The use of the article with the proper nouns

In certain situations, we always use "a" or "an." These situations include:

1. Referring to something that is one of a number of possible things.

Example: My lab is planning to purchase a new microscope. (Have you chosen one yet? No, we’re still looking at a number of different models.)

2. Referring to one specific part of a larger quantity.

Example: Can I have a bowl of cereal and a slice of toast? (Don't you want the whole box of cereal and the whole loaf of bread? No, thanks. Just a bowl and a slice will be fine.)

3. With certain indefinite quantifiers.

Example: We met a lot of interesting people last night. (You can also say "a bunch of" or "a ton of" when you want to be vague about the exact quantity. Note that these expressions are all phrases: a + quantifier + of.)

Exception: "A few of" does not fit this category. See Number 8 in the next section for the correct usage of this expression.

4. Specifying information associated with each item of a grouping.

Example: My attorney asked for $200 an hour, but I’ll offer him $200 a week instead. (In this case, "a" can substitute for the word "per.")

5. Introducing a noun to the reader for the first time (also called "first mention"). Use "the" for each subsequent reference to that noun if you mean "this one exactly."

Example: I presented a paper last month, and my advisor wants me to turn the paper into an article. If I can get the article written this semester, I can take a break after that! I really need a break!

Note: The writer does not change from "a break" to "the break" with the second mention because she is not referring to one break in particular ("this break exactly"). It's indefinite—any break will be fine!!

When you mean "this one exactly"

Talking about "this one exactly" is also called "definite reference." We use it when both the reader and the writer can identify the exact noun that is being referred to.

When you mean "this one exactly," you have two article choices: Ø, the. The choice of article depends on the noun and on the context. Ask yourself, "What kind of noun is it?"

1. (Most) Proper nouns = no article (Ø)

a. My research will be conducted in Luxembourg.

b. Dr. Homer inspired my interest in Ontario.

Note: Some proper nouns do require "the." See the special notes on nouns below.

2. Non-count nouns = the

a. Step two: mix the water with the boric acid.

b. The laughter of my children is contagious.

3. Plural nouns = the

a. We recruited the nurses from General Hospital.

b. The projects described in your proposal will be fully funded.

4. Singular nouns = the

a. Bring the umbrella in my closet if it looks like rain.

b. Did you get the visa you applied for?

In certain situations, we always use "the" because the noun or the context makes it clear that we’re talking about "this one exactly." The context might include the words surrounding the noun or the context of knowledge that people share. Examples of these situations include:

1. Unique nouns

a. The earth rotates around the sun.

b. The future looks bright!

2. Shared knowledge (both participants know what's being referred to, so it's not necessary to specify with any more details)

a. The boss just asked about the report.

b. Meet me in the parking lot after the show.

3. Second mention (with explicit first mention)

a. I found a good handout on English articles. The handout is available online.

b. You can get a giant ice cream cone downtown. If you can eat the cone in five seconds, you get another one free.

4. Second mention (with implied first mention—this one is very, very common)

a. Dr. Frankenstein performed a complicated surgery. He said the patient is recovering nicely. ("The patient" is implied by "surgery"—every surgery has a patient.)

b. My new shredder works fabulously! The paper is completely destroyed. (Again, "the paper" is implied by "shredder.")

5. Ordinals and superlatives (first, next, primary, most, best, least, etc.)

a. The first man to set foot on the moon…

b. The greatest advances in medicine…

6. Specifiers (sole, only, principle, etc.)

a. The sole purpose of our organization is…

b. The only fact we need to consider is…

7. Restricters (words, phrases, or clauses that restrict the noun to one definite meaning)

a. Study the chapter on osmosis for the test tomorrow.

b. Also study the notes you took at the lecture that Dr. Science gave yesterday.

8. Plural nouns in partitive -of phrases (phrases that indicate parts of a larger whole) (Note: Treat "of the" as a chunk in these phrases—both words in or both words out)

a. Most of the international students (emphasis on part of the group)

b. Most international students (emphasis on the group as a whole)

c. Several of the risk factors (emphasis on part of the group)

d. Several risk factors (emphasis on the group as a whole)

e. A few of the examples (emphasis on part of the group)

f. A few examples (emphasis on the group as a whole)

Note: "Few examples" is different from "a few examples".

Compare:

The teacher gave a few good examples. (emphasizes the presence of good examples)

The teacher gave few good examples. (emphasizes the lack of good examples)

        Thus, article (abbreviated art) is a word that combines with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. Articles specify the grammatical definiteness of the noun, in some languages extending to volume or numerical scope. The articles in the English language are “the” and “a/an”.

    1.2. The definite article: “the”

Definite articles typically arise from demonstratives meaning that. For example, the definite articles in the Romance languages—e.g., el, il, le, la—derive from the Latin demonstratives ille (masculine) and illa (feminine).

The English definite article the, written þe in Middle English, derives from an Old English demonstrative, which, according to gender, was written se (masculine), seo (feminine), or þæt (neuter). The neuter form þæt also gave rise to the modern demonstrative that. The ye occasionally seen in pseudo-archaic usage such as "Ye Olde Englishe Tea Shoppe" is actually a form of þ^e, where the letter thorn (þ) came to be written as a y[].

