The article

Revision

Revision

Revise the use of the indefinite article (a/an).

We use the indefinite article with singular countable nouns in the following cases:

EXAMPLE	EXPLANATION
You have to use a dictionary and an exercise book	for more general meaning (no matter which dictionary)
He saw a boy at the door. The boy was wearing a red jacket	for a noun mentioned for the first time. Use the for the second mention
A picture is worth a thousand words	with numbers* (a hundred, a thousand, a million) and fractions (a half, a quarter, etc)
She's a lawyer	to describe a person's job
They go to evening classes twice a week	with the meaning of "every" with expressions of time (once a month, etc)

* REMEMBER:

A few people = some people
A little money = some money

BUT

Few people = not many people
Little money = not much money

Definite article (The)

Definite article (The)

A.- We use the with most nouns for more specific meaning:

EXAMPLE	EXPLANATION
A woman came yesterday. The woman wanted to talk to you	to refer back to something already mentioned
The office is centrally located	when we know who or what we are talking about
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west	when we refer to the only one of its kind
Everywhere the man has cut down forests to cultivate the ground	with singular countable nouns when they represent a species
The best whisky comes from Scotland	with a superlative
The young are impatient; they want answers	with adjectives when they represent a class of persons
I live in the United States / the Philippines / the West Indies ...	with names of countries or group of islands which are plural*

*Notice these exceptions: The United Kingdom, The Yemen

B.- No article is used:

EXAMPLE	EXPLANATION
(a) Lawyers are better paid than teachers (b) Sound travels very fast in water	before (a) plural countable nouns and (b) uncountable nouns when meaning something in general *
Mr Smith was talking to Doctor James	before names of people, or title + name
Breakfast is served at seven thirty in Buckingham Palace	before names of meals, sports, subjects, and named buildings
I live in Cromwell Road / Jersey / near Lake Bright	before the names of most towns, cities, streets, countries, single islands, lakes
I work at Harrods	shops
He studied at Bristol University	named institutions (universities, schools, colleges, churches)

* NOTICE the difference: Museums are interesting places (museums in general not "The museums") BUT:

The museums we visited in Italy were very interesting (only the museums that we visited, not museums in general)

I love music (music in general, not "the music") BUT:

The film was rather boring but the music was fantastic (the music of the film, not in general)

Important

Sometimes the use (or omission) of the article with nouns of places changes the meaning of what we say.

CHURCH, SCHOOL, HOSPITAL, COURT, PRISON, WORK, BED, SEA, UNIVERSITY

No article is used with these nouns to refer to the normal activity which goes on at this place or building:

She is at university (studying)     -    They are in church (to pray)

He is in hospital (as a patient)     -    We go to bed (to sleep)

He is in prison (serving a sentence)     -    They are at work (working)

When these places are visited for other reasons the article is used:

We went to the church to see the paintings

I went to the school to speak to the headmaster

He came from the prison where he had visited his brother