articles quantifiers.doc

Articles — both definite and indefinite

Indefinite — a, an

Uses

·       Before a singular noun which is countable when it is mentioned for the first time and represents no particular person or thing.
"A horse is a noble animal."

·       Before a singular countable noun which is used as an example of a class of things.
"A book is something you read."

·       With a noun complement, including names of professions.
"She is a doctor, he became a famous actor."

·       In certain numerical expressions.
"a dozen, a hundred"

·       In expressions of price, speed, ratio.
"60 miles an hour, 4 hours a day, 30p a box"

·       With "few" and "little"
"a few people, a little sugar"

·       In exclamations before singular, countable nouns. "What a pity! What a sunny day!"

·       It can be placed before Mr., Mrs, Miss, Ms + surname.
"a Mr. Brown phoned today."

Not Used

·       Before plural nouns.
"Horses are noble animals."

·       Before uncountable nouns
"Milk is good for you."

·       Before abstract nouns.
"Fear is natural."

·       Before names of meals except when preceded by an adjective.
"We had a late breakfast and decided to miss lunch."

Definite — the

Uses

·       Before nouns of which there is only one.
"The earth is round."

·       Before a noun which has become definite as a result of being mentioned a second time.
"We saw a good film last night. It was the film you recommended."

·       Before a noun made definite by the addition of a phrase or clause.
"The woman dressed in black."

·       Before a noun which, by reason of locality, can represent only one particular thing.
"There’s a bee in the kitchen."

·       Before superlatives and "first", "second" and "only"
"The longest river in the world."

·       Before singular nouns used to represent a class of objects.
"The donkey is a very obstinate animal."

·       Before an adjective used to represent a class of persons.
"That tax hurts the rich."

·       Before names of seas, rivers, chains of mountains, groups of islands and plural names of countries.
"the Pacific Ocean, the Thames, the Andes, the West Indies, the Netherlands"

·       Before musical instruments.
"She plays the piano"

Not Used

·       Before countries, towns, proper names.
"Charlie lived in Chicago in America"

·       Before abstract nouns.
"Jealousy can be dangerous."

·       Before parts of the body and articles of clothing — these normally prefer a possessive adjective.
"Lift your left arm."
"He removed his hat."

"Charlie the Brave"

Charlie is a teacher and his wife, Maria is an artist. One of the main differences between the two is that Charlie has no imagination well perhaps a little whereas Maria has the most vivid imagination you could think of.
Now — imagination is an essential quality if you’re an artist but sometimes it can lead to — problems. Take the night before last, for example. It was a fine summer night and you could see the moon and the stars quite clearly, it was shortly before the longest day of the year. Charlie was sitting in a deckchair enjoying the warm summer air when he felt something touch his shoulder; it was Maria’s hand and he could tell immediately she was a little worried about something. He had noticed this sensation a hundred times before. He asked her what the matter was and she replied that there was a strange thing on the jacket that was hanging in the bedroom. Now you must remember that they had both lived in the West Indies and had seen a lot of strange creatures in their house before. But now they were living in — England and so Charlie just laughed and said he would have a look at the "thing".
 

functions & examples

·          We use a / an when we are talking about something for the first time.
He is wearing a suit and a tie.
They have a cat.

* We use the when we are talking about a specific person or thing, or if there is only one, or if it is clear which one we are talking about.
She took a glass of water and started to drink.
(one of many glasses of water)

She took the glass of water nearest to her.
(there are many glasses of water but we are talking about this specific one)

She took the glass of water and started to drink.
(there is only one glass of water)

Can you turn on the TV?
(it's clear we are talking about the TV in this room)

I have to see the doctor tomorrow.
(it's clear I am talking about my usual doctor)

I need to see a doctor.
(not any specific doctor)

How many people have walked on the moon?
(there is only one moon)

The best film I've ever seen is Top Gun.
(there can only be one best film)

* We use no article when we are talking about people or things in general.
Carrots are good for you. (carrots in general)
The carrots growing in my garden are almost ready to eat. (specific carrots)
English people drink a lot of tea. (English people in general)
The English people in this hotel are very nice. (specific English people)

* We use a / an to say what kind of person or thing someone or something is (often with an adjective, or to say it belongs to a particular group.
You have a nice house.
That's a very expensive car!
A cat is an animal a bus is a vehicle.

