1. Articles A
The An L

2. Context
1. THE: when referring to something already mentioned e.g. First I grate some cheese. Then I sprinkle the cheese into the sauce. 2. THE: when all know / understand what is being talked about e.g. Pass the vegetables, please. (the ones on the table)

3. Groups and Classes A / An: for an example of an object
e.g. A barometer is used to measure air pressure
A / An: for one of a class of
things or people
e.g. Maria is a German.
This is an electric razor.

4. Groups and Classes cont.
The: singular noun to describe a class of objects
e.g. The whale is in danger of
extinction.
Zero: class of things (plural & uncountable nouns)
e.g. Teachers often work very long hours.
The: makes them specific
e.g. The teachers at Loretto are great!
(but not all teachers are!)

5. Abstract nouns Zero: for abstract ideas
e.g. Health is one of the most important things in life.

6. Numbers & measurement A / an: speeds & rates
e.g. The car was travelling at 50Km an hour and cost £25 a day to rent.
A / an: large numbers, fractions + singular nouns, weights & distances
e.g. a million, a third, two and a half, a kilo, a mile
BUT: He has eaten half of the cake.

7. Calendar Zero: days, months, parts of the day
e.g. I’ll see you on Monday at midday.
BUT: A – the day is a typical example
e.g. It was a Tuesday afternoon in August and nothing much was happening.

8. People Zero: names of people unless we specify.
e.g. Tom lives in Edinburgh. Is he the Tom you were at school with?
The: plural name-groups
e.g. the Communists, the pupils
The: + singular adjective groups
e.g. the rich, the unemployed

9. Places Zero: place names
e.g. I live in _____ House, at Loretto School in Musselburgh
The: general reference
e.g. at the cinema, in the garden, in the mountains
BUT Zero: if place names have the name of a person
e.g. Waverley Station, Madame Tussaud’s

10. Countries Zero e.g. Spain, France, Germany, China BUT: The
The UK, the USA, the UAE, the Netherlands, the Philippines
The: with nationalities
e.g. The French, the Swiss, the Poles, the Chinese

11. Geography The: oceans, seas, rivers, deserts
e.g. the Pacific, the North Sea, the Esk, The Sahara
BUT: Zero – continents, lakes

12. Unique objects The: there is only ONE
e.g. As the sun was setting in the west, the moon was rising in the east.

13. Illnesses A / An: headache, cold etc.
e.g. I have a cold / a headache / a toothache / an earache.
BUT: zero
I have flu.
I have malaria.
Does he have AIDS?

14. Home, school, prison, hospital
Zero: in general or speak of it’s use
e.g. Jack is in hospital. (he’s ill)
The criminal was sentenced to three years in prison.
BUT: The – referring to just the building
e.g. The bus stops outside the school.
John is a porter at the hospital.

15. Exclamations! A / An: expressions - what a….! / such a…!
e.g. What a fantastic score!
e.g. Your hair is such a
beautiful colour!

16. Complete the text with a / an or the, or leave blank for zero article.
George Orwell
a author George Orwell ( : real name Eric Blair) was b English
novelist, critic and political and cultural commentator. He is best known for
c novels Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, d both of which were
written and published toward e end of his life.
He chose f name George Orwell in g early 1930s when his first book, Down and Out in Paris and London, was published. This book describes what it was like to be h poor and i homeless in j Britain, and also described k time he spent in Paris working in I kitchen of m high-class hotel. n Orwell's father was o civil servant in India, and Orwell grew up in p middle-class family. He was q pupil at Eton, r well-known English school, and as his family could not afford to send him to university, he joined s Indian Imperial Police. He learnt t lot about u British Empire, but came to hate v job, and in 1927 he resigned and decided to become w writer. He worked as x schoolteacher, and in y bookshop, wrote z book about poverty in northern England (The Rood to Wigan Pier) and also fought for Republican side in 4 Spanish civil war. He developed career as journalist and reviewer, and during
Second World War he made regular broadcasts on BBC. He died of
tuberculosis in 1950 at age of 46.
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