or transfers the properties of many similar ones to one object. In terms of meaning, here, as a rule, you can substitute /some/.

Definite article

The definite article in English - /the/ - has two forms of pronunciation - [ði] [ðə], which are spelled no different from each other:

• [ði] is pronounced before a vowel sound, for example /the airport/;
• [ðə] is read before a word beginning with the consonant sound /the port/.

with an adjective in the superlative form,

with a proper name included

before unique (single) words in a general sense (without descriptive or specific details) - /the sun/, /the moon/, /the Earth/, /the floor/,
/the sea/ocean/; the uniqueness of both global and local scale is considered

before words denoting a whole class, a collection

before other parts of speech, except for the noun, which have acquired the meaning of a plural noun - /the strong/, /the old/, /the young/

if it is necessary to emphasize the importance of an item among other items of the same class

with words in the plural that would be used in the singular with /a/, /an/

with abstractions and substances in a general sense

in front of objects and phenomena that cannot be described empirically (incalculable) in the general sense

if a word is preceded by a pronoun referring to it in the objective case

if nouns have a general meaning (/reading/, /smoking/)

if the word is followed by a defining numeral

with nouns included in a comparative construction, or in a construction with prepositions

Articles for preschool age

Articles of the English language for preschool children are best given in the form of practicing specific examples, without focusing on the patterns of arrangement from a grammatical point of view.

This will train their visual and auditory memory at the motor level and help tune their speech center. Subsequently, when studying the grammar of a language, an intuitive sense will contribute to their orientation in the rules and special cases.

The article is a functional part of speech in English. Always used with a noun and refers to the inherent characteristics of the noun. There are some rules for using articles in English.

Indefinite article

There are two forms of the indefinite article: a and an.

This article originates from the ancient Greek numeral “an”, which translates as “one”. The consequence of this is that it is used only before countable nouns used in the singular. When using the plural, the article an is not used or can be replaced by some pronouns such as some and any.

The indefinite article a is used:

1) before consonants (a blade - blade, a tree - tree, a garden - garden);
2) before the letter u (a university - university, a universe - universe, a utility - benefit);
3) before the letter h (a horse - horse, a helmet - helmet, a hero - hero).

The indefinite article an is used:

1) before the vowels o, i, a, e (an apple - apple, an elephant - elephant, an ivory - ivory);
2) before the letter u [^] (an uncle - uncle, an umbrella - umbrella, an unambiguity - unambiguity).

Definite article

The definite article has one form, the. The origin of this article goes back to the word that (that). This article can be used with both plural and singular nouns.

There are also rules for the use of articles in English in relation to certain groups of nouns.

The article is not used before the names of squares and streets. This rule also applies to the names of metro stations, airports and parks. For example: Fifth Avenue - 5th Avenue, Red Square - Red Square, Domodedovo Airport - Domodedovo Airport.

When using hotel names in speech or writing, the definite article is usually used: the Hotel Riga - Riga Hotel, the Hotel Europe - Europe Hotel, the Hotel Hennies - Hennies Hotel.

The use of names of days of the week, months and seasons requires some care in relation to articles.

1) So, the names of the days of the week are used without articles. The same applies to the names of months and seasons, found both in pure form and in combination with some frequently used adjectives (last - past, next - next). Examples: last winter - last winter, in summer - in summer, on Monday - on Monday.

2) If we are talking about situations that are facts, that is, some description is being made, then the indefinite article is used. Examples: It was a rainy week in Moscow (This week in Moscow was rainy). I saw some trees in the garden on a Sunday (on one of the Sunday this year) (I saw some trees in the garden on Sunday).

3) If we are talking about a strictly defined situation or event, then the article the is used with the names of seasons, months and days of the week. Often such sentences refer to an exact date or time period. Examples: The meeting was in the January of 2012 (The meeting was in January 2012). New company was located in the winter (The company was founded in winter).

The use of words denoting times of day also has its own characteristics in terms of the use of articles.

1) The article the is used when talking about a certain period of the day. Examples: The morning is good time to do exercises. The night was cold (The night was cold).

