The Definite Article:THE

1.In front of nouns that have already been mentioned. e.g.The big boy sitting in the corner is my brother. 2.Before proper plural nouns or determined by an atribute. e.g.Well dine with the Browns. The famous John Smith will visit us. 3.In front of names of ships,trains and planes. e.g.The Orient Express The Queen Mary 4.In front of names of newspapers,theatres,museums,concert halls,cinemas,clubs,hotels. e.g.The Times The British Museum The Ritz Hotel The Odeon 5.In front of names of oceans,seas,canals,deserts and forests. e.g.The Danube The Suez Canal The Red Sea The Sahara The Atlantic Ocean The Black Forest 6.In front of mountain ranges,groups of islands and straits. e.g.The Carpathians The Baring Straits The Alps The Hebrides 7.Before names of lakes and bays that include OF in the combination. e.g.The Lake of Constance The Bay of Biscay 8.Countries that are in the plural. e.g.The USA But!!!The Sudan The Netherlands The Congo The Argentine The Hague 9.In front of:e.g.The White House The English Channel The House of Commons 10.In front of ordinal numerals:e.g.the third(3rd)man. 11.In front of superlatives:e.g.the best;the worst. 12.In front of singular nouns to make a generalization. e.g.The rose originally came from China. 13.In front of adjectives that are used as nouns. e.g.The rich should always help the poor.

The Indefinite Article: a, an

1. It is used to introduce a new notion. e.g. A boy and a girl were arguing in front of me. 2. It is used in front of a noun name of profession, job or nationality after the verb to be and to become. e.g. She is a teacher. He will become a doctor. You are an Englishman. 3. It is used to convey the meaning of the word the same. e.g. We are of an age. Birds of a feather flock together. 4. In front of the words few and little. e.g. I have few books at home.(almost no books at all) I have a few books at home(a great number of) I have little money. We cant go out tonight. I have a little money. Lets go out and celebrate. 5. After many, quite, rather, such, what, without, as, half. e.g. Many a man would like this. She is quite a lady. Such a nice girl. What a morning! She is a woman without a child. Write this as an introduction. 6. It is placed after an adjective if the adjective is preceded by:so,as,too,however,how. e.g. It was too good a chance to be missed. 7. If you have the words any worth or no less or too much of. e.g. He was no less a person than the Prime Minister. Set phrases: All of a sudden To keep an eye on something To take a dim view of something To be in a temper To take an interest in To take a dislike to To be in a position to To have a fancy for To have an opportunity to To have a pain At a discount=la pre redus On an average=n medie To put in a word for To be a far cry from something As a rule=de regul To have a close call=cumpn de moarte To take a pride in=a te mndri To have a mind to To have a chance to At a premium To stand a chance To make a point of

The Zero Article

1. In front of nouns that denote a title or an office held by someone. e.g.He was chairman of the Republican committee. Mr.Jones director of the theatre thinks that we will not succeed. 2. After the nouns rank and title. e.g.He gained the rank of colonel. 3. After the verb to turn meaning to become. e.g.He used to be a teacher till he turned writer. 4. In front of days,months and seasons:spring,Monday,January. But:In the summer well go to France.(this summer) 5. In front of meals of the day. e.g.In our house dinner is served at 7. But:The dinner I had with her was wonderful. 6. In front of:school subjects,games and sports. e.g.Everybody likes football. We play chess a lot. I dont like History. 7. In front of names of countries,towns: England,London. 8. With predicative nouns in clauses of concession with as and though followed by inverted word order. e.g.Child though he was he had traveled a lot. 9.The words man and woman taken in a general sense. e.g.Man created his own environment. 10.Collective nouns such as:humanity,man-kind,posterity,society. e.g.Water was worshipped from the beginning of mankinds history. 11.Words providence and faith. 12.Proper names if they are preceded by a title. e.g.Professor Russel entered the auditorium. 13.Names of universities and colleges:Oxford University,Trinity College. But:The University of London. 14.Names of languages:English,French. But:If the name of the language is followed by the word language you use the definite article:the English language. 15.With separate names of mountains and islands:Vezuvius,Mont Blanc,Cyprus. 16.Names of lakes and bays:Lake Ontario,Lake Superior,Hudson Bay. 17.Names of streets,parks and squares:Oxford Street,Hyde Park,Trafalgar Square. But:If the street,park,square is in a foreign country you place the article in front. e.g. The Rue de Rivoli in Paris. Exceptions: The Strand The High Street