THE ARTICLES - A, AN, THE
Articles(冠词)的用法
Used with permission from the RPI Writing Center by John R. KohlIntroductionThe articles a, an, and the are difficult for many non-native speakers of English to learn to use properly. Some of the rules that govern article usage are very subtle; only years of experience with the language will enable you to understand and apply these rules. However, Table 3 will help you eliminate many errors in article usage from your writing.In order to use Table 3, however, you have to understand two concepts: countability and definiteness. These concepts are explained in detail below. The last part of this handout discusses article usage with proper nouns as well as the difference between a and an. At the very end of the handout is an exercise that you can do to test your understanding.CountabilityCountable nouns refer to people, places, or things that can be counted (one dollar/two dollars, one house, two houses). They [these countable nouns] can always be made plural--usually by adding -s or some other variation of the plural ending, e.g.student(s), countri(es), child(ren). A few words are the same in both the singular and plural forms (deer, sheep).Uncountable nouns often refer to food, beverages, substances, or abstractions (meat, tea, steel, information); some uncountable nouns (but not the abstract ones) can be made countable by adding a count frame in front of them (two gallons of milk, six blocks of ice, a bar of soap, a bunch of celery).Unfortunately, there is no clear-cut distinction between countable and uncountable nouns. Some nouns can be both countable and uncountable even without adding count frames. For example, as an uncountable noun, experience refers to abstract knowledge or skill that can be gained by observing or participating in events. As a singular or plural countable noun (experience/experiences), the word experience refers to a particular instance (or instances) of participation in events. Similarly, the uncountable noun glass is a substance made from silicates; a glass (singular) is something you drink from; and glasses (plural) are frames containing lenses that correct imperfect vision.There are other exceptions to the countable/uncountable distinction as well. Moreover, a noun that is countable in your native language may be uncountable in English, and vice-versa. For example, soapis countable in Spanish but uncountable in English. However, as long as you are aware of these differences they probably will not cause you much difficulty.LEARNING HINT #1: The best thing to do is to memorize some of the most frequently occurring uncountable nouns (shown in Table 1 below), and to look up other nouns in a dictionary if you are not sure whether they are countable or uncountable. If your dictionary does not indicate whether nouns are countable or uncountable, then you should consult another dictionary, such as The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.In the Oxford dictionary, nouns are countable unless they are designated by the letter [u]. If a noun can be either countable or uncountable (with different definitions, as in the examples given above), then the uncountable definitions are preceded by [u], and the countable definitions are preceded by [c], as in the following example:ad-ven-ture n. 1 [c] a strange or unusual happening (The explorer told the boys about his adventures in the Arctic). 2 [u] risk; danger (Robin Hood lived a life of adventure).Table 1: Some Common Uncountable English Nouns∙Food and Drink:bacon, beef, beer, bread, broccoli,butter, cabbage, candy, cauliflower, celery, cereal,cheese, chicken, chocolate, coffee, corn, cream,fish, flour, fruit, ice cream, lettuce, meat, milk, oil,pasta, rice, salt, spinach, sugar, tea, water, wine,yogurt∙Nonfood Substances: air, cement, coal, dirt,gasoline, gold, ice, leather, paper, petroleum,plastic, rain, rubber, silver, snow, soap, steel, wood,wool.∙Abstract nouns:advice, anger, beauty, confidence,courage, employment, fun, happiness, health,honesty, information, intelligence, knowledge, love,poverty, satisfaction, truth, wealth∙Others: biology (and other areas of study), clothing,equipment, furniture, homework, jewelry, luggage,lumber, machinery, mail, money, news, poetry,pollution, research, scenery, traffic, transportation,violence, weather, workDefinitenessA noun is definite if it refers to something specific that is known to both the writer/speaker and the reader/listener. (Note: You shouldmemorize this definition!) For example, if Jane needs to drive somewhere, she might ask her father, "May I use the car?" She uses the definite article the because both she and her father know which car Jane is referring to (the family car). But later Jane might say to her friend Bill, "I saw a funny-looking dog today." She uses the indefinite article a because she