The definite article - the
The definite article the is the same for all genders in singular and in plural.
the boy, the girl, the cat, the computers. If the following word begins with a vowel, we speak [
word begins with a consonant, we speak [ ].
[ ]
the following word starts with a spoken consonant
the girl
the school
the unit
Here a [ ] is pronounced at the beginning of the word.
without the definite article
general words (indefinite)
Life is too short.
I like flowers.
names of persons in the singular, relatives
Peter and John live in London.
Aunt Mary lives in Los Angeles.
public buildings, institutions, means of
transport (indefinite)
Mandy doesn't like school.
We go to school by bus.
Some people go to church on Sundays.
names of countries in the singular; summits of
mountains; continents; towns
Germany, France;
Mount Whitney, Mount McKinley;
Africa, Europe;
Cairo, New York
single islands
Corfu, Bermuda, Sicily
parks; lakes; streets
Central Park, Hyde Park;
Lake Michigan, Loch Ness;
42nd Street, Oxford Street
months, days of the week (indefinite)
The weekend is over on Monday morning.
July and August are the most popular months
for holidays.
], if the following
[ ]
the following word starts with a spoken vowel
the English girl
the old school
the uncle
Here a [ ] is pronounced at the beginning of the word.
with the definite article
general words (definite)
I've read a book on the life of Bill Clinton.
I like the flowers in your garden.
family names in the plural
The Smiths live in Chicago.
public buildings, institutions, means of transport (definite)
The school that Mandy goes to is old.
The bus to Dresden leaves at 7.40.
The round church in Klingenthal is famous.
names of countries in the plural; mountain ranges; regions
the United States of America, the Netherlands; the Highlands, the
Rocky Mountains, the Alps; the Middle East, the west of Australia
groups of islands
the Bahamas, the British Isles, the Canaries
name with of-phrase; oceans; seas; rivers
the Statue of Liberty, the Tower (of London), the Isle of Wight;
the Atlantic (Ocean);
the Mediterranean (Sea);
the Nile, the Rhine, the Suez Canal
months, days of the week (definite)
I always remember the Monday when I had an accident.
The August of 2001 was hot and dry.
If a noun is well-known to the speaker and listener. (The head-
master wants to see you.) and if it is mentioned for the second
time. (He was born in a village.The village lies on the border of a
dense forest.)
With a singular noun to denote a whole class. (The horse is a
domestic animal.
If there is only one representative. (the sun,the moon,the sky,the
earth)
With the names of newspapers (The Times); names of nations in
the plural(the English); the east,the south; with ordinal
numbers(the first); parts of the day(in the morning/evening); in
some set phrases (to play the piano/violin); with superlatives (the
smartest girl)…
We use the seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn, winter) with or without the definite article. -in summer
or in the summer.

The American English word for autum >fall< is always used with the definte article.

Sometimes we use the article and sometimes we do not. It often depends on the context. Watch the following example:

The student goes to school.

The mother goes to the school.

In the first sentence we do not use the definite article, in the second we do. The student goes to school for its primary
purpose, so we do not use the article.

The mother might talk to a teacher, for example. She visits the school for a different reason. That's why we use the
definite article in the second sentence.

I Decide whether to use the definte article >the< or not. If you do not need the article >the<, use x.

1) My grandmother likes___________flowers very much.

2) I love___________ flowers in your garden.
3) See you on __________ Wednesday.
4) I always listen to ___________ radio in __________ morning.
5) Alex goes to__________ work by ____________bus.
6) Don't be late for__________school.
7) Listen! Dennis is playing ___________trumpet.
8) We often see our cousins over__________ Easter.
9) She has never been to _________ Alps before.
10) What about going to__________ Australia in __________ February?
11) Last year we visited __________ St. Paul's Cathedral and _________ Tower.
12) _________Mount Everest is___________ highest mountain on earth.
13) _________ Loch Ness is __________ most famous lake in _________Scotland.
14) _________ most children like ________ sweets.
15) _________ summer of _________1996 was hot and dry.
16) _________ Plaza Hotel is on the corner of ________ 59th Street and _________ 5th Avenue.
17) My sister often stays at _________ Uncle Tim's in Detroit.
18) Our friends _________ Millers moved to Florida________ last August.
19) _________ smog is a problem in_________ big cities.
20) Our children go to ________ school by_________ bus.

