ARTICLE (a, an, the) & ZERO ARTICLE

If we do need an article, when should we use an indefinite article and when should we use a definite article?

Rule 1: Indefinite articles are used for previously unknown nouns that are being introduced
into a dialogue or story and definite articles are used for nouns that have already been
introduced (or are already known or are assumed to be known at the point of introduction to
the conversation).

For example:

I saw a cat. The cat was sitting on a fence. The fence was painted brown. The cat jumped off the fence
when it saw a mouse. The mouse ran into a hole when it saw the cat so the cat didn't catch the mouse.

In this example, the nouns cat, fence, and mouse take an indefinite article, but only when they are introduced
for the first time. After they are introduced, we use the definite article in every instance. This pattern, or rule,
covers a lot of basic instances of concrete nouns, especially in story telling. This rule can extend over long
periods of time and interrupted dialogue so that I can ask you to buy a pen and then several hours later I can
ask you if you bought the pen.

Of course, this rule cannot be taught at the single sentence level since it requires a sentence to introduce the
noun and a sentence to talk about the noun that has previously been introduced.

One exercise that I find useful is to have students fill in the articles for simple stories where several characters
and objects are introduced into the story in succession. Every time a new character (knight, cat, ogre, mouse)
or a new object (fence, bridge, castle) is introduced into the story the indefinite article is used and thereafter
the definite article is used as per the basic rule. (See links above right).

Another good exercise that emphasizes this use of the basic rule is to have a series of flashcards with people or
animals doing something and ask the students to describe what they see:

I see a monkey. The monkey is playing the drums.

I see a cat. The cat is swimming.

The pattern can be varied to suit other language needs:

There is a cat. The cat is swimming.

Some other possible ideas for using flashcards like these are:

(a)

Describing colours: I see a cat. The cat is black.

(b) Describing clothes: There is a girl and a boy. The girl is wearing a dress and the boy is wearing a
shirt and jeans.
(c)

Describing actions: I see a knight. The knight is fighting an ogre.

(d)

Describing settings of a story: Once upon a time, there was a princess. The princess lived in a castle.

Rule 2: When a Noun is Unique, Use a Definite Article

Another important rule is when something is unique * or, in other words, there is only one of that object. In this
case, the definite article is used. The sun, the president, the queen of England, the capital city, and the
moon are all examples. This is especially true for objects that are well known by many or most people, but it is
true even when the hearer may not know the object:

A:Who's he?
B:He's the president of Korea. She's the CFO. He's the mayor.

This can be contrasted with:

A: Who's she?
B: She's a member of parliament. She's an accountant. He's an alderman.

This uniqueness can come by association:

A car crashed into a tree. The driver was seriously injured.

Once we established (introduced) the car, there could only be one driver so driver was unique at the time of
introduction and we use the driver instead of a driver. We could have rewritten this so that driver was not
unique (and the car was) when it was introduced:

A driver was seriously injured when the car he was driving crashed.

A driver can only be driving one car at a time so car is unique in this instance once driver was introduced.

This exception applies to superlatives (which are usually unique in occupying the extreme postion or
quality): the best place, the worst thing, the fastest runner, the tallest mountain, and the most interesting
person I've ever met. This can be contrasted with comparatives such as a better mouse trap where several
better mouse traps are possible.

This exception also applies to ordering (ordinal numbers used as adjectives) where it is presumed that the
ordering is unique: the second time, the third example, the fourth person to call. In other words, once you
place an order on objects they hold a unique position in that order.

This exception applies to named things (which through naming become unique):

The Rocky Mountains (a mountain range)

The New York Islanders (a sports team)

The Amazon River (a river in South America)

The Pacific Ocean (an ocean)
The Steelworkers Union (an organization)
The Great Plains (a geographic locality)
The Washington Monument (a statue)
The Number Four Bus

However, this application is imperfect as some things such as named lakes and islands take no articles (Buttle
Lake, Skull Island) except in plural instances (the Great Lakes, the Galapagos islands).
This exception applies to famous people who become unique in their fame:

A: I saw Nicole Kidman yesterday.