knows which dog she saw, but Bill doesn't.Table 2 below illustrates that there are four possible conditions involved in this decision, but only one results in a noun that is definite.Table 2: Matrix of Definiteness/Indefiniteness *In the following examples, definiteness is determined bywhether the Writer/Speaker and the Reader/Listener knowsspecifically what is being referred to:∙Definite: "Can I use the car?"Writer/Speaker: YESReader/Listener: YES∙Indefinite: "I saw a funny-looking dog today."Writer/Speaker: YESReader/Listener: NO∙Indefinite: "I heard that you once wrote a bookabout ecology."Writer/Speaker: NOReader/Listener: YES∙Indefinite: "I need to buy a new belt."Writer/Speaker: NOReader/Listener: NO* adapted from Brown, R., A First Language. Cambridge,MA: Harvard University Press, 1973.Five Sources of DefinitenessThere are five principal ways in which a reader/listener can know specifically what a noun is referring to (that is, five reasons a noun might be considered definite):1.The noun has been previously mentioned.o I saw a funny-looking dog yesterday [first mention,indefinite]. It looked like a cross between a Pekineseand a German shepherd. When it saw my cat, thedog ran away [second mention, definite].2. A superlative or ranking adjective makes the noun's identityspecific.o The tallest girl in the class is 6'2" tall. [There can be only one girl who is the tallest.]o Please read the fourth paragraph on page 3. [There can be only one fourth paragraph.]o Today is the most important day of my life. [There can be only one day that is the most important.]3.The noun describes a unique person, place, or thing.o The earth revolves around the sun once every 365 days. [There is only one earth and only one sun--inour solar system, that is!]4. A modifying word, phrase, or clause follows the noun andmakes it clear which specific person or thing you arereferring to. But not every noun that is modified in this way is definite; it depends largely on the situation and on what you can reasonably expect your listener/ reader to know about.o Do you remember the girl who went camping with us?[Using the here implies that there was only one girlwho went camping with you; otherwise the clausewho went camping with us would not be sufficient toidentify the particular girl that you are referring to. Ifthere were two girls, then you would have to be morespecific, saying perhaps "Do you remember the girlfrom Iowa who went camping with us last May?"] o John is reading a book about quantum physics. [Here the noun book is modified by the phrase aboutquantum physics. But there is undoubtedly more thanone book about quantum physics. Therefore, to makebook definite, we would have to add moreinformation: "the book about quantum physics thatwas assigned by Professor Jackson last week."]5.The context or situation makes the noun's identity clear. Forexample, you might ask someone to "Close the door." You would use the because it would undoubtedly be clear to both of you which door you were referring to. Similarly, if you tell someone that you are going to the library, that person willassume that you are talking about whichever library is most familiar to both of you--RPI's Folsom Library, for example.Again, you have to be sure that your reader or listener has the same context or situation in mind that you are thinking of; otherwise, he or she will be confused by your use of the.For example, one student wrote the following sentence: o This magazine helps women analyze the problematic situation and offers possible remedies.But this was the first time she had mentioned a problematicsituation. Her readers were therefore confused because heruse of the word the implied that they were already supposedto know which problematic situation she was referring to.Choosing the Appropriate ArticleIn order to choose the appropriate article for a noun, you first need to decide whether the noun is singular. One way to determine this is to ask yourself whether you could put the number "one" in front of it. For example, you can say "one experiment," but not "one knowledge" or "one examples"; therefore, "experiment" is singular, whereas "knowledge" is uncountable and "examples" is plural.Table 3 below shows that if the noun is singular, you must use either "the" or "a"/"an" in front of the noun, depending on whether it is definite (known to both you and your readers) or not.If the noun is not singular, then it must be either plural or uncountable. Table 3 below shows that article usage is the same for both plural and uncountable nouns will use either "the" or "0" (no article) in front of the noun. Again, the decision depends on whether the noun is definite or not.Table 3: Choosing the Appropriate Article1.Singular Noun (one of something that is countable)Is the noun definite?YES: Use "the"a) The painting in the living