INDEFINITE ARTICLES ( a, an) DEFINITE ARTICLES (the) ENGLISH ARTICLES INDEFINITE ARTICLES ( a, an) DEFINITE ARTICLES (the)

INDEFINITE ARTICLES BEFORE SINGULAR COUNTABLE NOUNS e.g. Do you have an umbrella? What a beautiful day! TO SAY WHAT KIND OF THING or PERSON SBD/STH IS e.g. Are you a good driver? A dog is an animal. WHEN YOU SAY WHAT SOMEBODY’S JOB IS e.g. Tim’s father is a doctor. e.g. She is the teacher who gives us a lot of homework.

INDEFINITE vs DEFINITE ARTICLES When a noun is mentioned for the first TIME , A/AN is used e.g. I had a sandwich and an apple for lunch. The sandwich wasn’t very good but the apple was nice. The is used when we are thinking of one particular thing e.g. Ann is looking for a job. (not a particular job) Did Ann get the job she applied for? (a particular job) e.g. Have you got a car? (not a particular car) I cleaned the car yesterday. ( = my car)

INDEFINITE vs DEFINITE ARTICLES The is used when it is clear in the situation which thing / person we mean. e.g. Can you turn off the lights, please? ( the lights in this room) I’d like to speak to the head, please. ( the head of this school) Ann isn’t very well. She’s gone to the doctor. (= her usual doctor) I’m goint to the post office to buy some stamps. ( the closest one) The is always used in: e.g. She works in the city centre. My brother is in the army. A is always used in: e.g. once a month Ł1.20 a kilo eight hours a day

DEFINITE ARTICLE When there is only one of something e.g. What is the longest river in the world? Paris is the capital of France. I`m going away at the end if this month. The sky, the sea, the ground, the country, the environment e.g. He looked up in the sky. I’d rather live in the country. Ø space vs. the space e.g. There are millions of stars in Ø space. The space was too small to park the car there.

DEFINITE ARTICLE The same The cinema, the theatre E.G. You pullover is the same colour as mine. The cinema, the theatre E.G. I often go to the cinema. (Not necessarily a particular cinema) The radio, the television, ø television E.G. I often listen to the radio or watch Ø television. Can you turn off the television, please? ( The TV set)

DEFINITE ARTICLE Ø Breakfast , ø lunch, ø dinner E.G. What time is Ø dinner? But: we had a very nice lunch. Ø - berofe noun +number E.G. Ø platform 5, Ø room 126, size 43, page 27 Ø work, ø home E.G. I did not go to work yesterday. I was at home.

DEFINITE ARTICLE Ø Bed, the bed E.G. It is time to go to Ø bed. But: i sat down on the bed. Ø school vs. The school E. G. Ø school begins here at 9 a.M. Anns mother went to the school to see her teacher. E.G. Mrs kelly went to Ø church every sunday. The workmen went to the churh to repair the roof. School, hospital, prison, university, church The=building Ø = activity in the building

DEFINITE ARTICLES The is not used when we mean things or people in general E.G. I am afraid of Ø dogs. Do you collect ø stamps? Do you like ø swiss cheese? My favourite Ø sport is skiing. My favourite subject at school was ø history and ø french.

DEFINITE ARTICLE The is used when we mean particular things or people E.G. Ø children learn a lot from playing (in general) We took the children to the ZOO. (A particular group or my kids) The film was not very good, but i liked the music. I often listen to nice ø music. Ø sugar is not very good for me. Can you pass the sugar , please?

DEFINITE ARTICLE The difference between general and particular is not always very clear. Compare the following sentences. I like working with people. (People in general) I like working with people who are lively.(Still general) I like the people i work with. (A particular group of people)

DEFINITE ARTICLE THE is used to denote one particular type of animal, machine, instrument, currency ect. (And not one particular thing) The bicycle is an excellent means of transportation. Can you play the guitar? BUT: i`d like to buy a guitar. The kangaroo is found in austraia. The dollar is the currency in the usa. But: ø man (the human race, human beings in general) What do you know about the origins of øman?

