Definite and Indefinite

Articles

ARTICLE (ARTIKULS)

DEFINITE (noteiktais)

INDEFINITE (nenoteiktais)

the

A, an

Use a/an with the singular noun, the- with singular or noun in plural.
A cat- some cats
The cat- the cats

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) 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
A red rose- viena (kda) sarkana roze
The red rose- sarkan roze

INDEFINITE ARTICLE (a/an)

USE

EXAMPLE

NOTES

To refer to something for the An elephant and a mouse

first time
fell in love.
Would you like a drink?
I've finally got a good job.

Yesterday I met a boy near

my house. The boy wanted
to comunicate with me.

meaning 'one', referring to a I'd like an orange and two

single object or person:
lemons, please.

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.

with names of jobs:

John is a doctor.
Mary is training to be an
engineer.
He wants to be a dancer.

with nationalities and

religions:

John is an Englishman.
Kate is a Catholic.

John is British.

INDEFINITE ARTICLE (a/an)

USE

EXAMPLE

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.

After There is

There is a book on the table.

DEFINITE ARTICLE (the)

USE

EXAMPLE

to refer to something which has already

been mentioned.

An elephant and a mouse fell in love.

The mouse loved the elephant's long
trunk,
and the elephant loved the mouse's tiny
nose.

when both the speaker and listener know

what is being talked about, even if it has not
been mentioned before.

'Where's the bathroom?'

'It's on the first floor.'

in sentences or clauses where we define or

identify a particular person or object

The man who wrote this book is famous.

'Which car did you scratch?' 'The red
one.
My house is the one with a blue door.'

to refer to objects we regard as unique

the sun, the moon, the world , the

Internet, the Earth, the Eiffel Tower
The equator, the North/ South Pole,

before superlatives and ordinal numbers

(only, last, first, second)

the highest building, the first page, the

last chapter

DEFINITE ARTICLE (the)

USE

EXAMPLE

NOTES

with adjectives, to refer to a

whole group of people (as plural
nouns), families, nationalities
ending in sh, -ch, -ese

the Japanese, the

English, the Dutch, the
Greens, the old, the
poor, the rich

Other plural nationalities are

used with or without the
The Greeks, the Italians,
Latvians (the Latvians)

With the words: beach, cinema,

country (side), ground, jungle,
radio, sea, seaside, theatre,
world, station, shop, pub, library

He likes going to the

theatre.
She went to the station
to meet Jim.

We often say television

without the .
We often watch television.
But! Turn on the television
(set).

Before most (as a superlative) She is the most

beautiful girl.

Dont use the if most is

as a determiner followed by a
noun.
Most people believe he is a
liar.

Morning, afternoon, evening

Ill be at home in the

evening.

But dont use with: at night,

at noon, at midnight, at 4
oclock, by day/ night

Historical references/events

The Renaissance, the

Middle Ages, the First
World War

But: World War I

DEFINITE ARTICLE (the)

USE

EXAMPLE

With the manes of: rivers, seas, groups of

islands/ states, mountain ranges, deserts,
oceans, canals, directions (debespuses)

The Daugava, the Black Sea, The

Bahamas, the USA, the Alps, the sahara
desert, the Atlantic, the north/south,
east/ west

The names or nouns with of

The Tower of London, the statue of

Liberty

Musical instruments, dances

The piano, the tango

With the titles

The Queen, the Prince, (but not with

Queen Victoria)

With the names of:

Cinemas, theatres, hotels, museums,
newspapers/magazines, ships

The Rex, the Sheraton, the Prado, the

Guardian

with decades, or groups of years

she grew up in the seventies

There is no Article (the)

USE

EXAMPLE

NOTES

with names of countries (if

singular)

Germany is an important
economic power.
He's just returned from
Zimbabwe.

But: I'm visiting the United

States next week.
The United Kingdom, the
Europian Union

with the names of

languages

French is spoken in Tahiti.

English uses many words of
Latin origin.
Indonesian is a relatively new
language.

But: Im studying the English

language.

with the names of meals.

Lunch is at midday.
Breakfast is the first meal of
the day.

with people's names (if

singular)

John's coming to the party.

George King is my uncle.

After the 's possessive

case:

His brother's car.

Peter's house.

with professions:

Engineering is a useful career.

He'll probably go into medicine.

But: we're having lunch with

the Morgans tomorrow.

There is no Article (the)

USE

EXAMPLE

with years:

1948 was a wonderful year.

Do you remember 1995?

With uncountable nouns:

Rice is the main food in Asia.

Milk is often added to tea in
England.

with the names of

Mount McKinley is the highest
individual mountains, lakes mountain in Alaska.
and islands:
She lives near Lake
Windermere.
Have you visited Long Island?
with most names of towns, Victoria Station is in the centre
streets, stations and
of London.
airports:
Can you direct me to Bond
Street?
She lives in Florence.
They're flying from Heathrow.

NOTES

But: I dont usually like rice, but

the rice I ate yesterday was
really tasty.
But: The Alps

Lets do!

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Robert and Jessica went to ____the__ party last night.

Can you tell me how to get to ___the____ cinema from here?
___The____ college is closed today.
Gregory is one of ___the___ strangest people I know.
I recommend you try ___x____ tomato soup at this restaurant.
Would you like to see ___a___ film? ___The___ film I saw yesterday was excellent.
___An___ apple __a__ day keeps __the____ doctor away.
I can't believe I failed ___the___ yesterday's test!
Do you have ____the___ dictionary that I can borrow?
____x__Magda is wearing _a__ blue dress with red shoes
Christmas comes once _a__ year.
Jane went to the shop to buy _x__ bread.
____x__Hania broke __a_ glass when she was washing-up.
This is _an__ easy question. This is ___the__ easiest exercise I have ever seen.
Stephen could you speak __a_ little louder.
May I have your _x__ phone number?
May I ask you __a_ question?
__x____Astrid is __the_ best teacher in our school.
My girlfriend has __x_ my car today.
I went to _the__ sea during my summer holiday.
This is Joanna. She's ___a__ doctor.
Is there __a_ cash machine near here?

Lets do!!!

I am from___x____ Winchester, _x___Hampshire.

Winchester is __a___city in ___the____United Kingdom. I
live in ___a____town called Taunton which is on
___the___River Tone. I live in ___a___house in
___a___quiet street in __the____ countryside.
___The___street is called ___x___ "Hudson Street" and
____the___house is old - more than 100 years old! I am
____an__English lecturer at___a___ college near
____the___centre of __the____town. I like ___x___
books, ____x___music and taking
___x______photographs. I usually have____x___ lunch
at_____the__ college. I usually go __x_____home by car.
We have all kinds of food in___x_____ England. I
like__x___ Polish food very much. Sometimes, I go to
____a___Polish restaurant in ____x______Bath.
____The______restaurant is called "Magda's".
____x____Polish food is delicious!

Exercises
http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files
/grammar-exercise-articles.php http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/vi
ewgame.asp?id=4378

Thank you for your attention!