DEFINITE ARTICLE

THE
GERALDINE LARA
VALERIA PREZ
INTI ROMN
NICOLS VALENZUELA

o BRIEF ACTIVITY
JACK: I havent
got a garage. I
leave the car in
the street.

JACK: I always eat

in the kitchen.

ENGLISH ARTICLE
The only definite article in English is
the word the, denoting person(s) or
thing(s) already mentioned (is used to
indicate the specific noun or nouns
that you are talking about), under
discussion, implied, or otherwise
presumed familiar to the listener or
reader.
The is the most commonly used word
in the English language.

oEXAMPLE
Here is the book I bought.
(I bought a book and now I am
showing this specific book to you.)

I like the south of France.

(The south is a particular region of
France, and it is the one that I like.)

SPANISH ARTICLE
Besides a few exceptions, as a general rule
a definite article is used in Spanish
whenever "the" is used in English. But
Spanish also uses a definite article in many
cases where English does not. The definite
article in Spanish is divided into
four forms: El, la, los las.

Singular masculine:

El
Singular feminine:

Plural masculine:

La

Los
Plural feminine: Las

o EXAMPLE

Las manzanas estn maduras.

Los trenes son grandes.

El piloto del avin es inteligente.
La vecina es rubia.

NEUTRAL ARTICLE
The neutral article is a definite article
that is used to refer to abstract concepts.
In Spanish, the neutral article is lo. It is
placed next to an adjective or an adverb,
in order to transform them into an
abstract noun.
EXAMPLE:
El otoo es lo mejor.
El jardinero trabaja lo mas rpido
que puede.

CONTRASTING ENGLISH AND

SPANISH
In English, unlike Spanish, the
definite article has no gender or
plural form.
La Los
The word "the" occupies a unique
place in the English language as
El
Las
THE
the only word that grammarians
classify as a definite article. It's
not quite so simple in Spanish
because the English "the" has
four equivalents.

o EXAMPLES
Masculine/singular

Female/singular

The boy (el nio)

The girl (la nia)

The book (el libro)

The table (la mesa)

Masculine/plural

Female/plural

The boys (los nios)

The girls (las nias)

The books (los libros)

The tables (las mesas)

 Although there are a few exceptions, as

a general rule a definite article is used in
Spanish whenever "the" is used in
English. But Spanish also uses a definite
article in many cases where English does
not.
EXAMPLE:

Las madres son como rayos de sol.

Mothers are like sun rays.

 "The" can be used with:

Singular and plural nouns.
Nouns of any gender.
Nouns that start with any letter.
Before all kind of nouns (countable
and uncountable).
But in Spanish we need a different
article for each statement.
EXAMPLE:
The train leaves on Wednesday.

 In English there is no contraction of

preposition and article ("Del" = "of
the and "al" = "to the").
EXAMPLE:
Me gusta ir al cine.
I like to go to the movies.

TYPES OF THE DEFINITE

ARTICLE
Generic: In the case of generic we omit
the definite article the.
We say ROCK instead of the rock .
Unique: When we mention a thing which is
unique we also use the definite article
the.
The cat is on the roof.

Specific: When we mention a thing which is

unique we also use it.
the moon looks beautiful tonight.

OMISSION OF THE DEFINITE

ARTICLE (ZERO ARTICLE)
No article is necessary in the following
cases: in plural noun phrases with a
generic reference, reference to a
general class of things.

o EXAMPLE
Generic mass noun: Happiness is
contagious.
Generic plural noun: Cars have
accelerators.

 The definite article is sometimes

omitted before some words for specific
institutions, such as prison, school, and
hospital (There is variation among
dialects. Standard American English, for
example, requires the before hospital).
EXAMPLE:
She is in hospital.

The criminal went to prison.

I'm going to school.

The article may also be omitted

between a preposition and the
word bed when describing activities
typically associated with beds.
EXAMPLE:
He is lying in bed.
They went to bed.

 Before abstract nouns or nouns

representing general categories.

It is often omitted after verbs

expressing opinions or preferences:

EXAMPLE:
Truth is the highest good.
I don't like animals.

Cats are nicer than dogs.

Time flies.

She likes coffee, but she hates tea.

 Before days of the week and dates:

EXAMPLE:

On Tuesdays museums are closed.

On Saturdays I sleep in.
I was born on June 16, 1980.

 Before names of countries, states,

cities, and regions.
EXAMPLE:
California is larger than Brittany.
*Some names actually include the
definite article such as The Hague, the
United States

 Before titles or nouns indicating

professions.
EXAMPLE:
President Mitterrand completed two
terms.

We saw Professor Miller at the

restaurant.
She met with Doctor Schmidt.

THE PROBLEM
Students often mistakenly use the
when it isnt clear which thing or
person theyre talking about.
Alternatively, they use no article at all.

o EXAMPLE
Typical mistakes:
Ive got the surprise for you.

Ive got ___ surprise for you.

VIDEO

o ACTIVITY
1. Decide whether to use the definite article
''the or not.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.

My grandmother likes ____ flowers very much.

I love ____ flowers in your garden.
See you on ____ Wednesday.
I always listen to ____ radio in the morning.
Alex goes to work by ____ bus.
Don't be late for ____ school.
Listen! Dennis is playing ____ trumpet.
We often see our cousins over ____ Easter.
She has never been to ____ Alps before.
What about going to Australia in ___ February?

2. Complete the sentences.

She's reading Italian at ____.
a) University
b) The university
I'll take you to _____.
a) Airport
b) The airport

He was sent to ____ for theft.

a) Prison
b) The prison
She lives in _____.
a) North
b) The North
I spoke to ______.
a) Manager
b) The manager

We went for a walk in _____.

a) Park
b) The park

She was born in ____.

a) France
b) The France
I'm going to ____.
a) Bed
b) The bed
It's ____.
a) Amazon
b) The amazon
It's the first road on ____.
a) Right
b) The right