THE ARTICLE

has the same form for all genders and both numbers

A. INDEFINITE (a; an + nouns beginning with a vowel or h) = individual reference

USES:
1. (EPIPHORIC FUNCTION) before a singular countable noun when it is mentioned for
the first time and represents no particular person or thing:
A house can be quite expensive nowadays.
2. (GENERIC FUNCTION) before a singular countable noun used as an example of a
class of things:
A dog is a reliable pet.
3. with names of professions: a teacher, a doctor, an economist
4. to state nationality or religion: an American, an Orthodox, a Muslim
5. (NUMERIC FUNCTION) in certain numerical expressions: a thousand, a hundred, a
couple, a quarter/half/third
6. in other expressions (price, speed, rate): 2$ a pound/kilo; 45 miles an hour; four times a
day
7. with few and little meaning a small number or amount: a few people; a little milk
8. in exclamations before singular countable nouns: What a hot day!
9. before Mr./Mrs./Miss + surname implying that the person is a stranger to the speaker: a
Mrs. Smith

B. DEFINITE (the) = unique reference

USES:
1. before nouns of which there is only one (or considered so): the sun, the moon, the earth,
the sky
2. (ANAFORIC) before a noun which has become definite as a result of being mentioned
a second time:

There is a table in this room. The table is brown.

3. (GENERIC) before a noun/ an adjective representing a class:
The cheetah is the fastest animal. The old should be better cared for.
4. (CATAFORIC) before a noun made definite by addition of a phrase or clause: the boy
that I met; the girl in blue
5. (DEICTIC) before a noun which by reason of locality can represent only one
particular thing:
Ann is in the garden.
6. before superlatives and before ordinal numbers: the best, the most interesting, the last;
the first, the third, the 20th
7. before certain geographical names (seas, oceans, rivers, countries, mountain ranges,
islands, deserts): the Carpathians, the Danube, the UK, the Black Sea, the Sahara, the
Cayman
a) names consisting of adjective + noun: The Ivory Coast, The High Street
b) names consisting of noun + of + noun: The Gulf of Mexico, The Straits of Dover
8. before musical instruments: the piano, the guitar
9. before a title containing of: the Duke of York
10. before names of ships, trains, planes: The Titanic
11. before names of buildings, institutions, hotels, shops: The Empire State Building, The
Crown Plaza, The Supreme Court, The Capitol, The MIT
12. before names of publications: The Times, The Sunday Telegraph
13. before names of meals if these are qualified by a clause: the dinners Peter used to give
14. before cardinal points if these are nouns or are preceded by of:
The South is warmer than the North. the west of Spain; the North Pole, the East End

C. THE ZERO ARTICLE

Omission of the article (Elypsis):
1. before plural nouns: Big hotels all over the world

2. before uncountable nouns (materials): paper, hair, coffee, glass (*except a hair, a glass, a
paper...)
3. before abstract nouns (*except when these are used in a particular sense: the death of): life,
death, love
4. before names of places (*except as shown above)
5. before names of people (*except the + pl. surname: the Smiths; the +sg. name to distinguish
one person from another of the same name: the Charles I told you about; I want the Mr. Smith
who works in the sales department.)
6.

before titles + noun (*except when using the title alone: the captain was): Captain James
was talking to Dr. Jones

7. before institutions when they are used for their primary purposes:
go to school/university/church/market/hospital/prison (*BUT: He is at the office = at work; to
the theatre, to the cinema!)
8. before means of transport: by car/boat/plane...
9. before diseases: mumps, measles,
10. before the names of meals breakfast, lunch, dinner (*except a dinner given to welcome; the
wedding breakfast): I have eggs for lunch.
11. before times of the day: at noon, at midnight (*BUT: in the
morning/afternoon/evening!!!)
12. before names of days, months, seasons, holidays and the word nature: on Monday, in
October, at Easter, in summer/winter
If you interfere with nature youll suffer for it!
13. before cardinal points (*see exceptions above!): Yucatan is in North America. Im going
South. (BUT: to the South!)
14. in paralel phrases: hand in hand, day by day, from beginning till end, from east to west, from
dawn to dusk, from morning till night
15. in familiar talk: Friend of mine told me
16. in theatre directions
17. in newspapers (headlines)