    English, knowing when to use 'a' or 'the' can be difficult. Fortunately, there are rules to help you, but you need to know what type of noun you are using.

    A definite article indicates that its noun is a particular one (or ones) identifiable to the listener. It may be the same thing that the speaker has already mentioned, or it may be something uniquely specified. The definite article in English is the. Some languages include masculine or feminine articles instead or in addition to a neutral gender definite article [].

    “The” is the commonest specific determiner; it is sometimes called the definite article. “The” usually means something like “you know which one(s) I mean”. We use “the” before a noun when our listener/reader knows (or can work out) which particular person(s), thing(s) etc. we are talking about [14; 65].

The definite article the is the same for all genders in singular and in plural. 
the boy, the girl, the cat, the computers

          If the following word begins with a vowel, we speak [ ], if the following word begins with a consonant, we speak [ ].

The definite article "the" is the same for all genders in singular and in plural. 
     e.g. the boy, the girl, the cat, the computers

If the following word begins with a vowel, we speak [ ], if the following word begins with a consonant, we speak [ ] [28; 103].

The word ‘The’ is the definite article and it indicates that the noun that follows has already been defined in some way. The word ‘the’ should be used in the following types of sentences:

• When you know that the person to whom you are talking knows what particular thing / person you are talking about.

e.g The banana you ate was rotten. Here, the listener knows that you are talking about banana, so you should use ‘the’ in the beginning of the sentence.

• When you have already stated the thing you are discussing about.

e.g. He has got two children a boy and a girl. The boy is ten and the boy is eight.

Here, you have already mentioned about the boy and the girl. So, you should use ‘the’ to mention about them again.

• When you are talking about geographical area.

     e.g.the equator, the North Pole.

• When you are talking about seas, oceans, and rivers.

e.g. the Indian ocean, the Nile.

• When you are mentioning something as the famous, best, etc… Here, the word ‘the’ will give a strong pronunciation.

   e.g He is the best painter in the world [41]. 

    Compare:

    Did you lock the car? (The listener knows very well which car is meant).

    We hired a car to go to Scotland. (The listener does not know which one).

    The listener/reader may know which one(s) we mean because:

1. we have mentioned it/them before

    e.g. She’s got two children: a boy and a girl. The boy’s fourteen and the girl’s eight.

  “So what did you do then?” “Gave the money straight back to the policeman.”

    The speaker uses “the” because the listener has already heard about the money and the policeman.

2. we say which one(s) we mean

    Could you close the door? (Only one door is open).

    Ann’s in the kitchen.

    Did you enjoy the party?

    What’s the time? [12; 165]

    Basic uses of article “the”

    When using “the”, we must always bear in mind two basic facts:

• “The” normally has a definite reference (a person or the thing referred to is assumed to be known to the speaker or reader).
• “The” can combine with singular countable, plural countable and uncountable nouns (which are always singular).

    These two facts underlie all uses of “the”. Some of the most important of these uses are discussed in the sections that follow.

• The use of “the” in time sequences

e.g. the beginning, the middle, the end, the first, the last, the next, the present, the past, the future.

• The use of “the” with parts of the day

e.g. in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, etc.

• The use of “the” with the seasons.

(the)spring/summer/autumn/winter.

• The use of “the” in fixed time expressions.

All the while, at the moment, for the time being, in the end, etc.

• We often use “the” with “unique items.”

• Historical events: the French Revolution, the Victorian age.
• Ships: the Canberra, the Titanic.
• Political parties: the Conservative Party, the Labour Party.
• Public bodies: the Army, the Police.
• Beliefs: the angels, the saints, the gods.

•    We usually use “the” with superlatives because there is normally only one best, biggest etc individual or group. For the same reason, we usually use “the” with first, next, last, same and only.

•    We normally use the definite article in expressions like play the guitar, learn the piano. The is often omitted in referenced to jazz and rock:

            e.g This is a 1979 recording with Ellison on bass guitar.

Fixed phrases with the … the (the sooner the better) and fixed expressions: do the shopping, make the bed

• Measurement. Note the use of “the” in measuring expressions beginning with “by”.

     e.g.  Do you sell eggs by the kilo or by the dozen?

    e.g.  She drinks cough medicine by the liter[4; 10-53].

• We use the indefinite article with the geographic names

           e.g. the Mississippi, the Urals, the Pacific, the Red Sea etc.

• The use of “the” with names of families

           e.g. the Simpson, the Bradley etc.

• The use of “the” with nationalities ending in –sh, - ch or -ese

e.g. The Dutch, the Welsh, the Chinese etc.

• The use of “the” with adjectives used as plural nouns

e.g. the old, the sick, the deaf etc.

• The use of “the” with superlative degree of adjectives/ adverbs

e.g. She is the best girl in the world.

• We use the article “the” with the words: station, shop, cinema, pub, library, city, village etc.

e.g. She went to the library to turn some books.

• The use of “the” with title

e.g. the Pope, the Duke of Northfolk etc.

• The use of “the” with the musical instruments, dances

                    e.g. the guitar, the waltz[25; 171].

Thus, the definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or particular. The signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular member of a group.

3. The indefinite article: “a/an”