We don't use articles in front of nouns when we mean something in general: I love flowers. Crime is a problem.

We don't use articles when talking about places such as church, prison, school when we are thinking of the idea of these places and what they are used for: After I finish high school, I want to go to college. His brother was sent to prison. We don't use articles with the names of continents, and we do not normally use it with countries, states, cities, islands Asia, Europe, London, Spain.... BUT ... * The Hague * plural countries, republics, kingdoms take the the Netherlands, the UK, the Republic of Croatia we don't use articles in front of uncountable nouns used in general statements Oil is produced in Alaska. in front of most proper nouns: This was made by Jackson and Son. parts of day and night and meals; We left at dawn. Let's have lunch. we use by+zero article with means of transport and communication; by car, by post, by phone, by email

a/an is short from one and it cannot stand in front of plural nouns: a cars the difference between a/an stems from the need for easier pronunciation, therefore a is used before initial consonants (a pen), while an is used before initial vowels (an apple). * it is pronunciation that matters, not the spelling, so bear in mind cases like a university, an hour etc... and abbreviations such as an MP We use indefinite article a(n) when mentioning something/someone for the first time, as means of introduction * There is a man in the street. (some man, we do not know who he is). If we continue talking about the man, then we know who it refers to, so we use definite article instead. The man (the one I just mentioned who was in the street) is wearing a suit. we often use a/an + noun when we want to say what sb/sth is (like) * What a nice coat! She is a great teacher. we also use a/an for jobs; He is a doctor. when we do not know the person; A Mark Fratto was looking for you. When we refer to the qualities of the person named: He's good at soccer, but he'll never be a Maradonna. When we talk about a product or an artist's work Could this be a Van Gogh?

We use 'the' in front of nationality nouns to refer to 'all the people in general' the Chinese, the Poles, the Dutch - to refer to geographical areas as in: the forest, the countryside, the seaside... - we also talk about the present, the past and the future

when we use the, the reader or listener knows what we are referring to; by way of back reference: I bought a new car. The car is awesome. the+noun+of The life of Napoleon was incredible. a clause The guy I'm talking about works for CNN. Context Pass me the salt, please. (the salt on the table, for example). But Salt is bad for you. (salt in general, any kind). The books have arrived. (the books you ordered) Things that are unique, one of a kind; the earth, the sun, the moon Public bodies; the government, the police Official titles; the President we use 'the' to talk about classes of things using singular countable nouns: The tiger is the largest animal of the four 'big cats'. (compare: A tiger was found near the path = one tiger)

when we talk about a family as a whole; the Robinsons When we want to specify we're talking about a famous person: The Madonna was here? (the famous singer?)Also when we want to specify which of two people with the same name: That is not the Peter Johnson I went to school with. we use the in front of a superlative adjective; The finest work of art.