room was given to meby an old friend.o Painting and living room are singularbecause we are referring to only onepainting and one living room.o Painting is definite because the followingphrase, in the living room, makes it clearwhich painting we are referring to (reason 4,above). (However, it could be indefinite ifthere is more than one painting in the livingroom that the speaker could be referring to;in that case, the speaker would say "Apainting...."o Living room is definite because it is clearfrom the context of the situation that thespeaker is referring to the living roomclosest to where he and the listener arestanding (reason 5 above).NO: Use "a" or "an"b) Eugene's lunch consisted of a sandwich, twocookies, and a can of soda.o Sandwich and can are both singular (there is only one of each). They could be definiteif the listener/reader had seen Eugene'ssandwich and can of soda, or if they hadbeen mentioned before. However, thespeaker/writer's choice of the indefinitearticle a for both nouns tells us that they areunknown to the listener/reader.2.Plural or Uncountable NounIs the noun definite?YES: Use "the"c) The technical reports that I gave you are topsecret. (plural and definite)o Reports, is plural (note that it ends in -s)because we are talking about more than onereport. It is definite because the followingphrase, that I gave you, makes it clear to thereader/listener which reports you arereferring to (reason 4, above).d) The wool that is produced in Scotland is used tomake sweaters and other garments. (uncountable and definite)o Wool is uncountable (you cannot say one wool). It is definite because the followingclause, that is produced in Scotland, makesit clear which wool you are referring to(reason 4, above).NO: Use 0 (no article)e) Long reports are difficult to write. (plural and indefinite)o Reports is plural (note that it ends in -s). The lack of an article in front of it means that thespeaker/writer is talking not about particularreports that are known to the listener/reader,but about all long reports in general.f) Scotland's major exports are wool and oil. (uncountable and indefinite).o Wool and oil are both uncountable nouns (you cannot say one wool or one oil in thiscontext). They are indefinite because theyrefer to these two substances in general, notto particular shipments of wool and oil thatare known to the reader/listener.LEARNING HINT #2: One of the most common mistakes that non-native speakers make with articles is using a or an with plural or uncountable nouns (a students and a research would be incorrect). But consider that the articles a and an are derived from the word one. Thus, it is illogical to use a or an with a plural noun, isn't it? It is also illogical to use a or an with an uncountable noun--After all, how can you have one of something that is uncountable?An easy way to eliminate a lot of mistakes is to look through your writing for every occurrence of a and an. Then examine the noun that follows each a or an. If the noun is either plural or uncountable, then you have made a mistake, and you should refer to Table 3 to determine whether to use the or 0 instead.LEARNING HINT #3: Often mistakes occur not because a writer has used the wrong article (e.g., a or an instead of the), but because the writer has used no article at all for a singular noun. Notice in Table 3 that every singular noun must have an article in front of it.LEARNING HINT #4: Notice that every definite noun takes the article the, regardless of whether it is singular, plural, or uncountable. Therefore, if you cannot decide whether a noun is singular, plural, or uncountable, go on to the next step and ask yourself whether it is definite (known to both the writer/speaker and the reader/listener) or not. If it is definite, then use the.Using Articles with Proper Nouns (this section is slightly modified for use by ELP)So far, we have been talking only about using articles with common nouns. The rules for proper nouns are more complex.Proper nouns are names of particular people, places, and things (John F. Kennedy, New York City, Notre Dame Cathedral), and for that reason they are inherently definite. Nevertheless, the definite article is not used with most singular proper nouns. For example, if you are referring to your friend George, you wouldn't say "The George and I went to a movie last night." The only times "the" is used with a name like this are: a) when you want to be emphatic, as in "the Elizabeth Taylor" (to emphasize that you are talking about the famous actress, and not about another woman with the same name), and b) when you are actually using the name as a common noun, as in "the George that I introduced you to last night" (the real meaning of this phrase is "the man named George..."). Plural names, on the other hand, are always preceded by the: theJohnsons, the