II Hi John,
I arrived in ______ USA last Monday. We left ______ Rome, flew over ______ Alps and made a quick stop in ______
London. There we went shopping in _______ Harrods, visited ______ Tower and enjoyed a sunny afternoon in______
Hyde Park. On the following day we left for New York. ______ time on board wasn't boring as there were two films to
watch on _______ monitor. _______ people on_______ plane were all_____ Italian. Before we landed at ______ JFK
airport, we saw ________ Statue of Liberty,______ Ellis Island and_____ Empire State Building.______ hotel I stayed in
was on________ corner of_____ 42nd Street and_____5th Avenue. I don't like ______ hotels very much, but I didn't
have_______ time to rent an apartment.
Please say hello to Peter and Mandy.
Yours,
Peter

III Put in the,a/an or zero article.

I am from _____Seattle, _____Washington. Seattle is ____ city in ____ United States. It is near____ border of Canada in
____ northwest corner of ____ USA. I live in ___ town called Olympia which is on the Puget Sound. I live in___ house in
____ street in ____ countryside. The street is called____ "Bear Street" and ____ house is old - more than 100 years old! I
am____ English teacher at____ school in____ center of ____ town. I like_____ books and taking ____photographs. I
usually have lunch at____ school. I usually 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!
TEACHER’S NOTES

1) My grandmother likes x flowers very much.

2) I love the flowers in your garden.
3) See you on x Wednesday.
4) I always listen to the radio in the morning.
5) Alex goes to work by x bus.
6) Don't be late for x school.
7) Listen! Dennis is playing the trumpet.
8) We often see our cousins over x Easter.
9) She has never been to the Alps before.
10) What about going to Australia in x February?
11) Last year we visited x St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower.
12) x Mount Everest is the highest mountain on earth.
13) x Loch Ness is the most famous lake in Scotland.
14) x most children like x sweets.
15) The summer of 1996 was hot and dry.
16) The Plaza Hotel is on the corner of x 59th Street and x 5th Avenue.
17) My sister often stays at x Uncle Tim's in Detroit.
18) Our friends the Millers moved to Florida last August.
19) x smog is a problem in x big cities.
20) Our children go to x school by x bus.

II Hi John,
I arrived in the USA last Monday. We left x Rome, flew over the Alps and made a quick stop in x London. There we went
shopping in x Harrods, visited the Tower and enjoyed a sunny afternoon in x Hyde Park. On the following day we left for
x New York. The time on board wasn't boring as there were two films to watch on the monitor. The people on the plane
were all x Italian. Before we landed at x JFK airport, we saw the Statue of Liberty, x Ellis Island and the Empire State
Building. The hotel I stayed in was on the corner of x 42nd Street and x 5th Avenue. I don't like x hotels very much, but I
didn't have x time to rent an apartment.

Please say hello to Peter and Mandy.

Yours,
Peter

III I am from Seattle, Washington. Seattle is a city in the United States. It is near the border of Canada in the northwest
corner of the USA. I live in a town called Olympia which is on the Puget Sound. I live in a house in a street in the
countryside. The street is called "Bear Street" and the house is old - more than 100 years old! I am an English teacher at a
school in the center of the town. I like books and taking photographs. I usually have lunch at school. I usually go home by
car. We have all kinds of food in Olympia. I like Italian food very much. Sometimes, I go to an Italian restaurant in
Seattle. The restaurant is called "Luigi's". Italian food is great!
 INDEFINITE ARTICLE A / AN

Use 'a' with nouns starting with a consonant (letters that are not vowels),
'an' with nouns starting with a vowel (a,e,i,o,u)

Examples: A boy
An apple
A car
An orange
A house
An opera

NOTE:
An before an h mute - an hour, an honour.
A before u and eu when they sound like 'you': a european, a university, a unit

The indefinite article is used:

• to refer to something for the first time:

An elephant and a mouse fell in love.
Would you like a drink?
I've finally got a good job.
• to refer to a particular member of a group or class

Examples:

o with names of jobs:

John is a doctor.
Mary is training to be an engineer.
He wants to be a dancer.
o with nationalities and religions:
John is an Englishman.
Kate is a Catholic.
o with musical instruments:
Sherlock Holmes was playing a violin when the visitor arrived.
(BUT to describe the activity we say "He plays the violin.")
o with names of days:
I was born on a Thursday
o
• to refer to a kind of, or example of something:
the mouse had a tiny nose
the elephant had a long trunk
it was a very strange car
• with singular nouns, after the words 'what' and 'such':
What a shame!
She's such a beautiful girl.
• meaning 'one', referring to a single object or person:
I'd like an orange and two lemons please.
The burglar took a diamond necklace and a valuable painting.

Notice also that we usually say a hundred, a thousand, a million. NOTE: that we use 'one' to add emphasis or
to contrast with other numbers:
I don't know one person who likes eating elephant meat.
We've got six computers but only one printer.