A/anandthe:meaning
A/anandtheare articles. They are a type of determiner and they go before a noun.
A/anbefore a noun shows that what is referred to is not already known to the speaker, listener, writer and/or reader (it is the indefinite article):
Do you haveacar?
A:Do you live inahouse?
B:No, actually, I live inanapartment.
Thebefore a noun shows that what is referred to is already known to the speaker, listener, writer and/or reader (it is the definite article):
Where did we parkthecar?(The speaker and the listener know what car is being referred to.)
We had to painttheapartment before we sold it.(The speaker and the listener know what apartment is being referred to.)
Themakes a noun specific.
| The speaker is not asking about any one specific ice rink but is asking whether they have been to any ice rink (andoesn’t refer to a specific ice rink) |
| The speaker and listener know the ice rink which is being referred to (e.g. the one in their town/the local one).Themakes the nounice rinkspecific. |
Not specific | Specific (‘the one you and I know’) |
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See also:
Determiners (the, my,some,this)
When do we useaand when do we usean?
In speaking, we usea/ə/before a consonant sound:
a car a house a big truck a wheel a grey day
Some words that begin with a vowel letter in writing have a consonant sound:
/ə ju:ˈnaɪtɪd …/ /ə ju:niˈvɜ:sɪti/ /ə wʌn …/
a united group a university a one-year-old child
We usean/ən/before a vowel sound:
an apple an old shoe an orchestra an umbrella
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How do we pronouncethe?
We pronouncethein two ways depending on whether the sound which comes aftertheis a vowel or a consonant:
/ði:/before vowel sounds
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/ðə/before consonant sounds
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When do we use articles?
A/anandthewith types of nouns
Countable nouns
We only usea/anwith singular countable nouns:
I haveasister andabrother.
That wasanexcellent meal.
We can usethewith singular and plural countable nouns:
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Uncountable nouns
We don’t usea/anbefore uncountable nouns:
Could I have rice instead of potatoes with my fish?
Not:Could I have a rice
I hope we have nice weather.
Not:I hope we have a nice weather.
We can usethebefore uncountable nounswhen they refer to a specific example:
The ricewe bought in the Thai shop is much better than the supermarket rice.
The weatherwas awful last summer.
To talk about an individual quantity or more than one quantity of an uncountable noun, we use expressions such asa bit of, a piece ofora[specific measure]of:
That’sanamazingbit ofnews.
Not:That’s an amazing news.
We just madeabigbowl ofpasta.
Not:We just made a pasta.
Could I havea litre ofmilk, please?
Not:Could I have a milk, please?
General nouns
We only usethewith general plural nouns when we are referring to a specific set within a general class of people or things.
| I mean all books in general. |
| I mean specific books (that you and I know). |
We can make general nouns specific by using an article and adding more information after the noun.
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Inventions, musical instruments and cultural institutions
When we talk in general about inventions, musical instruments or cultural institutions (such as the cinema, the theatre, the circus, the opera, the ballet), we often usethe:
The computermust be the greatest invention ever.(The computer as an invention in general, not a specific computer)
The violinsounds different to the viola.
I love a night attheopera.
See also:
Nouns
No article before determiners (any, some, my, this)
We don’t use an article with other words that specify a noun (determiner), e.g.any, some, my, her, this, that:
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See also:
Determiners (the, my,some,this)
Thewith things that are universally known
We usethewith things known to everyone (the sun, the stars, the moon, the earth, the planet) because they are a part of our physical environment or part of the natural world:
The earthmoves aroundthe sun.
We lay onthe grassand watchedthe stars.
Thewith everyday things
We usethewith things that we know as part of our daily lives.Thedoes not refer to particular things in this context.
I don’t buythe newspaperthese days. It’s free onthe Internet.(newspapers in general)
They always takethe train.(trains in general)
Jobs and professions
When we talk about a person’s job, we usea:
She’sagardener.
He’sanambulance driver.
