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 Part One:
A/An and One
A/An and One

We use a before nouns and noun phrases that begin with a

consonant sound. If the noun or noun phrase starts with a
vowel letter but has a consonant sound, we also use a:

A university A European A one-man job

A/An and One

We use an before words that begin with a vowel sound:

An orange An Italian An umbrella

These include words that begin with a silent letter ‘h’:

An hour An honest child An honour

A/An and One
We use an with abbreviations said as individual letters with A,
E, F, H, I, L, M, N, O, R, S or Z

An MP An FBI agent An IOU

We use a with abbreviations said as words:

A NATO General A FIFA official

A/An and One

We use a/an (not one) to talk about a particular but

unspecified person, thing or event:

I really need a cup of coffee

You never see a police officer in this part of town, do you?
A/An and One

We use a/an (not one) in number and quantity expressions

such as:

Three times a year half an hour a day or so

a few a little a huge number of

A/An and One

We use a rather than one in the pattern of a….of… with

possessives, such as:

She’s a colleague of mine.

That’s a friend of Bill’s.

A/An and One
Before a singular countable noun one and a/an both refer to one
thing:

We’ll be in Australia for one year (or ….. a year)

Wait here for one minute, and I’ll be with you. (or …. a minute…)

Using one in sentences like these gives a little emphasis to the length
of time, quantity, amount, etc.:

He weighs one hundred and twenty kilos!

A/An and One
We use one rather than a/an if we want to emphasise that we
are talking about only one thing or person rather than two or
more:

Do you want one sandwich or two?

Are you staying only one night?

A/An and One
We use one, not a/an, in the pattern one….other/another:

Close one eye, and then the other.

Bees carry pollen from one plant to another.

A/An and One
We use one in phrases such as one day, one evening, one
spring, etc. to mean a particular but unspecified day, evening,
spring, etc.

Hope to see you again one day.

One evening, while he was working late at the office…

 A or An

____________ unpaid bill

 A or An

____________ DIY shop

 A or An

____________ MA in Russian
 A or An

____________ Euro
 A or An

____________ MiG fighter plane

 A or An

____________ Olympic medal

 A or An

____________ AGM
 A or An

____________ U-turn
 A or An

____________ heirloom
 A or An

____________ NASA space launch

 A or An

____________ UN decision
 A or An

____________ SOS message

 A or An

____________ F grade
 A or An

____________ hero
 A/An or One or Both

If you wait _______ second I’ll get my coat and

come to.
 A/An or One or Both

I want to see the river __________ last time before

I leave
 A/An or One or Both

The queen is visiting the city ________ day in November.

 A/An or One or Both

It was announced that the plane would be approximately

______ hour late.
 A/An or One or Both

I could hear the sound of _____ helicopter in the distance

 A/An or One or Both

I’d just like to say ____ thing before I go.

 A/An or One or Both

Martha’s baby is _____ year old already.

 A/An or One or Both

Dinner should be ready in _____ hour or so.

 A/An or One or Both

Paul came over ____ evening last week.

 A/An or One or Both

I’ve painted ___ wall already and I’ll do the other later.
 A/An or One or Both

I’d like to make ____ point here, Ken, if I may.

 A/An or One or Both

____ large number of people had gathered in the square

 Part Two:
A/An, The and Zero Article
A/An, The and Zero Article
We use the when we talk about things which are unique – there
is only one of them (or one set of them):

The world The sky The sun

The ground The climate The sea

The human race The travel industry

A/An, The and Zero Article

We use the when we are referring to geographical areas:

The country The beach The forest

A/An, The and Zero Article

We use the for:

The past The present The future

A/An, The and Zero Article

However, some nouns like these (sun, sea, land, etc.) can be
used with zero article to refer to a concept in general:

Climate is one of the many factors involved in changing

farming methods (or The climate….)

The flowers grow best in sandy soil and sun.

A/An, The and Zero Article
We use the when we make generalisations about classes of things using
similar countable nouns. Compare the use of the and a/an in these
sentences:

The computer has revolutionised publishing (this refers to computer in

general)
NOT
A computer has revolutionised publishing. (computers in general have
done this, not an individual computer.)