DEFINITE ARTICLE –names of people and places THE IS NEVER USED WITH NAMES OF PEOPLE AND PLACES i.e. continents, (Africa, Europe) countries (Slovenia, France; The Netherlands),states (Texas, Florida), regions ( Tuscany, Corinthia), islands ( Sicily, Hvar), cities,( Ljubljana, Madrid, London) towns , mountains (Everest, Triglav, Etna) THE is used with the names of “Republic”, “Kingdom”, “States” e.g. The Republic of Slovenia; The USA; The United Kingdom THE IS NEVER USED WITH Mrs/ Mr/ Captain/ Doctor E.g. We called the doctor. We called Ø Doctor Johnson. THE IS NEVER USED WITH mount AND lake E.g. Ø Mount Everest, Ø Lake Bled, Ø Lake Superior

DEFINITE ARTICLE – nationality words THE + ADJECTIVE (the young, the rich, the disabled, the homeless, the dead, the unemployed…) = plural meaning singular meaning = A young man, an unemployed woman THE + NATIONALITY ADJECTIVES (=the people of that country) e.g. The French, the Dutch, The Welsh (= plural meaning) Singular meaning: a Frenchwoman, an Englishman THE + NATIONALITY ADJECTIVES in –ese (= plural meaning) e.g. The Chinese, The Japanese … also The Swiss Singular meaning: a Chinese, a Sudanese… a Swiss WITH OTHER NATIONALITIES, THE PLURAL NOUN ENDS IN -S E.g. an Italian,the Italians; a Slovene, the Slovenes; a Scot, the Scots

DEFINITE ARTICLE – geographical names THE + the names of OCEANS ( the Indian Ocean), SEAS (The Mediterannean), RIVERS (The Nile, The Ljubljanica), and CANALS (the Channel, The Suez Canal) THE + PLURAL NAMES OF PEOPLE (The Taylors,(= the Taylor family); AND PLACES countries: The Netherlands, The Philippines, The United States) groups of islands: The Cannaries/The Canary Islands, The British Isles mountain ranges: The Rocky Mountains/The Rockies, The Alps e.g. The highest mountian in the Alps is ØMont Blank. The north / Ø northern e.g. the south- east of France Ø south-eastern France BUT: South Slovenia; West Africa; South-East Spain The Middle East; The Far East

NAMES WITH AND WITHOUT THE Ø + the names of most STREETS (Union Street) , ROADS(Broadway), SQUARES (Times Square, Piccadilly Circus), PARKS (Hyde Park), Waterloo Bridge ect. Ø + the two-word names: 1st word: usually a person 2nd word: usually building/institution e.g. Kennedy Airport; Cambridge University; Victoria Station; London Zoo; Edinburgh Castle; Buckingham Palace BUT : The White House; The Royal Palace (White and Royal are not names) THE + most other names of places, buildings etc. restaurants, hotels, pubs: the Hilton Hotel; The Red Lion (pub) theatres, cinemas: the National Theatre; the Odeon Cinema museum, galleries: the British Museum; The Tate Gallery other buildings: the Empire State Building; The White House Newspapers: the Washington Post; the Financial Times; The Delo Organizations: The European Community, The BBC

NAMES WITH AND WITHOUT THE Sometimes we leave out the noun: e.g. The Hilton (hotel); The Sahara ( desert) Sometomes the name is only THE + NOUN: e.g. The Vatican (City); The Sun ( newspaper) THE + names with …. of ….. e.g. the Bank of England; The Tower of London; The Houses of Parliament; The Museum of Modern Art, The Great Wall of China;The Gulf of Mexico; The University of London ( but: London University) Ø + names of shops, restaurants, hotels, banks named after their founders. These names end in –s or -`s. e.g. Ø Loyds Bank; McDonalds; Harrods; St. Paul`s Cathedral Ø + names of companies, airlines ….etc. ( not always: The BBC) e.c. Fiat, Sony, Kodak, British Airways, IBM