Definite article and zero article

DEFINITE ARTICLE AND ZERO ARTICLE

DEFINITE ARTICLE

• specific people, places or things.
• to refer back to people, places or things we mentioned earlier
• adjectives to describe people or groups
• in place names including what type of place it is.
• 
• Caption: DEFINITE ARTICLE

INDEFINITE ARTICLE

• 
• Single countable noun mentioned for the first time.
• Caption: INDEFINITE ARTICLE

ZERO ARTICLE

• Uncountable nouns
• Plural nouns
• 
• Caption: ZERO ARTICLE

SPECIFIC vs. GENERAL

• I must see the dentist.
• (= my dentist)
• The boys are boisterous today!
• (= the boys we know)
• The butter is in the fridge.
• (= the butter you're looking for)
• I must see a dentist.
• (= any dentist)
• Boys are boisterous!
• (= boys in general)
• Butter isn't good for you.
• (= butter in general)

USE OF THE DEFINITE ARTICLE

• DO
• Surnames in the plural form indicating a family or a couple
• e.g. the Simpsons, the Sopranos
• DON'T
• Names, honorifics, airline companies and companies in general:
• e.g.
• John is on holiday.
• Dr. Blake is a vascular specialist.
• We flew with Alitalia.
• I work for Barilla.

Slide 7

• DO
• Adjectives indicating a category of people
• e.g. the homeless, the poor
• ! We use a/an + adjective + noun to indicate a single person:
• e.g. a poor boy
• Singular nouns indicating a category of things or animals
• e.g. The cat is a natural hunter.
• ! We can convey the same meaning using a plural noun without the definite article.
• e.g. Cats are natural hunters.
• DON'T
• Languages, subjects, sports, meals, colours and diseases
• e.g.
• I speak Portuguese.
• I like history.
• Football is a national sport.
• Dinner is ready.
• Pink doesn't suit me.
• He's got pneumonia.

Slide 8

• DO
• Public places and parts of the house
• e.g. the baker's, the bank, the kitchen
• Musical instruments
• e.g. Ben is learning to play the drums.
• Unique objects
• e.g. the moon, the Internet
• Adjectives indicating a category of people or a population
• e.g. The Mexicans speak Mexican Spanish.
• Some expressions such as:
• in the mountains, on the plain, on the sea
• in the country/countryside, in the hills
• DON'T
• Before nouns followed by numbers
• e.g. He's arriving on flight BA405.
• With days, months, festivities, years, hours and expressions such as at night, by day.
• e.g. I normally have football training on Wednesday, but tomorrow is Halloween.

Slide 9

• Using articles: a/an, the, no article
• [Lesson] The Definite article
• Articles - exercise
• Articles with geographical names
• 
• Caption: Have a look at the mind maps and do the exercises.