Articles in English - one of the most difficult topics. If, when studying words, we can rely on mnemonic, a similar sound, or even spelling of words, then in the case of articles we have nowhere to go: they simply do not exist in Russian. So you have to learn the rules. There are a lot of them, and it is better to divide them into categories of basic and advanced. In this cheat sheet consider the basic rules.
A / an
Does the word begin with a vowel or unpronounceable H (for example, as in the word hour)? - an. Examples:
an apple, an egg.Does the word begin with a consonant or a sound [j] (for example, as in the word university)? - a. Examples: a
lipstick, a window, a highrise.Object one! Articles a and an are not used with the plural.
Noun countable! You can’t say
I want a water , but you can say
I want some water . The exception may be a portion of drinks, for example, coffee. When ordering coffee, you always mean one cup, so in the conversational version it is permissible to say
I would like a coffee, please.
Interested in not a specific object, but in principle any. Example:
a dog for her birthday. (no matter what, sister wants any dog).
It is about a group of people to which someone belongs, and the designation in the singular. Most often these are professions and hobbies. Examples:
She is a doctor. He is an avid reader.Do you mention the object for the first time? Use the article “a”. For example,
There's an awesome book I want to recommend you. (you speak for the first time about the book, the interlocutor does not know about it).
A / an = per in the sense of "per unit of something." Example:
Apples cost 50 rubles a kilo (per 1 kilogram).
She was driving 70 miles an hour (for 1 hour).
I have English lessons twice a week (in 1 week).
The article
Objects can be countable and uncountable. Examples:
I sent you files. I was interested in being strictly confidential.The object is already familiar to the interlocutor? Use the article “the”. For example, the
book I Atonement by Ian McEwan. (exactly the book that I want to recommend). Or:
The girl who sits next to me is a famous blogger. (exactly the girl who sits next to you).
Is this a unique property? Use the article “the”. For example,
No one lives on the Moon. The sun was shining bright.Is this a specific object? Use the article “the”. For example,
Brian saw the elephant in the zoo. (probably, there is only one elephant in the zoo. Or Brian saw a particular elephant whom he loves more than others).
Are you going to use ordinal number? Don't forget the article “the” -
the first, the sixth, the twentieth.
Want to use the superlative adjective? And here don't forget “the” -
the funniest show I've seen, the most interesting place I've visited.Speak of family as a group? Feel free to use “the”:
The Trumps, the Jacksons, the Smiths.Basically speaking about the band? And here you need the article “the”. For example,
Jerry decided to help the poor. (note: there is no word people, the adjective poor denotes a group of people, so the article is needed).
Undertook geography? The “the” is used with the full names of countries (
The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ), the names of the oceans (
The Pacific Ocean ), the seas (
The Black Sea ), the rivers (
The Amazon ), the archipelagoes (
The Philippines ), groups of lakes (
The Great Lakes ) and mountains (
The Alps ), deserts (
The Sahara ), designations on the globe (
The Equator, The North / South Pole ), geographical regions (
The Northwest ), hotels (
The Ritz ), theaters (
The Bolshoi ), museums (
The National Gallery ), as well as masterpieces of architecture and art (
The Mona Lisa, the Colosseum ).
In some time expressions, the “the” is needed:- in the morning
- in the afternoon
- in the evening
- during the night
- during the day
- the day before yesterday
- the day after tomorrow
- the fall
- the summer
Articles are not needed
Before proper names: Mary, George, Ivan, and not the Mary, the George and the Ivan.Before the names of cities: New York, Sydney. There is, however, an exception:
the Hague.Before the short names of countries: Russia, China, France .
Before uncountable nouns: Ask Julie, she usually gives good good advice.Before street names: Privet Drive, Marine Street . The exception is
the High Street.Before the names of individual lakes (
Ladoga Lake ), islands (
Maui ) and mountains (
Everest ), as well as canyons (except for
the Grand Canyon ) and waterfalls (
Victoria ).
Before the names of languages :
English, Dutch, Italian .
Before the names of days and months: Monday, June .
Before the names of colleges and universities (
Moscow State University, Massachusetts Technological Institute )
Before countable nouns in the plural, if we are talking about the phenomenon as a whole:
Trees get green in spring. (no matter what, they all turn green at once).
If you already have a possessive pronoun :
Are you reading my book? His essay was very interesting to read.Before breakfast, lunch and dinner: I usually have dinner at 7 .
If you want to say a general fact about the nationality: Americans eat a lot of fast food.After a series of time expressions:- at night
- at noon
- at midnight
- all day
- all night
- all month
- yesterday
- tomorrow
For time expressions preceded by the words
this, that, next, last, every: next year, last week, every month, this century.Before the names of school subjects: Literature, Math, Biology.Before sports: football, soccer, volleyball.