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THE ARTICLES
THE UNDEFINED ARTICLES: A & AN.

The difference between a and an depends on the word which comes next:
a. A is used before consonants or pronounced h: a sofa, a hospital, a healthy diet It is also used
before the sound /iu/ as in university or Europe: a UFO, a unique object, a European country
b. An is used before vowels or mute h: an orange, an heir, an hour
We use them:
a. to denote a single but unspecified person or thing: a nurse, an elephant, a piano
b. with jobs: He is a lawyer, Mary is a teacher.
c. to define and generalize with singular countable nouns: A dog is a friendly animal.
d. with a distributive value: They jog twice a week.

THE DEFINED ARTICLE: THE.

This article is used:
a. to denote a singular or plural specified noun:
the girl, the doctors, the journalists
b. to refer to something known by the context:
Yesterday a boy gave me a letter. The letter that the boy gave me
c. to generalize with singular countable nouns:
The horse has always been useful.
d. with unique objects and cardinal points:
the sun, the sea, the stars
the North, the West
e. to express the nationality:
The Spanish society
f. with musical instruments, ordinal numbers and the superlative:
She plays the piano.
He was the second to arrive.
The most beautiful city in the world.
g. with oceans, rivers and mountain ranges:
The River Thames.
The Mediterranean Sea.
The Appalachian Mountains.

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THE ZERO ARTICLE OR OMISSION OF THE

We omit the article in the following cases:
a. To generalize and define with uncountable nouns, abstract nouns and plural countable nouns:
Milk is good for children.
Faith is a virtue.
I never eat tomatoes.
b. Expressing the time:
Ill be there at six.
c. Before days, months, holidays, festivals or special days:
Im going to the cinema on Monday.
Students love Christmas.
d. With words indicating games or sports:
My children play tennis.
e. Before meals:
After breakfast we go to school.
f. Cardinal numbers:
Read page number thirty-two.
g. Mountains and lakes:
The summit of Everest is 8,848 metres high.
h. With church, college, prison, hospital, court and school when we want to say that the place is
being used for what it was built to:
Tom is in prison: Tom is guilty and he has been sent to prison.
Tom is in the prison: Tom is visiting someone there.