* With school, university, prison, hospital, church, bed, work and home we use the when we are talking about a particular one, and no article when we are talking about the idea of school, university...
The church at the end of our street was built in the 17th Century. (a particular church)
I go to church every Sunday (talking about the idea of church, not a particular building)
My friend works at the prison outside the city centre.
My husband is in prison.
The work isn't finished yet.
I was feeling sick yesterday so I didn't go to work.
The new bed is bigger than the old one.
I put my children to bed a 8pm.

* We use the with singular countable nouns to talk about a type of thing.
The computer was invented in the 20th Century. (not a particular computer but this type of machine)
The computer in my office is broken. (a particular one)
The crocodile is very dangerous. (this type of animal)
The crocodile in the river is very big. (a particular one)
She plays the piano. (not a particular piano but this type of instrument)
The piano she is playing is very old. (a particular one)

* We use the + adjective to talk about a group of people (including nationalities).
I always give money to the homeless.
The unemployed receive money from the government.
The French produce good wine.

* We use a / an to talk about someone's job.
My wife is an optician.
She works as a mechanic.

* We use no article with continents, countries, regions, cities, streets, mountains, lakes and parks.
Asia, Italy, California, Bristol, Main St., Mount Everest, Lake Superior, Central Park
(we use the if the country contains Kingdom, Republic, State, Union)

* We use the with plural names of people and places.
The Smiths, The Netherlands, The United States, The Bahamas, The Alps (also The Caribbean)

* We use the with oceans, seas, rivers and canals.
The Atlantic Ocean, The Red Sea, The Nile, The Panama Canal

* We use the with north, south, east and west to talk about the location of a place within another place, but no article to compare the location of two places.
Greece is in the south of Europe.
Spain is south of France.
(we use no article with northern, southern, eastern and western:
Greece is in southern Europe)

* We normally use the with buildings, except if the first word is the name of a place.
The White House, The Sheraton Hotel.
Oxford University, Buckingham Palace.

·           

In the last post on quantifiers we learnt about words we use to talk about a large quantity of something: much, many and a lot/lots of and talked about the difference between them.

Words we use to talk about small quantities include few and a few, little and a little.  There are also expressions like barely any, hardly any and less common, scarcely any.

Look at the following sentences and see if you can tell the difference between few and little:

Few teachers enjoy marking their students’ work.
There are only a few apples left on the tree.

I have little patience with politicians.
Why don’t you take a little sugar with your tea?

Did you notice that we use few with plural nouns, and we use little with singular uncountable nouns?

Now what about the difference between few/little and a few/a little?  Look at the following sentences and try to notice the rule:

The average parent has little control over how much television their children watch.
Few doctors visit patients in their homes these days.

Could you you put a little oil in the car before you leave?
John has said a few times that he would like to change jobs.

Few and little usually have a negative meaning.  They suggest ‘not as much/many as one would like’ or ‘ not as much/many as expected’.

A few and a little have a more positive meaning.    The meaning is similar to ’some’, and gives the idea of ‘better than nothing’, ‘just enough’, ‘more than expected’ or ‘enough to be noticed’.

In informal style it is more common to use not many or not much instead of few or little.  Using the same examples as above:

The average parent doesn’t have much control…
Not many doctors will visit you in your home…

A related word is fewer, which we often confuse with less.  The meaning is the same but they are used differently.  See the following sentences:

There are fewer men than women working in our company.
I have less time than I used to to read novels.

Did you get it?  Fewer is used before plural words, and ...