2) The article the is also used if the noun occurs with the preposition in. Examples: I saw you in the evening (I saw you in the evening). The sun shines in the morning (The sun shines in the morning).

3) If these nouns perform the function of a complement in a sentence, then they are used without an article. Examples: I wish it was morning (It’s a pity that it’s not morning). He likes evening (He loves evenings).

4) In combination with prepositions, they are used without articles (by day - during the day, at night - at night, from morning till night - from morning to evening).

5) When using an adjective together with a similar noun, use the indefinite article. Examples: What a wonderful day! It was a terrible evening (It was a terrible evening).

When using words that describe objects that are unique and unique, the definite article is used (the moon - the moon, the earth - the earth, the sun - the sun).

There are also some noun combinations that do not use an article. A characteristic feature of such combinations is the repetition of the same noun (from time to time - from time to time, day by day - day after day).

When using geographical names, the definite article the is used (this applies to the names of rivers, seas, oceans, mountains, states, cities). Examples: the Altai - Altai, the Ukraine - Ukraine, the Gulf of Mexico - Gulf of Mexico.

An article is a word that defines a noun.

There are two types of articles in English: the definite (the) and the indefinite (a/an).

Based on the names, the indefinite article is used when we are talking about a phenomenon that we encounter for the first time, an object in general, and the definite article is used when we are talking about something specific, or something that has already been encountered in conversation.

The concept of the article is present in many languages ​​of the world, but in the same number of languages ​​it is absent.

Therefore, do not panic if articles are not used in your native language.

The data will help you make fewer mistakes when speaking English.

It is very important to be able to use the correct articles in your speaking or writing.

1. With the names of countries and continents

In this case we do not use articles at all, BUT if the name of the country consists of parts, such as, USA, UK, UAE, then our article appears the, and it will be: the USA, the UK, the UAE, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands.

This also applies to continents and islands: usually we do not use the article, but if the name is a composite name, the definite article takes place.

For example: Africa, Europe, Bermuda, Tasmania BUT the Virgin Islands, the Bahamas.

• She lived in America.
• They live in England.
• My friend is from the Czech Republic.

2. With the words breakfast, dinner, lunch

When talking about eating in general, there is no article. But if you're talking about a specific breakfast, dinner or lunch, use the.

Eg:

• I don't eat breakfast.
• We didn't like the dinner.

3. With names of work, profession

In this case the indefinite article is used a/an.

For example:

• I want to be a politician.
• My younger brother wants to be a vet.

4. With the names of the cardinal points

Usually the names of the cardinal directions are written with a capital letter, so they are easy to recognize: the North, the South, the East, the West .

True, if a noun indicates a direction, then it should be used without an article and written with a small letter.

For example:

• They went east.
• The North is cooler than the South.

5. With the names of oceans, seas, rivers and canals

Remember that the definite article is always used with the names of these bodies of water.

For example: The Amazon, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the Suez Canal .

• I would like to swim in the Red Sea, and you?
• The Amazon is the longest river in the world.

6. With names of unique phenomena

This means that a phenomenon or object exists in one copy, one of a kind, in particular, the sun, the moon, the inter net , the sky , the earth.

Eg:

• The sun is a star.
• We looked up at all the stars in the sky.
• He is always on the internet.

7. With uncountable nouns

This category of nouns implies those units and concepts that we cannot count. Plus, as an identifying mark in most cases, they have no ending –s– plural indicator.

But do not forget that there are ten exceptions to one rule, that is, if you are talking in general about some uncountable concept, there will be no article, but again, if the case is particular, use the.

For example:

• I like bread/milk/honey.
• I like the bread/the milk/the honey. (Specifically this and nothing else.)

8. With last names

If we are talking about members of the same family, you can put the article the before the surname. This way you define a group of people, a family, in one word.

Eg:

• The Smith are coming for dinner today.
• Have you seen the Johnson recently?

These are not all the uses of articles in English. However, first remember these rules, gradually deepening your knowledge