The computer is an important research tool.

AND
A computer is an important research tool.
(This statement is true of both the general class and the individual item)
A/An, The and Zero Article
If we use the with plural and uncountable nouns we are
referring to a specific thing or group:

The computers have arrived. Where shall I put them?

The music was wonderful. I could have listened to it all night.

A/An, The and Zero Article
When we define something or say what is typical of a particular
class of people or things. We generally use a/an rather than the:

A corkscrew is a gadget for getting corks out of bottles.

A garden is there to give you pleasure, not constant worry.

A/An, The and Zero Article
Some nouns can be used uncountably when we talk about the
whole substance or idea, but countably when we talk about an
instance or more than one instance of it. When these nouns are
used countably we can use a/an (and plurals)

I don’t drink coffee Would you like a coffee?

She’s got blonde hair There’s a hair in my soup!

He shook with fear He has a fear of heights.

 Conversation, grammar, importance, iron,
pleasure, shampoo, sound
Use a/an if necessary
For example:

My sisters were clearly having serious _____ so I didn’t

like to disturb them.

My sisters were clearly having A serious conversation

so I didn’t like to disturb them.
 Conversation, grammar, importance, iron,
pleasure, shampoo, sound
Use a/an if necessary

It now gives me great ____ to introduce that marvellous ventriloquist, Marco

Lutman.
 Conversation, grammar, importance, iron,
pleasure, shampoo, sound
Use a/an if necessary

The Nile is of critical ____ to the social and economic

life of Egypt.
 Conversation, grammar, importance, iron,
pleasure, shampoo, sound
Use a/an if necessary

As we walked through the jungle we heard ______ we

weren’t expecting – the ring of a mobile phone.
 Conversation, grammar, importance, iron,
pleasure, shampoo, sound
Use a/an if necessary

The failure to teach ____ in schools has caused an over

-all decline in people’s ability to write well.
 Conversation, grammar, importance, iron,
pleasure, shampoo, sound
Use a/an if necessary

Most red meat is relatively high in ____

 Conversation, grammar, importance, iron,
pleasure, shampoo, sound
Use a/an if necessary

Within a day of washing my hair it starts to feel greasy.

I have yet to find _____ to solve this problem.
 Conversation, grammar, importance, iron,
pleasure, shampoo, sound
Use a/an if necessary

_____ travels at different speeds, depending on the

temperature of the air.
 Conversation, grammar, importance, iron,
pleasure, shampoo, sound
Use a/an if necessary

I got ______ in my eye this morning in the shower and

it’s made it really sore.
 Conversation, grammar, importance, iron,
pleasure, shampoo, sound
Use a/an if necessary

It’s real _____ to travel by rail in Sweden. The trains are

clean and punctual.
 Conversation, grammar, importance, iron,
pleasure, shampoo, sound
Use a/an if necessary

I have ______ of English printed in 1890 on very thin

paper.
 Part Three:
A/An, The and Zero Article
A/An, The and Zero Article
We use a/an to say what a person’s job is, or will be:

She was a company director when she retired

Against her parents’ wishes, she wants to be a journalist

However, when we give a person’s job title, or their unique position,

we use the or zero article, not a/an.

She’s been appointed (the) head of the company.

I’m a production manager at Fino. (= there may be more than one

production manager)

I’m the production manager at Fino. (= there is only one production

manager)
A/An, The and Zero Article

After the position of, the post of, or the role of we use zero
article before a job title:

Dr. Simons has taken on the position of Head of Department.

A/An, The and Zero Article
We usually use zero article before the name of an individual person or
place. However, we use the –
*When there are two people with the same name and we want to specify
which one we are talking about:

That’s not the Stephen Fraser I went to school with.

*When we want to emphasise that the person we are referring to is the

most famous person with that name:

Do you mean the Johnny Depp, or someone else?

*With an adjective to describe a person, or another noun which tells us

their job:

The late John Lennon The singer Sting

*When we talk about a family as a whole:

The Robinsons are away this weekend.

A/An, The and Zero Article
We use a/an when we refer to an individual example of a
product made by a particular manufacturer:

I’ve just bought a Mercedes

Or a work by a particular artist:

Is that a genuine Van Gogh painting?