B: Nicole Kidman, the actor? (There is only one famous Nicole Kidman)

The links above right cover some of the applications of this exception.

If you have to teach the use of articles, then this is the place to begin. This is the basic rule for using articles. In
fact, I often tell students that this is the only rule, but there are many exceptions. The problem is that there are
so many exceptions that you could spend an inordinate amount of time going over these exceptions. In the
end, students would not be able to internalize these rules anyways so what's the point (except perhaps to
provide a reference for writing).

Rule 3: When we are speaking of a noun in general weusually leave the article out and, if it is
countable, use the plural form.*

So for example, when we are talking about an actual cookie or cookies that really exist or existed we use an
article (definite or indefinite). In the following examples, we are speaking of specific/actual/real cookies.

I ate a cookie.
The cookie was delicious.

The cookies are on the table.

I made some cookies for you.

However, we can also make general statements about cookies. And when we do speak in general of cookies,
we leave the articles out.

I like cookies.
Cookies contain a lot of sugar.
Kids shouldn't eat cookies every day.
I enjoy making cookies.
I never eat cookies at night.

It is possible to either use an article or leave it out, but the meaning will be different in each case:

I like cookies.
(A general statement concerning cookies)
I like the cookies.
(A statement about some specific cookies that I've actually tasted)

It should be noted that when we do speak in general we commonly use the plural form** of the noun if it is a
countable noun (and just the noun if it is not countable).

Cookies are bad for your health.

(Cookie is countable and therefore put into the plural)
Pizza is bad for your health.
(Pizza is uncountable and left as is)

The links to right contain examples where students decide whether the statements are general statements or
whether they are about actual objects, but they are really 'best guess' exercises since both statements I like

cookies and I like the cookies are grammatically correct but are different in meaning (one is specific and one is
general).

Complete the following sentences with a , an , the or zero article:

1. Danny wanted _______ new bicycle for Christmas.
2. Jennifer tasted _______ birthday cake her mother had made.
3. The children have _______ new teacher called Madam Lee.
4. All pupils must obey _______ rules.
5. Dad turned on _______ radio to listen to _______ news.
6. Alex is in Boston studying for _______ MBA.
7. The teacher read _______ interesting article from the newspaper.
8. There was _______ huge crowd of people outside the church.
9. Julie talked for _______ hour about her school project.
10. _______ European expert was invited to speak to the committee.
11. The Mississippi river is in _______ United States of America.
12. It would help us if you gave _______ honest opinion.
13. I had ______ fish and ______ chips for dinner.
14. I'm on _____ diet. No _____ sugar for me!
15. I'm staying at _____ hotel on ______ Hudson river.
16. Can I pay by _____ check?
17. _____ friend of mine is coming to visit next week.
18. Have you got ______ car fixed yet?
19. I heard _____ knock on _____ door.
20. When do you get _____ home?
21. I wish he wouldn't talk during _____ lesson. Maybe the teacher should have _____ word with
him.
22. There was ______ sound in ______ living room.
23. Jack Anderson was caught holding _____ match during _____ fire.
24. She replied in _____ surprise that _____ question was much too difficult.
25. I'm afraid I can't remember _____ exact date of _____ show.
26. She's staying at _____ hotel in _____ small town in Colorado.
27. _____ children went to _____ film yesterday afternoon.
28. I'm afraid _____ answer is 'no'. Come back when you can make _____ new proposal.
29. _____ fruit is usually sold by _____ pound.
30. He got _____ job in _____ best company in town.
31. _____ Pacific Ocean is _____ largest body of water on _____ Earth.
32. You can find _____ books you'll need for class at _____ Amazon.com.
33. She might go to _____ school in _____ England.
34. She's thinking about attending _____ English course during _____ summer.
35. Meredith remembered to turn off _____ lights before she left _____ apartment.
36. I enjoy listening to _____ number of programs on _____ radio.
37. He telephoned _____ agent that was listed in _____ telephone directory.
38. John felt _____ painting was much too expensive and decided to look for _____ different one.
39. He was sent to ____ prison for stealing _____ car.

