Article a-an

1.

2. ‘A/AN’

1) Singular countable nounsfirst mentioned:
I bought a dress.
2) Relating to a category:
He is a student.
3) With Mr, Mrs or Miss about an un- known
person: A Mr.Bin called me.
4) Measurements: -price in relation to weight:
two pounds a kilo
- distance in relation to time: 80 km an hour
- frequency: twice a week

3. ‘THE’

1) All nouns already mentioned: I bought a dress. The dress is blue.
2) Nouns followed by specification:The roses in the park are very nice.
3) Nouns that are unique: the sun, the Internet, the Tube, the radio (but: TV)
4) Families: the Windsors
5) Countries with words ‘state’,‘kingdom’, ‘republic’, etc: the USA, the
Russian Federation
6) Nationalities: the Japanese
7) Cinemas, theatres, museums: the Bolshoi Theatre, the Kremlin
8) Ships,trains,aircraft:The Titanic
9) Organizations: the Alpha Bank, the Moscow State University
10) Hotels: the Marriott
11) Rivers,seas,oceans:the Red sea

4. ‘THE’

12) Groups of islands: the Maldives
13) Mountain ranges: the Urals
14) Deserts: the Sahara
17) Magazines/papers: The Times
15) Musical instruments: the piano
16) Dances: the tango
18) Titles: the King, the President
(but no articles before titles with proper names: Queen Victoria)
19) Adjectives/adverbs in the super- lative form: the most honest man
20) With ‘only’, ‘last’, ‘first’ (used as adejctives): He was the last to come.
21) With ordinal numerals: I live on the sixth floor.

5. No article

1) Uncountable and plural countable nouns when talking in general:
Roses smell nice.
2) Days, months & holidays: This year Easter is in April.
3) Colours: Dark blue suits her.
4) With proper names: Mark lives in Paris.
5) Continents, countries, cities: Rome is the capital of Italy (but the
Netherlands, the Hague)
6) Languages: I speak English.
7) Streets, squares, bridges, parks:Oxford Street, Hyde park
8) Railway stations, airports, ports: Charring Cross
9) Sports: I like basketball.
10) Games: I often play chess.

6. No article

10) Games: I often play chess.
11) Lakes: Ontario, Baikal
12) Individual islands: Tenerife
13) Individual mountains: Everest
14) Drinks & meals: I drink juice at lunch.
15) with possessive adjectives: This is my car.
16) with the words bed, church, college,court, hospital, prison,
school, university, work, home:She is at school / at home.
17) with ‘Father’ or ‘Mother’ when spoken of our own family
18) with by+transport: by bus
19) with the names of illnesses: He’s got malaria.