Bahamas, etc.Singular geographical names are very irregular with respect to article usage. For example, singular names of continents (Asia, Africa), mountains (Mount Fuji), and bays (San Francisco Bay) do not take the article the, but regions (the Crimea), deserts (the Sahara), and other geographical entities do.Most place names which include the seem to be structures composed of a noun and a modifier: The United States, the Dominican Republic, the Empire State (New York’s nickname) and The Empire State Building. However, names with New, North, South, East or West do not use the: New York, South Carolina, New South Wales, East Anglia.Great Britain does not use the, but the Great Lakes does. Pennsylvania has both the University of Pennsylvania (in Philadelphia) and Penn State University (in College Park).Indeed, the use of articles with singular proper nouns is complex and hence difficult to learn. For this reason, the best thing to do is to memorize whether the proper nouns that you use frequently are used with or without the.Examples:State StreetDelaware CountyGreat Britainthe(former) Soviet Unionthe University of VirginiaRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteHarvard UniversityOrganizations typically have the in their names. However, the abbreviations may or may not be said with the:The United Nations (the U.N.)The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, not ‘the OPEC’)The pattern seems to be that, if the abbreviation is said as one word, it will not take the. On the other hand, if theabbreviation is said as letters, the will be used:The CIAThe FBIUNESCONAFTA"A" Versus "An"This last topic is undoubtedly the easiest, because most non-native speakers already know about the difference between a and an. They are simply two variations of the indefinite article. A is used before words that begin with consonant sounds (a rock, a large park) and an is used before vowel sounds (an interesting subject, an apple).However, note that the choice of a or an depends on pronunciation, not spelling. Many words that begin with the vowel -u- are preceded by a instead of an because the -u- spelling is often pronounce -yu-, as in useful ("a useful idea"), and uranium ("a uranium isotope"). In addition, in a few words borrowed from French, the initial consonant -h- is not pronounced: an heir to the throne, an hour-long lecture, an honorable agreement, etc.A Strategy for SuccessKeep in mind that native speakers of English seldom use articles incorrectly; therefore, any errors that you make are very noticeable and distracting to them. That is why you should make an effort to use articles correctly.Study this handout--particularly Five Sources of Definiteness, Table 3, and the Learning Hints. Memorize the definition of definiteness ("known to both the writer/speaker and thereader/listener"). Then try the Exercise toward the end of this handout; the correct answers are provided on the following page so you can check your work.In the future, whenever you write in English, you will need to proofread your writing carefully and to apply the rules for article usage very deliberately. With practice, you can learn to use articles correctly--not only in writing, but also in speech!References∙Brown, Roger. A First Language: The Early Stages.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1973. (Folsomlibrary P136 .B7)∙Celce-Murcia, Marianne, and Larsen-Freeman, Diane. The Grammar Book: An ESL/EFL Teacher's Course. Rowley,MA: Newbury House, 1983. 171-202.∙Hacker, Diana. The Bedford Handbook for Writers. Boston: St. Martin's, 1991. 312-17. (Available at the Writing Center) ∙Hornby, A.S. The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English. 3rd ed. London: Oxford UP, 1974.(Available at the Writing Center)∙Master, Peter A. "Teaching the English Article to Foreign Technical Writing Students." The Technical Writing Teacher13.3 (1986): 203-10. (Folsom library reserve 808 .T49)∙Quirk, Randolph, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, and Jan Svartvik. A Comprehensive Grammar of the EnglishLanguage. New York: Longman, 1985. (Folsom libraryPE1106 .C65 1985)ExerciseInstructions: Fill in each blank with the appropriate article. If no article is required, put a "0" in the blank. The nouns that the articles go with are in italics.1. _______(a) Decline and Fall of ______(b) Roman Empire isa famous book about that subject.2. ________(a) complexity of _______(b) problem of______(c) decline and fall of the Roman Empire is madeevident by _______(d) wide variety of causes that areemphasized in varying degrees by _______ (e) differentauthors.3.Fortunately, ________(a) concise formulation of EdwardGibbon serves as _________(b) widely accepted basis for_______(c) modern discussion of _________(d) problem.4.According to Gibbon, _________(a) empire reached its peakduring _______(b) administration of ________(c) twoAntonines.5.After that, however, ________(a) extent of ________(b)Roman conquest became too great to be managed by_______(c) Roman government, and _______(d) declinebegan.6. ______(a) military government was weakened and finallydissolved as ______(b) barbarians were allowed toconstitute ______(c) ever-growing percentage of ______(d)Roman legions.7. ______(a) victorious legions began to dominate and corrupt_______(b) government, weakening it at ______(c) timewhen it most needed ______(d) strength to overcome_______(e) other problems.Answers and Explanations to the ExercisesNOTE: The explanations refer to reasons given in the section on "Five Sources of Definiteness."1.a) The -- singular; definite because of reason 4 (followingmodification: of the Roman Empire).b) the -- singular; definite because of the precedingadjective: Roman. This is not one of the five principalsources of definiteness, but in this case, "Roman empire" isvery specific (especially since "Roman" is derived from theproper noun, "Rome"), and the reader would be expected toknow that there was only one empire that is known as theRoman empire in English.2.a) The -- singular; definite because of reason 4 (followingmodification: of the problem...).b) the -- singular; definite because of reason 4 (followingmodification: of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire).c) the -- singular; definite because of reason 4 (followingmodfication: of the Roman Empire).d) the or a -- singular; could be either definite or indefinite.Even though a long string of modifiers follows the noun, thereader still might not be familiar with the variety of causesthat the writer is referring to.e) 0 -- plural; indefinite because the reader has no way ofknowing which different authors the writer is referring to.3.a) the -- singular; definite because of reason 4 (followingmodification: of Edward Gibbon).b) a -- singular; indefinite because there could be more thanone widely accepted basis for modern discussion of theproblem (the modification is not sufficient to make the noununique).c) 0 -- uncountable; indefinite. can be either countable oruncountable; here it is being used in the abstract,uncountable sense. It is indefinite because there could bemore than one modern discussion of the problem (themodification is not sufficient to make the noun unique).d) the -- singular; definite because of reason 1 (previouslymentioned).4.a) the -- singular; definite because of reason 1 (previouslymentioned).b) the -- singular; definite because of reason 4 (followingmodification: of the two Antonines).c) the or 0 -- plural; could be either definite or indefinite. Thewriter's use of the indicates that there were two and only twoAntonine emperors. Use of 0 would indicate that there weremore than two Antonine emperors.5.a) the -- singular; definite because of reason 4 (followingmodification: of the Roman conquest).b) the -- Conquest in this context is uncountable, meaning"the area or territory which was conquered." Because thepreceding adjective, Roman, is derived from a proper name (Rome), it makes the following noun unique in this context.c) the -- singular; definite. As in 5b, the preceding adjective,Roman, makes it clear which government is referred to in this context. However, note that in another context, it might be necessary to add a following modification in order tomake the noun definite (e.g., "the Roman government of the third century A.D.")d) the -- singular; definite because of reason 1 (previouslymentioned).6.a) The -- singular; definite because of reasons 1 and 5(Roman government was previously mentioned, and it isclear from the context that military government is alsoreferring to the Roman government).b) 0 -- plural; indefinite (not previously mentioned, nor isthere any other source of definiteness).c) an -- singular; indefinite. There could be more than onegroup, other than the barbarians, who constituted ever-growing percentages of the Roman legions; thus,modification is not sufficient to make the noun definite.d) the -- plural; definite. As in 5b and 5c, the precedingadjective, Roman, is sufficient to make it clear which legions are being referred to in this context. In another context,additional modification might be required to make the noun definite (e.g., "the Roman legions that invaded Britian in 6B.C.")7.a) 0 -- plural; probably indefinite. The author is notnecessarily referring to any particular group of victoriouslegions; moreover, even though legions have beenmentioned before, victorious legions have not; thus, thecriterion of previous mention does not apply.b) the -- singular; definite because of reason 1 (previouslymentioned).c) a or the -- singular; If we interpret when it most needed...as modifying time, then time is definite because of reason 4.However, most native speakers interpret both at a time and when it most needed... as adverbial modifiers modifyingweakening, so the the noun would be interpreted as being indefinite.d) the or 0 -- Strength can be either uncountable (theabstract quality of strength) or singular (a particular instanceof that abstract quality). So it is either singular and definite because of reason 4 (following modification: to overcome other problems), or uncountable and indefinite. Both would be equally acceptable, so it just depends on how the writer is thinking.e) 0 -- plural; indefinite (other problems have not been mentioned previously, and there is no other source of definiteness).。
