Articles - ‘a’ ‘an’ ‘the’ and ‘zero’

An article is a type of determiner used with a noun. Articles are usually

characterized as either definite or indefinite i.e. something specific or something
non-specific. the (definite article) and a, an (indefinite article), there is also what we
call the zero article. How we use them also depends on whether a noun is singular
or plural, countable or uncountable. Other ‘determiners’ are - ‘this’ ‘that’ ‘those’ ‘his’
‘her’ ‘whose’ - among many others.
 My cat is the most adorable cat in the world.
 Those jeans are ripped in the knees.
 His father is a lawyer
As you can see, determiners can take the place of an article in a sentence

GENERAL OR SPECIFIC

* It’s a book. (It doesn’t matter which book it is- a general book)
* It’s the book I told you about. (A specific book – we know which book)
* The car is a great invention. (Cars generally)
* Books can be expensive to buy. (Books in general)
practice -

1. This morning I bought ..............newspaper and ................ magazine. ............... newspaper is in

my bag but I don’t know where I put ................ magazine.
2. I saw ............... accident this morning. ........... car crashed into ............. tree. ........... driver
of ............... car wasn’t hurt but ............ car was badly damaged.
3. My friends live in.............. old house in .............. small village. There is ............... beautiful
garden behind ............. house. I would like to have ............. garden like that.
4. What is ............ name of that man we met yesterday?
5. My granddad said that ……… blue whale was extinct but I saw …… TV program that said it was
nearly but not quite extinct. …… program was really interesting.
6. ……. information can be easily found on …….. internet

WITH SUPERLATIVES AND BEFORE SOME SPECIFIC PHRASES

 the most beautiful girl

 It was the best holiday I’ve ever had
 He works three hours a week.
 go to the bank, the post office, the airport,
 go to the dentist, the doctor
 in the city centre
 in the army / the navy / the police
 once a week / three times a day/ six days a week
 the capital
 at the end of the street

Tom Smith
 Articles - ‘a’ ‘an’ ‘the’ and ‘zero’
practice -

1. She is ................. most intelligent girl in class.

2. He works five days .................. week.
3. My brother is in ............... army.
4. My mother went to ......... dentist
5. There is a cinema at ............... end of the street
6. Our flat is in ............ city center.
7. He went to .......... bank to withdraw money.
8. He is ............ funniest man I have ever seen.
9. Paris is .......... capital of France.
10. They called ............. police.

ENTERTAINMENT / MEDIA AND SPORT

* Turn on the TV = the piece of equipment

* zero article ......watch TV
*listen to the radio, on the radio
* zero article ..... for games and sports – I love tennis/ basketball
* go to the cinema / the theatre
* the same
* before meals no article – have breakfast/ dinner/ lunch

practice -

1. Where did you have ............. lunch?

2. We went to ................. theatre.
3. We went to ............... restaurant.
4. I play ............. football.
5. Do you go to ............... cinema very often?
6. She listens to ............. radio
7. I had ............... dinner at 7.
8. He watched ............ TV last night
9. Please turn off ................TV?
10. There is a programme on ........ radio.

TIME

* before years zero article : in 1987

* but in the 1990s, in the 20th century
* for seasons : in winter or in the winter ( the meaning doesn’t change)
* for months zero article : in June
* for days zero article: on Monday
* in the morning/ afternoon/ evening
* but zero article : at night
practice -
Tom Smith
 Articles - ‘a’ ‘an’ ‘the’ and ‘zero’
1. He got married in ................ 1999.
2. She came in .............. evening.
3. I was born in ............ January.
4. She didn’t phone me at ............night.
5. The people came in .......... 19th century.
6. Flowers blossom in ............. spring.

GEOGRAPHICAL TERMS

* use the with: seas, mountain groups, rivers, island groups, regions
eg: the Mediterranean, The Alps, The Kızılırmak, The Bahamas,
* zero article with: planets, continents, countries, towns, cities, streets, lakes, mountains,
individual islands eg: Mars, Asia, Turkey, Blue Street, Lake Van, Mount Ararat, Black Sea
* but use the with: the Earth, the Moon, the world, the Sun, the USA, the UK, the sky, the sea, the
ground, the country, the environment
practice -

1. It was ............. nice day yesterday.

2. ...........Kızılırmak is .......... longest river in ............Turkey
3. ............Moon goes around ........earth and ............earth goes around ..........sun.
4. ...........Black Street is full of old shops.
5. Tim lives in ............. small village in ............country.
6. I really want to move to ………. USA.
7. He went to ...........Europe.
8. ..........Everest is ........ highest mountain.
JOBS

* usually with a or an : She is an engineer

* but use the when there is only one: The Mayor, The President, The Headmaster
* zero article with: go to work, be at work
practice -

1. He is ............. nurse.
2. He went to ............ work
3. She is at .............. work.
4. ........... King is very ill.

NATIONALITIES

* zero article with: She is English. / They are Spanish.

* but use the when you are talking about them in general: The English are very intelligent.

practice -

Tom Smith
 Articles - ‘a’ ‘an’ ‘the’ and ‘zero’
1. The girl is ...........French. 2. I don’t like ............ French. 3. ........British are more polite than
……… French.

PLACES AT HOME / PUBLIC BUILDINGS / BUILDINGS WITH COMPANY NAMES

* use the: the bathroom / the ceiling

* use zero articles for buildings with a company name: Harrods department store / Tesco’s
supermarkets / Diamond Plaza
* zero article: go to prison / hospital / school, to be in prison / hospital ( if you are a criminal or ill or
a student)
* if you go to visit a prison / hospital , use the
eg: She went to the hospital to see her sister
practice –

1. He was in ............. prison. Because he killed a man.

2. She was in .............. prison to see her father.,
3. I went to ............... bank.
4. She went to .... school to see her son.
5. She was very ill so she went to .............. hospital.
6. She went to ...... school and learnt new things.
7. We sat on ............. floor. We turned off ............. lights and there was a strange noise in the
….kitchen

TRAVEL

* go home
* on the bus , in the car
* but: go by car / bus/bike / plane
practice -

1. She went to school by .......... train.

2. She was on ................bus.
3. He was in .............. car.
4. I want to go ..............home

WHEN A NOUN HAS AN IDENTIFYING ADJECTIVE BEFORE IT, MAKING IT UNIQUE

* use the: the local council / the British council / the American Embassy /the New Library/ the
Catholic Church

1. I’m studying at ….. British Council.

2. …. Old Town Library is being knocked down
3. We walked past ……… Russian Consulate

Tom Smith