40. He said he was _____ employee of _____ shop in town.

41. She said _____ chair was only for _____ chairman.
42. _____ few people know _____ situation.

Complete the following sentences with A, AN or THE:

1. Danny wanted _____ new bicycle for Christmas.

a) A
b) AN
c) THE

7. The teacher read _____ interesting article from the

newspaper.
a) A
b) AN
c) THE

2. Jennifer tasted _____ birthday cake her mother had

made.
a) A
b) AN
c) THE

8. There was _____ huge crowd of people outside the

church.
a) A
b) AN
c) THE

3. The children have _____ new teacher called Mr.

Green.
a) A
b) AN
c) THE

9. Julie talked for _____ hour about her school project.

a) A
b) AN
c) THE

4. All pupils must obey _____ rules.

a) A
b) AN
c) THE

10. _____ European expert was invited to speak to the

committee.
a) A
b) AN
c) THE

5. Dad turned on _____ radio to listen to _____ news.

a) A/A
b) A/THE
c) THE/THE

11. The Mississippi river is in _____ United States of

America.
a) No article
b) AN
c) THE

6. Alex is in Boston studying for _____ MBA.

a) A
b) AN
c) THE

12. It would help us if you gave _____ honest opinion.

a) A
b) AN
c) THE

----------Answers---------1. (a) 2. (c) 3. (a) 4. (c) 5. (c) 6. (b) 7. (b) 8. (a) 9. (b) 10. (a) 11. (c) 12. (b)

I had ____ fish and ____ chips for dinner.

a-a
the -
the - the
-
I'm on ___ diet. No ___ sugar for me!

a-

the - the

the - a

-a
I'm staying at ___ hotel on ____ Hudson river.

the - the

a - the

a-a

a-
Can I pay by ___ check?

a
the

___ friend of mine is coming to visit next week.

the

Have you got ____ car fixed yet?

the

I heard ___ knock on ___ door.

a-a
a - the
- the
the - the

When do you get ___ home?

a
the

I wish he wouldn't talk during ___ lesson. Maybe the

teacher should have ___ word with him.

the - a

a - the

- the

-
There was ____ sound in ____ living room.

the -

the - the

a - the
Jack Anderson was caught holding _____ match during
_____ fire.

a-

the - a

a - the

She replied in _____ surprise that _____ question was

much too difficult.

-a

a-a

- the
I'm afraid I can't remember _____ exact date of
_____ show.

the - the

the - a

the -

-
She's staying at _____ hotel in _____ small town in
Colorado.

a - the

a-a

the - a

the - the
_____ children went to _____ film yesterday
afternoon.

-a

The -

A - the

The - a
I'm afraid _____ answer is 'no'. Come back when you
can make _____ new proposal.

- the

the - the

the - a

the -
_____ fruit is usually sold by _____ pound.

The - a

The - a

- the
He got _____ job in _____ best company in town.

a - the

a-a

the - a

the -
_____ Pacific Ocean is _____ largest body of water on
_____ Earth.

- the - the

The - -

The - the -
- the -
You can find _____ books you'll need for class at
_____ Amazon.com.

a - the

the - the

the -

- the

She might go to _____ school in _____ England.

-
the -
a-a
- the
She's thinking about attending _____ English course
during _____ summer.

an -

a-

an - the

the - a
Meredith remembered to turn off _____ lights before
she left _____ apartment.

the - an

- the

the - the

-
I enjoy listening to _____ number of programs on
_____ radio.

a - the

a-a

- the
He telephoned _____ agent that was listed in _____
telephone directory.

an - the

- the

the -
John felt _____ painting was much too expensive and
decided to look for _____ different one.

the - the

a-a

-a

the - a
He was sent to __ prison for stealing __ car.

-a

a-
He said he was ___ employee of ___ shop in town.

the - the

an -

a - the

an - a
She said ___ chair was only for ___ chairman.

a - the

the - the

a-a

- the
___ few people know ___ situation.

A - the

The - a

The - the