2. with nouns denoting military ranks & titles as “ academician, professor, doctor, count, lord” followed by names of persons: Doctor Ben
3. nouns expressing relationships followed by names of persons: Aunt Maria is in hospital now.
4. names of persons modified by the adjectives “old, young, poor, dear, honest, lazy, little”: Little Kitty was sitting on the sofa.
A/AN
1. when a representative of the family is taken: She will never be a Jackson.
2. with names of persons used as common nouns: You are a real Othello.
3. in the structure “ a certain + names of persons”: A certain Mr. Johnson is waiting for you.
THE
1. with the names of the whole family: The Blacks are sitting at the table.
2. names of persons modified by a particularizing attribute: You are not the Andrew Madison I married.
3. with common nouns denoting profession followed by names of persons: The painter Vasnetsov left many fine pictures.
4. names of persons modified by other adjectives except “old, young, poor, dear, honest, lazy, little”: The astonished Tom couldn’t say a word.
ABSTRACT NOUNS
The Zero Article:
1)when the noun is used in a general sense: Knowledge is power. She teaches history at school.
2)when the noun is modified by an attribute in pre-position: English literature, Russian art, Soviet music.
BUT: The English literature of the XIX century.
The:
1)in its specifying meaning, when the noun:
a)is made definite by the situation: Yesterday I heard Carmen and enjoyed the music.
b)is modified by a limiting attribute: We study the history of the Middle Ages.
A/an:
1)when the noun is modified by a descriptive attribute, which makes the description more vivid (typical of literary style):
e.g. We are living a new life.
NOTE: when the attribute doesn’t bring out a special aspect of the notion, there’s no article at all. Such attributes may express degree (GREAT, ENDLESS, MAJOR); reference to time (MODERN, ETERNAL, DAILY, FINAL), nationality (ENGLISH), geography (MOSCOW, WORLD, LONDON), social characteristics (RELIGIOUS, BOURGEOIS), authenticity (REAL, GENUINE, SYMBOLIC).
2)It + is/was +pleasure, relief, comfort: It’s a pity
3)in exclamatory sentences: What a shame! (pity, disgrace)
4)when the noun denotes a certain kind of quality, feeling, state, etc.; usually preceded by an adjective: He received a very good education.
5)with the nouns “PERIOD, POPULATION, DISTANCE, HEIGHT, SALARY, etc.” followed by [of+numeral+noun]: He was out of the city for a period of 5 days.
NB: the following nouns never take the indefinite article:
The Beatles, the Roling Stones, the Spice Girls (if the noun is used in plural)
BUT! Queen, ABBA, Gorky Park
WORLD GEOGRAPHY
names
the
--
Parts of the world, continents, countries, regions, cities, towns, villages
1. if the name contains a proper noun: the Russian Federation
2. if the name contains the words “kingdom, republic, states”: the UK of Great Britain & Northern Ireland, The USA
3. names of countries in plural: the Netherlands, the Philippines
4. regions: the Crimea, the Far East, the Lake District
The Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the White Sea, the Gulf Stream, the Volga, the Baikal, the Niagara Falls, the north, the south, the east, the west
BUT! Lake Baikal (if the name contains the word “lake”)
Names of peninsulas & bays: Kola
Compare: the Kola Peninsula
Mountain chains, mountain passes, the groups of islands
The Urals, the Alps, the British Isles, the Kurilas
BUT! Mountain picks & separate islands: Cuba, Elbrus
Deserts
The Gobi, the Sahara Desert, the Karakum
------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL DIFFICULTIES IN THE USE OF ARICLES
DAY, NIGHT, MORNING, EVENING
--
THE
In set-expressions: by day, at night, from morning till night
In the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening
With the words “early, late, broad”: early morning
NAMES OF SEASONS
--
A
When a season shows a certain time of the year: It was spring.
When the name of the season modified by a descriptive attribute: It was a cold spring.
With the words “early, late, broad”: early autumn
COLLEGE, SCHOOL, BED, PRISON, JAIL, HOSPITAL, CHURCH
--
THE
You can get a proper course of treatment in hospital.
When the building or the place is meant: People can visit their relatives in the hospital.
TOWN
--
THE/A
When the nearest town is meant or the town we live in is meant: You can’t go to town.
In other cases
When the noun town is opposed to the word country: He was not used to country life, he used to live in town.
NAMES OF MEALS
--
THE
A
In other cases
When the definite meal is understood from the context: The dinner we had today was very nice.
If there is a descriptive adjective before the meal: We had a heavy breakfast.
NAMES OF LANGUAGES
--
THE
If the name does not contain the word “language”: English, German
If the name contains the word “language”: the English language
