| Home |
| What We Do |
| Language Terms |
| Getting Started |
| Focusing/Organizing |
| Revising/Proofreading |
| Punctuation |
| ESL Helps |
| Internet Resources |
| Registration Forms |
Singular countable nouns are
generally preceded by an article--a, an, or the, and many plural
nouns have the before them. Normally no article is used when a possessive
occurs before the noun. The rule is that an article and a possessive can never
modify the same noun: a book or
the book or Bill's
book,
but never Bill's the book or
the his book. A and an are
called indefinite articles because they refer to any one of several or
many similar objects. If, for instance, a person says, "Please hand me a
pen," he doesn't care whether you give him the one on the table or the one on
the desk or whether you give him the blue one, the red one, or the black one--as
long as he has something with which to write. If, on the other hand, he says,
"Give me the pen," he wants a particular pen, perhaps the only pen
available or the particular pen that was just mentioned. Because the
designates something as "the only one or ones," the
is called the definite article.
A is used before a singular countable noun beginning with a consonant sound. An is used before a noun beginning with a vowel sound. Words starting with h and u can cause a problem because each of these letters has two different pronunciations. H is sometimes aspirated as in house and horse and sometimes silent as in herb, while u is sometimes pronounced like a vowel, as in umbrella and undergraduate, and sometimes like the consonant y + vowel, as in university and union. Thus, it is necessary to check the pronunciation of unfamiliar words beginning with either of these letters before deciding whether to use a or an. Occasionally other words create difficulties also, so it is necessary to listen to the sound of the word, not just look at its spelling: a South Dakota State University student vs. an SDSU student or a master's degree student vs. an MA student. The second of each pair pronounces the first letter of the word following the article like a vowel, not like a consonant.
One is used to replace a/an when there is a contrast between two or more numbers:
I have two sons but only one daughter.
Bill bought five goldfish but only one beta for his tank.
He owns one dog, not two.
No indefinite article exists for plural nouns. Either no article is used before the indefinite plural, or the quantity word some is employed to stress the indefiniteness of the situation. Thus, "I need apples to make a pie for dinner tonight" means approximately the same as "I need some apples to make a pie for dinner tonight."
A. "The Only One or Ones":
The most common reasons for a word being particular are the following: it is "the only one" in the surroundings or in existence; it has been previously mentioned: or it has been made particular by a modifier. For instance, modifying a word with the superlative form of an adjective, a ranking adjective, or an ordinal number makes a word particular, since these modifiers make the word "the only one/ones."
The sky is bright blue today. (the only one in existence)
A dog and a cat are sitting on a porch across the street. The cat belongs to my sister. (the second time mentioned)
Historians study constitutions from all over the world. The American constitution is one of the oldest still in use. (a single-word modifier)
The boy in the black coat is my son. (an adjective phrase)
The woman whom I just spoke to is the director of the public library. (an adjective clause; an adjective phrase)
The tallest boys were asked to stand in the last row. (a superlative; a ranking adjective)
The main incentive for being on time was to get a comfortable chair. (a ranking adjective)
The second person in line was a bank robber. (an ordinal number)
B. Special Circumstances Using The:
|
With The |
Without The |
||
| 1a. Before the name of a musical
instrument, especially after the word play: Bill plays the piano, as well the trumpet and the guitar. (In informal spoken English the is sometimes omitted, but the is preferred in other circumstances.) |
1b. Before the name of a game or
sport: Sam plays badminton and goes swimming in the summertime, but he enjoys chess and bridge in the wintertime. |
||
| 2a. Before the name of a
language when the word language is included: The Russian language and the English language are difficult to learn. (The refers to language, which is made particular by the modifier.) |
2b. When the name of the
language is used by itself: Spanish is supposed to be one of the easiest languages to learn, but German is considered to be difficult. |
||
| 3a. Before the titles of
officials when used to indicate the individual holding the office: The secretary of state will attend the reception for the queen. |
3b. When the name of the
official is included along with the title: Prince Charles was greeted warmly by Mayor Daily. |
||
| 4a. Before the names of most
historical periods or events: the First World War, the Civil War, the Renaissance, the Old Stone Age, the Space Age 5a. Before the plural of a family name to indicate two or more members of the family the Smiths, the Ricardos |
4b. Before the names of
historical periods and events when Roman numerals are employed: World War II
5b. Before a family name referring to a single person (usually a male) Jones, Marciano, Kim |
C. General Rules for The with Place Names:
1. The is used with plural place names.
the United States, the Philippines, the Cascade Mountains, the Great Lakes
2. The is used with place names composed of common nouns plus proper nouns inside prepositional phrases beginning with of.
the Republic of China, the State of South Dakota, the University of Oklahoma, the Gulf of Mexico
Note that when the is employed in this manner, it is not capitalized, although words like University, State, and Kingdom are.
3. The is used with names of countries made up entirely or partly of common nouns such as union, republic, empire, or commonwealth.
the British Empire, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
D. Specific Rules for The with Place Names:
|
|
With The |
Without The |
|
| Points of the compass used as
names for geographical areas: the North, the Midwest, the Near East
Special points on the globe :the North Pole, the 35th Parallel, the Tropic of Capricorn
|
Continents: South America, Antarctica, Africa Most countries: England, Germany, Malaysia, Mali, Costa Rica Cities and states (2 exceptions): New York City, Buenos Aires, Minnesota, Florida, Vatican City (But: the Hague, the Vatican, although not Vatican City) Streets: Fifth Avenue, Pall Mall, Orchard Drive, Brush Creek Boulevard, Drury Lane Parks: Hillcrest Park, Lake Oakwood State Park, Pioneer Park |
||
|
Mountain ranges: the Rocky Mountains (Mountains may be omitted: the Rockies) (However, the is not used with the name of a single mountain: Mount Everest, Harney Peak) Deserts, forests, peninsulas, and archipelagos: the Great Salt Desert, the Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula, the Malay Archipelago |
Islands: Coney Island, Manhattan Island (But: the Philippine Islands, the Isle of Jersey) |
||
| Most bodies of water: the Missouri River, the Baltic Sea, the Pacific Ocean, the Arabian Gulf, the English Channel (The words Ocean, Sea, or River may be omitted: the Missouri)
Libraries and museums: the Cincinnati Public Library, the Memorial Art Museum Hotels: the Holiday Inn, the Hilton Hotel (The word Hotel may be omitted: the Hilton) |
Lakes and bays: Lake Superior, Rocky Fork Lake, Hudson Bay (But: the Bay of Biscay)
Universities, colleges, and other schools: Long Beach State University, Wilmington College, Hillsboro High School, Central Elementary, Culver Military Academy (But: the University of Kentucky) |
||
| Towers and most buildings: the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, the Taj Mahal, the Coliseum, the Civic Auditorium (But: Carnegie Hall, Winchester Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Norwich Castle) Tunnels and most bridges: the Hudson Tunnel, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge (But: London Bridge) |
Articles are used generically when they are employed before a noun in a generalization, a sentence which comments about a group or category as a whole, not about separate real individuals or things. Either the, a, or an can be used before a singular countable noun to refer to a group, while no article is employed with a plural countable noun used generically:
The cat is a nocturnal animal.
A cat is often playful.
Cats like to catch mice and eat them.
Although each of the above sentences would continue to have about the same meaning if one of the other underlined forms is substituted for the form in the given sentence, the emphasis would be different. The before the singular noun stresses the category or group itself, but a or an emphasizes the individual within the group. If the indefinite plural is used, then the focus is on all of the individual members of the group.