Grammar.A-The-Zero Articlemkl

Grammar.
A-The-Zero article
 INTRODUCTION
Two types of articles in the English language:
The definite article (the)
The indefinite article (a, an).
We use the term zero article when a noun is not preceded by a definite article (the) or
indefinite article (a, an).
 Differences between a / an.
 We use a before a consonant sound (for example, the normal sound of b, c, d, f,
g, h)
A book a coat a house a new idea
 We use an before a vowel sound (for example, the normal sound of a, e, i, o, u)
An address an egg an idea an old house
 We choose a or an because of pronunciation, not spelling:
A house, a hand, a head BUT an hour (the h is silent, so hour is like our)
An uncle, an umbrella BUT a university (pronounced ‘you-niversity’), a European
(pronounced ‘you-ropean’), a uniform, a useful book…
An orange, an opera, an office BUT a one-pound shop (pronounced ‘wun’…)
 USES
A, AN
1. With countable nouns to indicate one.
Can I have a cup of coffee? (= one cup of coffee)
2. With countable nouns when the hearer / reader does not know exactly which one
we are referring to.
Police are searching for a 14 year-old girl
3. To show the person or thing is one of a group.
She’s a student at Teide School
An ocelot is a wild animal
4. To describe something.
It’s a lovely day Paris is a wonderful city She has got a quiet voice
5. To describe the job or the character of a person.
Mary is an engineer Peter is a fool!
6. With a singular noun to say something about all things / people of that group
A man needs friends
7. When talking about cost, speed or how often we do something
The apples are £1 a kilo. I never drive more than 80 kilometres an hour. She smokes
about twenty cigarettes a day.
THE
1. When its clear which thing or person we are talking about:
Because there is only one:
The Pope is visiting Russia The moon is bright tonight.
This is why we use it with a superlative adjective:
1
Grammar. A-The-Zero article
He is the tallest boy in the class.

Because there is only one in that place or in the surroundings.
We live in a small village next to the church (the church in the village)
Can you pass me the newspaper? (There is only one newspaper in the room)
Because we’ve already mentioned.
We saw a good film last night. It was the new film of Travolta.
2. Some more uses:
The morning, the afternoon, the evening
The cinema, the theatre, the disco, the opera, names of shops (the chemist, the
dentist’s, the supermarket…)
Sometimes we can use a: Did you go to the disco on Saturday? Yes, there’s a new
disco in town.
I’m going to the bank, but: Does she work in a bank?
With radio: I heard the news on the radio but not with TV: I watched the news on
TV
With musical instruments when we talk about playing them or listening to them.
Do you play the guitar?
With countries which are a group or plural (including the words: kingdom, states,
republic)
The United Kingdom, the Netherlands
Before names of seas, rivers, groups of islands or mountains, deserts.
The Atlantic Ocean, the River Thames, the Arctic (land and sea), the Antarctic (land and
sea), the Alps, the Sahara, the Nile, the Gobi Desert.
ZERO ARTICLE
1. With plurals and uncountable nouns when we are talking generally.
Dogs are not allowed in this shop (dogs in general) ≠ The dogs next door bark all night
(some particular dogs)
Milk is good for you (milk in general) ≠ The milk in the fridge is fat-free (we know which
milk)
More examples of zero article to talk generally:
Materials: The chair is made of plastic
Food and drink: I love chocolate. I don’t like orange juice.
Abstract ideas: Love is wonderful!
Languages: Spanish is spoken by about 300 million people.
Subjects: History is my favourite subject.
2. With proper names, but the is used with titles.
She is Carol Parker, the Minister of Communications.
3. Before names of villages, towns, streets, cities, countries or continents.
She lives in Paris. We went to India.
2
4. Geographical areas, lakes, mountains and islands.

We visited Lake Victoria.
They climbed Mount Everest.
5. Names of places and institutions which consist of a proper name and another noun
do not take an article:
Trafalgar Square Victoria Station George Washington Bridge JFK Airport
6. Names of buildings with a place name before.
We visited Blenheim Palace and Coventry Cathedral.
7. With meals talking in general:
Dinner is at 7:30. What time do you have lunch?
BUT: At the end of the conference there was a dinner. The dinner was really fantastic. ( We
are talking about certain dinner)
8. Names of days, months, seasons and holidays are normally not preceded by an
article:
on Monday in March in summer at Christmas
9. The same is true for certain parts of the day (with the exception of in the
morning/afternoon/evening):
at noon at night at midnight
10. Nouns that refer to certain places and institutions when we are talking about the
purpose they are used for (as the place used to live, work, sleep, be hospitalised,
learn or be imprisoned.):
Be in or go to: hospital, prison, bed, class, court.
Be at or go to: work, school, university, sea.
In church
At home, go home.
To / at / from work
On holiday.
David isn’t at school this morning. (=learning)
She has been in bed all morning. (=sleeping or resting)
Maria is in hospital. (=hospitalised, as a patient)
They are going to send him to prison (=to be imprisoned)
We only say a or the before these words when the building is important and not its
use.
It was a beautiful church.
The school is very old now.
Is there a prison near here?
The hospital is closing down.
I found the keys under the bed.
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I’m going to the school to pick up my children.

Yesterday I went to the hospital to visit my grandmother.
11. Transport: expressions with by.

By car / bus / bicycle / plain / train / underground… BUT on foot.

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Grammar.

He is the tallest boy in the class.

4. Geographical areas, lakes, mountains and islands.

I’m going to the school to pick up my children.

11. Transport: expressions with by.

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