Places
We usethewith mountain ranges and some mountains (the Alps, the Eiger), groups of islands (the West Indies), rivers (the Danube), deserts (the Gobi Desert), seas (the Black Sea), geographical regionsor habitats (the Amazon rainforest), motorways (the M42), the names of some countries (the People’s Republic of China).
We don’t usually use articles with individual mountains or lakes when the name includesMountorLake:Mount Fuji,Lake Victoria. We don’t use articles with continents (Asia), countries (Romania), towns (Edinburgh), and streets (Lombard Street).
See also:
Geographical places
Nationalities, languages, countries and regions
Place names
Thewith groups within society
When we talk about particular groups or people within society, we usethe+ adjective:
I thinkthe richshould pay more tax and thatthe poorshouldn’t pay any.
The youngneed to be encouraged and supported in society.
Thewith dates
When we say a specific date, we usethe, but when we write it, we don’t usethe:
Speaking: ‘I’ll see you onthetwenty fourth of May.’
Writing:I’ll see you on 24th May.
When we talk about months, we don’t usethe:
My birthday is inSeptember.
Mayis my favourite month of all.
When we talk about seasons in general, we can use eitherinorin the. Inwithouttheis often used in more formal or literary contexts:
These birds arrive in Britainin summer, and leave asthe winterbegins.
In the summer, we usually go to the mountains.
We rarely get snowin the winter.
When we talk about a specific season, we usethe:
The winterof 1947 was one of the coldest in Britain.
We’ll definitely visit youin the summer.(meaning next summer)
See also:
Nouns
Thewith Internet, radio and newspaper but mostly not with TV
I looked it up ontheInternet.
Not:on internet
She was onthe radioonce.
Not:on radio
Did you see that story about parrots inthenewspaper?
Not:in newspaper
There’s usually nothing on TV.(TV means television)
There’s usually nothing onthe television.(less common)
Thewithgo to,be at,be in hospital,school,prison
When we talk about the activity that happens in a building rather than about the building itself, we don’t usethe.
withoutthe | withthe |
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We don’t usethewithbedwhen we go there to sleep:
I alwaysgo to bedat eleven o’clock.
Not:I always go to the bed…
We don’t usethebeforeworkwhen we talk about the place where we do our job:
Theygo to workat 8 am every morning.
Not:They go to the work…
See also:
At,onandin(time)
Possessive expressions
We don’t usetheto refer to an individual’s behaviour or to parts of an individual’s body:
He spends most ofhisfree time playing computer games.
Not:He spends most of the free time…
I must washmyhands.
Not:I must wash the hands.
This,thatand articles
We can usethisinstead ofa/anorthe, andtheseinstead ofzero articleorsomewhen we tell stories and jokes to create a sense of the present:
[beginning of a joke]
There wasthischicken who wanted to cross the road …(compareThere was a chicken who wanted to cross the road …)
Thesetourists came into the restaurant once and they ordered fifteen Irish coffees.(compareSome tourists came into the restaurant once and they ordered …)
In informal speaking, we can usethatas an alternative tothein stories when we refer to something familiar or known to the listener.Thathighlights the fact that the thing being referred to is known to the speaker and listener:
A:Where did you buy your skirt? I really like it.
B:I got it atthatnew shop next to Green’s Hotel. (compareI got it atthenew shop next to Green’s Hotel.)
A/anandthe: typical errors
We don’t usethewith plural nouns when we are referring to things in general:
We have to protect wild animals.(referringto wild animals in general)
Not:the wild animals.
We don’t usethewhen we refer in general to something abstract or uncountable:
I love Japanese food.(all Japanese food/Japanese food in general)
Not:I love the Japanese food.
We don’t usethewhen the noun is not known to the listener or reader:
Last Sunday, we sawafilm called ‘Nightmare’.(The speaker doesn’t think that the listener knows of this film.)
Not: …we saw the film called ‘Nightmare’.
We don’t usetheinstead of a possessive pronoun:
The police asked us to putourhands up.
Not:The police asked us to put the hands up.
We don’t use an article withgo to bed:
Igo to bedat eleven most nights.
Not:I go to the bed at eleven most nights.