a an和the用法和练习
a an thean，a是不定冠词，仅用在单数可数名词前面，表示“一"的意义，但不强调数目观念。
a用在以辅音（指辅音音素)开头的词前，an用在以元音(指元素音素）开头的词前。
a+名词单数，表示一个……，或者某一……,an一般用于元音字母开头的单词,作用和a一样，the+名词表示特指,the+形容词,表示一类人或者事物.a和an是不定冠词，修饰泛指名词。
只不过以元音开头的名词用an修饰翻译成“一个”。
the是定冠词,修饰特指名词翻译成“这个"。
冠词是虚词,本身不能单独使用，也没有词义，它用在名词的前面,帮助指明名词的含义。
英语中的冠词有三种，一种是定冠词（the Definite Article)，另一种是不定冠词（the Indefinite Article），还有一种是零冠词（Zero Article）。
1）不定冠词在句子中最大的语法功能是:用在可数名词的单数形式前表示泛指-—表明一类人或事物区别于它类。
例:I am a Chinese. 我是(一个)中国人。
This is a book. 这是（一本）书。
2）为了读音的方便,在以元音音素开头的可数名词的单数名词前用an而不用a.当我们使用an时，条件有三：①这个名词的读音必须是以元音音素开头-—即它的音标的第一个音素是元音，而不是说它是以元音字母开头.②它必须是个可数名词.③它还必须是个单数名词。
我们常常见到这类用法:a university 一所大学an hour 一个小时an orange 一只桔子an engineer 一位工程师an ordinary man一个普通人an honest person一位诚实的人3)定冠词在句子中，既可以用于可数名词前，也可以用于不可数名词前；既用在可数名词的单数形式前，也用在可数名词的复数形式前.从表达意义上讲，它既可表达this, that之意义,也可表达these, those之意义。
什么是零冠词
什么是零冠词零冠词(Zeroarticles)是指名词前面没有不定冠词(a、an)、定冠词(the)，也没有其他限定词的现象。
零冠词也是冠词的一种，一般表示为“/”而在文法中则根本不表示，“/”是英语词汇中最特殊的词，它没有拼写，没有读音，通常在口语表示时只是很短的停顿，但它的用法确实起着重要作用。
下面是店铺整理的一些关于零冠词的用法，希望对大家有帮助。
1. 用于复数名词前复数名词泛指某类人或物时，其前通常用零冠词。
如：Students should obey the school rules. 学生应该遵守校规。
Trees don’t grow in the Antarctic. 南极不长树木。
【说明】复数名词若需特指，则要加定冠词。
如：The students are too lazy. 这些学生太懒。
2. 用于不可数名词前不可数名词表示泛指时，其前通常用零冠词。
如：Bread is made from flour. 面包是用面粉做的。
Wood is a poor conductor of sound. 木头是声音的不良导体。
【说明】不可数名词若需特指，则要加定冠词。
如：He sawed the wood into three pieces. 他把木头锯成三块。
3. 用于专有名词前在通常情况下，专有名词前要用零冠词。
如：Mr Smith is our English teaches us Engli sh. 史密斯先生教我们英语。
【说明】在特殊情况下，若专有名词需要特指，也可加定冠词。
如：The Smith you’re looking for no longer lives here. 你找的那个史密斯不再住这里。
4. 用于某些单数可数名词前单数可数名词前在某些特殊情况下用零冠词，如用作呼语时、表示家庭成员时、用于表示“变成”的连系动词 turn, go 之后作表语时、用于倒装的让步状语从句中时等。
a、an、the的用法
a、an、the的用法a、an、the的用法你们都了解了吗?今日我给大家带来了a、an、the的用法，盼望能够给关心到大家，下面我就和大家共享，来观赏一下吧。
a、an、the的用法a an是不定冠词意思是一个,指的可以是任何东西the是定冠词是特指一个东西a 和an 的区分是当后面接的单词的音标是以原音开头的话就用an比如an apple an orange an English teachera cow a sheep一般以a e i o开头的单词前面都是要用an的u虽然是原音字母但是一般不用an的比如a university studentthe 是指特定的东西比如那根笔在哪里Where is the pen?冠词articles：a，an，the，/ 的用法we use a/an with singular countable nouns:a/an用在单数可数名词中1.the first time you mention a thing/person.第一次提到的人或事eg: I saw an old man with a dog2.When you say what something is or what somebody does.当你说什么是什么或者某人做什么的时候eg: Its a nice house.She is a lawyer.3. in exclamations with What...!感叹句中eg: What an awful day!4. in expressions of frequency.表达频率eg: I have classes three times a week.We use the:1.When we talk about something weve already mentioned.当我们谈论我们已经提到的事情时eg: I saw an old man with a dog.The dog was barking.2.When its clear what youre referring to.涉及的事物很清晰eg: My father opened the door.The children are at school.3.When theres only one of something.独此一样eg: The moon goes round the Earth.4.with place in a town(cinema and theatre).小镇里的电影院和剧院eg: Im going to the cinema tonight5.with superlatives(最高级)eg: Its the best restaurant in town.We dont use an article:(不用任何冠词)1.When we are speaking in general(with plural and uncountable nouns.)compare:对比I love flowers.(=flowers in general)泛指I love the flowers in my garden.(=the specific flowers in my garden)特指eg: Women usually talk more than men.Love is more important than money.2. with some nouns,(home,work,school,church)after at/to/from.eg: Shes not at home today.I get back from work at 5:30.3. before meals,days,and months.eg: I never have breakfast.4. before next/last+day,week,etc.eg: See you next friday.英语语法：哪些状况下不用冠词a/an/the?在英语语法中，术语零冠词(zero article)是指在口语或写作中，一个名词或名词短语前没有冠词(a、an或the)。
冠词The Article
冠词The Article冠词是一种虚词，放在名词的前面，帮助说明名词的含义。
冠词分不定冠词（The Indefinite Article）和定冠词（The definite Article）两种。
a (an) 是不定冠词，a用在辅音之前：如a book, a man; an用在元音之前，如：an old man, an hour, an interesting book 等。
the是定冠词。
一、不定冠词的用法1、指人或事物的某一种类（泛指）。
这是不定冠词a (an)的基本用法。
如：She is a girl. I am a teacher. Please pass me an apple.2、指某人或某物，但不具体说明何人或何物。
如：He borrowed a story-book from the library.A Wang is looking for you. 一位姓王的同志正在找你。
3、表示数量，有―一‖的意思，但数的概念没有one强烈。
如：I have a mouth, a nose and two eyes.4、用于某些固定词组中。
如：a bit, a few, a little, a lot of, a piece of, a cup of, a glass of, a pile of, a pair of, have a good time, for a while, for a long time等。
5、用在抽象名词前，表具体的介绍——a + 抽象名词，起具体化的作用。
如：This little girl is a joy to her parents. 这女孩对她父母来说是一个乐趣。
