DEFINITE ARTICLE

INDEFINITE ARTICLE

ZERO ARTICLE

What is the difference between definite and indefinite articles?

Definite:

oTheo Definitely points

to a specific thing.

o The book.o The desk

Indefinite:

a/an Not pointing to

a general thing.

A book. A desk.

Read the examples

RULES:

A teacher 

An English teacher 

An immigrant

A / an before a singular noun.

Ex. A native speaker 

⇒ A before a

consonant sound. Ex. A foreign

language ⇒ An before a vowel

sound. Ex. An official

language

Pay attention to these examples A university – singular noun with a u

An European city – singular noun beginning with eu

An hour – silent h

An NBA player – consonant with a vowel sound

When do we use the definite and the indefinite articles?

Indefinite article:

a/ an

To talk about a person or thing that is not specific.

Example: English is an

official language in India (there are other official

 languages besides English)

Definite article:

the To talk about a specific

person or thing.

Example: English is the

official language in Australia

 (English is the only official language in Australia)

You should also use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.

Example.:

"She has two children; a girl and a boy. The girl's eight and the boy's fourteen."

We use the to talk about geographical points on the globe.

Examples:

the North Pole the equator We use the to talk about rivers, oceans and seas

• The Amazon river• The Pacific Ocean

Zero article We don’t use THE with: First names Names of meals Colors Sports Names of days of the week Names of months Countries / cities Festivities

You do not use an article before the names of countries except where they indicate multiple areas or contain the words (state(s), kingdom, republic, union). Kingdom, state, republic and union are nouns, so they need an article.

No article - Italy, Mexico, Bolivia, England Use the -  the UK (United Kingdom),  the USA (United States ofAmerica),  the Irish Republic Multiple areas! the Netherlands, the Philippines, the Ballestas Isles.

1. I bought   ………………. pair of shoes.2. I saw  ……………………. movie last

night.3. They are staying

at ……………………….. hotel.4. I think ……..   man over there is very

unfriendly.5. I do not like……………….. basketball.6. That is  ------------------ problem I told

you about.7. ………………. night is quiet. Let's take

a walk!8. ……………………..price of gas keeps

rising.

1. John traveled to ………  Mexico.2. Juan is   …………………..Spanish.3. I read ……………….. amazing story

yesterday.4. My brother doesn't eat   ………………

chicken.5. ……. love is such  ……………beautiful

thing.6. I live

in  ………… apartment.  …………………. apartment is new.

7. I would like  …………………..piece of cake.

8. I was in   ……. Japanese restaurant.  ………..restaurant served good food.

9. Sara can play ………………. Guitar.

Choose 'a', 'an', 'the' or no article for the following sentences in the paragraph

I was born in Seattle, Washington. Seattle is ……. city in the United States. It is near ……..border of Canada. I live in …….town called Olympia, in …………… house in …………street in the countryside. ………street is called "Bear Street" and ……..house is beautiful but very old - more than 200 years old! I am …………..English teacher at ……school in the center of …… town. I like books and taking photographs. I usually have ….. lunch at 1pm and go home by car. We have all kinds of food in Olympia. I like ….. Italian food very much. Sometimes, I go to ….Italian restaurant in Seattle.……restaurant is called "Luigi's". Italian food is great!

Write a or an in the spaces. 1 ……..unreasonable decision 2 ……..unit of work 3 ………honorable man 4 ………UFO 5 ………happy girl 6 ………elephant 7 ………...BBC program 8………..universal problem 9. ……….eucalyptus tree 10. …….X-ray 11. …….T-shirt 12. …….H-bomb 13. ……..hospital 14. ……..UNESCO worker