ARTICOLUL HOTĂRÂT THE

(THE DEFINITE ARTICLE THE)

THE este articolul hotărât pentru singular si plural.
e.g. the window, the chairs, the eye, the CÂND NU SE FOLOSEŞTE
year, the oranges CÂND SE FOLOSEŞTE
Înaintea substantivelor însoţite de prepoziţie
e.g. on the table, in the street
ÎN GEOGRAFIE
Înaintea denumirilor de: Înaintea numelor de:
munţi(the Carpathians) lacuri(Lake Michigan)
dealuri(the Cheviot Hills) continente(Europe)
văi(the Great Valley) ţări(Romania)
câmpii(the Great Plain) oraşe(Bucharest)
râuri(the Danube)
mări(the Black Sea) Excepţie: the United States of America
oceane(the Atlantic Ocean)
insule(the Tahiti islands)
deşerturi(the Sahara)

Înaintea punctelor cardinale:

e.g. the North, the South, the East, the
West
ALTE SITUAŢII
Înaintea unor substantive proprii care denumesc:
o familie (the Browns)
un ziar (the Times)
o clădire importantă (the British Museum)

Înaintea:
unui substantiv unic (the sun, the Earth)
unui adjectiv la superlativ (the best student)
unui adjectiv pe care-l transformă în substantiv la plural (the rich, the poor)

Înaintea unui substantiv care arată:

o noţiune abstractă (the good, the beautiful)
o specie sau gen (the lion)
o parte a corpului omenesc (the hand)

Înaintea unui numeral ordinal:

e.g. the first, the second, the third
Grupuri de cuvinte care includ articolul hotărât the:
all the year round (tot anul)
at the beginning (la început)
at the same time (în acelaşi timp)
at the time (în momentul acela)
by the way (apropo)
for the time being (deocamdată)
in the air (în aer)
 in the sun (la soare)
in the mountains (la munte)
in the end (la sfârşit)
in the morning/afternoon/evening
on the whole (în ansamblu)
on the right/left (pe dreapta/stânga)
to the right/left (la dreapta/stânga)
the day before yesterday (alaltăieri)
the day after tomorow (poimâine)
to play the piano (a cânta la pian)
to tell the truth (a spune adevărul)

INDEFINITE ARTICLE
Basically, an article is an adjective. Like adjectives, articles modify nouns. English has two
articles: The and a/an.The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns; a/an is used to
modify non-specific or non-particular nouns. We call the definite article and a/an the indefinite
article.
o the = definite article
o a/an = indefinite article
 There are three articles in English Language: a, an, and the.
 The definite articles (the) are used with singular and plural, countable and uncountable nouns when
both the speaker and the listener know the thing or idea already.
For example:
o The car over there is fast.
o The teacher is very good, isn’t he?
 The first time you speak of something use a or an, the next time you repeat that object use ‘the’.
For example:
o I live in a house. The house is quite old and has four bedrooms.
o I ate in a Chines restaurant. The restaurant was very good.
 The definite article is used:-
a) Before seas, rivers, hotels, theaters/cinemas, museums and newspaper, the pacific, the Sindh, the
Lahore museum, the news, the Pearl Continental, the Grand theater
b) If there is only one.
For example:
o The sun, the moon, the world, the president.
c) With superlative adjectives:
For example:
o He is the richest man in the world.
o Farooq is the oldest in the class.
 Remember, using a or an depends on the sound that begins the next word. So...
o a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy; a car; a bike; a zoo; a dog
o an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant; an egg; an apple; an idiot; an orphan
o a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins with a
consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used); a university; a unicycle
o an + nouns starting with silent "h": an hour
o a + nouns starting with a pronounced "h": a horse
 Time division is tentative and can change as per need of the activity.
 Material / Resources
Chalk/marker, board, textbook

Worm up activity
 Start the lesson by asking students about the definite article ‘the’. Ask them when definite article is
used. Write a few examples on the board.
 Reinforce the previously taught rules of using ‘the’ with examples.
 Write ‘the sun’, ‘the world’, ‘the moon’, on the board. Teach students that ‘the’ is also used when we
talk about objects which are only one.
 Write ‘the president of Pakistan’ on the board.
 Teach students that because Pakistan has only one president and one prime minister, ‘the’ is used
before them.
 Ask students to give examples of presidents of other countries e.g. ‘the president of USA etc.
 Teach the use of ‘the’ with superlatives adjectives only if students have been taught superlative
adjectives previously.

Development

Activity 1
 Write 5-7 sentences on the board. Like follow:
 Read the sentences and underline the correct article.
1. What is a/the name of this street? (the)
2. The/A sun is shining. (the)
3. Paris is a/the capital of France. (the)
4. Where is Ali? He, ‘he is in the/a bathroom’. (the)
5. Who is a/the president of Pakistan? (the)
6. We are going to a/the Lahore museum’. (the)
7. I read the/ a Jung every Sunday. (the)
 Tell the students that they have to select ‘a’ or ‘the’.
 Tell the students that they have to keep in mind the rules for using ‘a’ and ‘the’.
 Repeat the instructions if necessary.
 Provide necessary support to the students while they are doing their work.

Activity 2
 Write on the board two sentences like as:
1. I bought ____ cap and ___ shirt at ____ shop. ____ Shirt isn’t of my size. I will change it tomorrow.
2. Where are ____ children? ‘They are in _____ garden’.
3. Where are my shoes? ‘On ____ floor, in ___ kitchen?
4. I went to ______ hotel last night.
5. What is ____ name of _____ hotel we went to last night?
Answer key:
1. A, a, a, the 2. The, the 3. The, the 4. A 5. The, the
 Ask one student to read aloud the sentence. Ask from the students what articles should be used in the
blanks.
 Help the students by explaining the rules to them.
 Choose students to come to the board and fill in the blanks.
 Do all the sentences one by one on the board. Try to involve maximum students.

Sum up / Conclusion
 Quickly review the lesson by asking the students questions:
o What are ‘a’ and ‘an’ called?
o What is ‘the’ called?
o What are the rules for using ‘the’? etc.

Assessment
 Assess students’ ability to recall the rules for the use of articles “the” through their correct responses
during worm up activity.
 Assess students’ ability to choose between a or the through the correct choices made in the activity1
and 2.
 Assess students’ ability to use the definite article through the follow up activity.
 Teacher is required to involve the student in solving the problems given in the exercise at the end of
unit/chapter.