It is a pleasure to talk with you. 跟您交谈真是一件愉快的事情。
It is an honour to me to attend the meeting. 参加这个会，对我来说是一种荣誉。
a,an,the的用法区别
a,an,the的用法区别一、a, an, the的基本用法区别当我们学习英语语法时，不可避免地会碰到冠词（articles）的使用。
在英语中，冠词主要分为三种：a, an, the。
它们的使用规则虽然看似简单，但却有一些细微的差别。
A和an通常被称为“不定冠词”，而the则被称为“定冠词”。
它们在名词前面使用时，能够表达出特定的含义和功能。
接下来我们将详细探讨这些差异。
二、a和an的用法区别1. 不知名或泛指：a和an通常用于表示不特定的或泛指某个事物或人。
例如：- I saw a dog in the park.（我在公园看见了一只狗）- She is an artist.（她是位艺术家）在以上例句中，dog和artist并没有具体指明是哪只狗或者是哪位艺术家。
2. 单数可数名词：当我们碰到一个单数可数名词并且没有具体指明是哪一个时，可以用a或an来表示一个数量。
但需要根据该单数可数名词首字母是辅音还是元音进行选择：- I found an apple on the ground.（我在地上找到了一个苹果）- Do you have a pen?（你有一支笔吗？）以上例句中，apple以元音字母a开头，所以我们使用了an；而pen以辅音字母p开头，所以我们使用了a。
三、the的用法区别1. 特指某个事物或人：the通常被用于表示特指某个具体的事物或人。
例如：- The book on the table is mine.（桌子上的那本书是我的）- Have you seen the movie "Titanic"?（你看过电影《泰坦尼克号》吗？）在以上例句中，the修饰的book和movie是特指的。
2. 指已提及过的事物或人：当我们已经在对话中提及过某物或某人，接下来再次提到它时，可以使用the。
例如：- I have a car. The color of the car is red.（我有一辆车。
a,an,the的用法区别总结
a, an, the的用法区别总结概述在英语语法中，冠词（a rt ic le s）是一个重要的语法要素。
其中，不定冠词a和a n，以及定冠词th e是最常用的冠词。
它们有着不同的用法和含义，在句子中发挥着不同的作用。
本文将对这三个冠词的用法进行详细总结。
不定冠词a和a n不定冠词a和a n用于泛指或表示一个未特指的人或物。
它们的使用遵循一个基本规则：使用a来修饰以辅音音素（co ns on an ts oun d）开头的词语，使用a n来修饰以元音音素（v owe l so un d）开头的词语。
例如：-I sa wa ca rp ar ke don t he st re et.-S he is an ex ce ll ent t ea ch er.需要注意的是，这里的辅音音素和元音音素并不直接关联于单词的字母，而是关联于发音。
以元音字母开头的单词并不一定使用an，而是根据其发音决定。
例如，a nh ou r，由于h ou r的发音以元音音素[aʊ]开头，所以使用an。
定冠词t h e定冠词t he用于特指或已知的人或物。
与不定冠词不同，定冠词th e可以修饰任何以辅音音素或元音音素开头的词语。
它指的是特定或已提到的人或物，往往在前文中有过提及。
例如：-T he bo ok yo ul en tme w as in te re st in g.-I me tt he st ud en twh o wo nt he fi rs tp riz e.此外，t he还有以下特殊用法：1.表示一类事物或整体当我们用th e泛指一个事物的整体时，可以使用定冠词t he。
例如：-T he ho rs ei sa be aut i fu la ni ma l.2.表示乐器、乐团或团体当我们谈论乐器、乐团、团体等特定的组合时，通常使用定冠词t h e。
例如：-S he pl ay st he pi ano v er yw el l.-H av ey ou he ar dt heB e at le s?3.表示地理方位当我们提及特定的地理方位时，常常使用定冠词t he。
英文原版剑桥语法--冠词与名词之a,an and the
Articles and Nouns -- a/an and theStudy this example:Joe: I had a sandwich and an apple for lunch. The sandwich wasn’t very good, but the apple was nice.Joe says ‘a sandwich’, ‘an apple’ because this is the first time he talks about them.Joe now says ‘the sandwich’, ‘the apple’because Karen knows which sandwich and which apple he means –the sandwich and the apple that he had for lunch.Compare a and the in these example:◇A man and a woman were sitting opposite me. The man was American, but I think the woman was British.◇When we were on holiday, we stayed at a hotel. Sometimes we ate at the hotel and sometimes we went to a restaurant.We use ‘the’ when we are thinking of a specific thing. Compare a/an and the:◇Tim sat down on a chair. (perhaps one of many chairs in the room) Tim sat down on the chair nearest the door. (a specific chair)◇Paula is looking for a job. (not a specific job)Did Paula get the job she applied for? (a specific job)◇Do you have a car? (not a specific car)I cleaned the car yesterday. (=my car)We use ‘the’ when it is clear in the situation which thing or person we mean. For example, in a room we talk about the light/the floor/the ceiling/ the door/the carpet etc.:◇Can you turn off the light, please? (=the light in this room)◇I took a taxi to the station. (=the station in that town)◇I’d like to speak to the manager, please. (=the manager of this shop) In the same way, we say (go to) the bank/the post office:◇I have to go to the bank and then I’m going to the post office.(The speaker is usually thinking of a specific bank or post office.)We also say (go to) the doctor/the dentist:◇Clare isn’t very well. She’s gone to the doctor. (=her usual doctor)◇I don’t like going to the dentist.Compare the and a:◇I have to go to the bank today.Is there a bank near here?◇I don’t like going to the dentist.My sister is a dentist.We say ‘once a week/three times a day/$1.50 a kilo etc.:◇‘How often do you go to the cinema?’‘About once a month.’◇‘How much are those potatoes?’‘$1.50 a kilo.’◇Helen work eight hours a day, six days a week.Exercise第一部分Put in a/an or the.1. This morning I bought _____ newspaper and _____ magazine. _____ newspaper is in my bag, but I can’t remember where I put ____ magazine.2. I saw ____ accident this morning. _____ car crashed into ____ tree. ____ driver of ____ car wasn’t hurt, but _____ car was badly damaged.3. There are two cars parked outside: ____ blue one and ____ grey one. ____ blue one belongs to my neighbors; I don’t know who ___ owner of _____ grey one is.4. My friends live in ____ old house in ____ small village. There is _____ beautiful garden behind ____ house. I would like to have ____ garden like that.