A/An, The and Zero Article

We use the before a superlative adjective when the superlative

is followed by a noun or a defining phrase:

He is the finest young player around at the moment.

 A/An or The or Zero Article

A special award was given to ____ novelist

Ian McMurphy.
 A/An or The or Zero Article

I’ve been offered the position of ___

Director of Personnel
 A/An or The or Zero Article

I’ve always wanted to meet ____ Michael

Owen
 A/An or The or Zero Article

‘What make is your computer?’

‘It’s ______ Mac.’
 A/An or The or Zero Article

I’m _______ marketing adviser at Unifleet.

 A/An or The or Zero Article

Let me introduce you to _____ Paula Cox

 A/An or The or Zero Article

We met our good friend _____ Jean Wools

when we were in _______ Plymouth.
 A/An or The or Zero Article

I found myself talking to ____ George Bush!

Not _____ George Bush, of course, but
someone with the same name.
 A/An or The or Zero Article

Brian’s ____ manager of the local football

team.
 A/An or The or Zero Article

I didn’t even know Joan was interested in

art until I heard that she owns ___ Van
Gogh.
 A/An or The or Zero Article

When Jennie was young she knew ____

Picasso.
 A/An or The or Zero Article

She was determined to be ____ author.

 Part Four:
A/An, The and Zero Article
A/An, The and Zero Article
With plural and uncountable nouns, zero article is used to talk
generally, without definite people or things in mind. The is used
when we assume the listener or reader will understand who or
what we are referring to, or when other words in the noun
phrase make the reference specific:

The government has promised not to tax books (= books

generally)

The books have arrived. (= the books you have ordered)

Music played an important part of his life (= music generally)

I thought the music used in the film was the best part (= this
particular music)
A/An, The and Zero Article
We use zero article with the names of holidays, special times of
the year, months and days of the week:

Easter Christmas New Year’s Day

I’ll see you on Saturday (= next Saturday)

They arrived on a Saturday (= we are only interested in the day,

not which particular Saturday)

They arrived on the Saturday after my birthday (= a particular

Saturday)
A/An, The and Zero Article
We use zero article with times of the day and night:

If possible, I’d like to finish by midday

We use the + morning/afternoon/evening for a day which is

understood or specified:

I enjoyed the morning but in the afternoon it was boring.

Morning is the time I work best (= Mornings in general)

I’ll be there by the afternoon (= a specific time of day)

I had a terrible evening (= compared to other evenings)

A/An, The and Zero Article
We use by + zero article to talk about means or transport and
communication, including:

Go/travel by car/taxi/bus/plane/train/air/sea

Contact/communicate by post/email/phone
A/An, The and Zero Article
We use zero article in patterns where repeated words or related
words are joined by a preposition and used with a general
meaning:

The government makes grants according to criteria that differ

from region to region.

Person to person back to back end to end

Face to face side by side start to finish
Day by day put pen to paper
 A/An or The or Zero Article

A: Do you remember when Mark and Julie

came over and had that terrible row? That
was _______ day I wouldn’t want to go
through again.

B: I couldn’t go to Jane’s party. It was ____

day I was babysitting for Derek and Linda.
 A/An or The or Zero Article

A: ‘Shall we go out walking ____ Saturday?’

‘No, I’m busy this weekend.’

B: I know the meeting will be on ____

Sunday in June, but I don’t know the exact
date yet.
 A/An or The or Zero Article

A: Are you talking about ____ Christmas we

spent in Sweden?

B: I’ll see you again after ____ Christmas.

 A/An or The or Zero Article

A: The exam results will be sent by ____

post on 24th August.

B: The application forms came in ____ post

this morning.
Which pattern (e.g. Man to Man)

They sat ________ on the bench looking out

over the countryside.
 Which pattern (e.g. Man to Man)

She was in hospital for several weeks, but

_____ her health improved.
 Which pattern (e.g. Man to Man)

Tiger Woods is celebrating _______ victories

in his last three golf tournaments.
Which pattern (e.g. Man to Man)

The island is so small you can walk from

________ in about an hour.
 Which pattern (e.g. Man to Man)

The disease is easily spread from _________