答案：1. a, a, The, the2. an, A, a, The, the, the3. a, a, The, the, the4. an, a, a, the, a第二部分Put in a/an or the.1. a. This house is very nice. Has it got ___ garden?b. It’s a beautiful day. Let’s sit in ____ garden.c. I like living in this house, but it’s a shame that ____ garden is so small.2. a. Can you recommend ____ good restaurant?b. We had dinner in ____ very nice restaurant.c. We had dinner in ____ best restaurant in town.3. a. She has ___ French name, but in fact she’s English, not French.b. What’s ____ name of that man we met yesterday?c. We stayed at a very nice hotel – I can’t remember ____ name now.4. a. There isn’t ____ airport near where I live. ___ nearest airport is 70 miles away.b. Our flight was delayed. We had to wait at ___ airport for three hours.c. Excuse me, please. Can you tell me how to get to ____ airport?5. a. ‘Are you going away next week?’‘No, _______ week after next.’b. I’m going away for ______ week in September.c. Gary has a part-time job. He works three mornings ______ week.答案：1. a. a b. the c. the2. a. a b. a c. the3. a. a b. the c. the4.a. an … Theb. thec. the 5. a. the b. a c. a第三部分Put in a/an or the where necessary.1. Would you like apple?2. How often do you go to dentist?3. Could you close door, please?4. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. It was mistake.5. Excuse me, where is bus station, please?6. I have problem. Can you help me?7. I’m just going to post office. I won’t be long.8. There were n chairs, so we sat on the floor.9. Have you finished with book I lent you?10. My sister has just got job in bank in Zurich.11. WE live in small apartment in city centre.12. There’s supermarket at end of street I live in.答案：1. an apple2. the dentist3. the door4. a mistake5. the bus station6. a problem7. the post office8. the floor9. the book 10 a job in a bank 11.a small apartment in the city center 12. a supermarket at the end of the street第四部分Answer these questions about yourself. Where possible, use the structure in Section D (once a week/three times a day etc.).1. How often do you go to the cinema?2. How often do you go to the cinema?3. How often do you go away on holiday?4. What’s the usual speed limit in towns in your country?5. How much sleep do you need?6. How often do you go out in the evening?7. How much television do you watch on average?8. How much does it cost to rent a small car in your country?参考答案样式：1. Three or four times a year2. About once a month3. Once or twicea year 4. 50 kilometers an hour 5. About seven hours a night 6. Two or three times a week 7. About two hours a day 8. About $20 a day。
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THE PRINCESS Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who lived in a huge castle. She really wanted to get married and become the queen, so she sent out many letters to the people in her kingdom. The letters said that she wanted to marry a brave, strong, honest man. She told the men that on Friday at 10 o’clock a.m., she would have an interesting contest. The first man that could swim across the
yelling. She saw a man swimming very quickly in the water, fighting against the alligators. When the man arrived, he was very tired, bleeding and confused. The Princess ran to him and hugged him. “You are an unusually brave man. You will be the new king! What do you have to say to the people!” The man looked at the people on the other side of the river and yelled, “Which one of you pushed me in the water?” (35)
None of men moved. They all stared at water. In water, there were many hungry alligators. Princess thought, “Are there no brave, strong, honest men in my entire kingdom?” She was very sad. All of sudden, she heard many men yellБайду номын сангаасng. She saw man swimming very quickly in water, fighting against alligators. When man arrived, he was very tired, bleeding and confused. Princess ran to him and hugged him. “You are uncommonly brave man. You will be new king! What do you have to say to people!” Man looked at people on other side of river and yelled, “Which one of you pushed me in water?”
river and touch her hand would be her husband and become the new king. On Friday, all the men from the kingdom arrived at the river. The Princess said, “Ready, set, GO!” None of the men moved. They all stared at the water. In the water, there were many hungry alligators. The Princess thought, “Are there no brave, strong, honest men in my entire kingdom!” She was very sad. All of a sudden, she heard many men
THE ARTICLES: A AN THE
HOW MANY MISSING A AN THE CAN YOU FIND? Who can find the most?
Count how many you find.
PRINCESS Once upon time, there was beautiful princess who lived in huge castle. She really wanted to get married and become queen, so she sent out many letters to people in her kingdom. Letters said that she wanted to marry brave, strong, honest man. She told men that on Friday at 10 o’clock a.m., she would have interesting contest. First man that could swim across river and touch her hand would be her husband and become new king. On Friday, all men from kingdom arrived at river. Princess said, “Ready, set, GO!”