不定冠词A与An与定冠词the的用法25条.docx
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不定冠词A与An与定冠词the的用法25条
不定冠词A与An与定冠词the的用法25条
USE1
Thearticle A isusedbeforesingular, countablenouns whichbeginwith consonant sounds.
Examples:
∙Heis a teacher.
∙Shedoesn'town a car.
∙Isaw a bearatthezoo.
USE2
Thearticle AN isusedbeforesingular, countablenouns whichbeginwith vowel sounds.
Examples:
∙Heis an actor.
∙Shedidn'tget an invitation.
∙Isaw an eagleatthezoo.
USE3
Rememberthat A(AN) means"one"or"asingle".Youcannotuse A(AN) withpluralnouns.
Examples:
∙Isaw a bearsinYellowstoneNationalPark. NotCorrect
∙IsawbearsinYellowstoneNationalPark. Correct
USE4
Ifthereisanadjectiveoranadverb-adjectivecombinationbeforethenoun, A(AN) shouldagreewiththefirstsoundintheadjectiveortheadverb-adjectivecombination.
Examples:
∙Heis an excellentteacher.
∙Isaw a reallybeautifuleagleatthezoo.
USE5
Use A beforewordssuchas"European"or"university"whichsoundliketheystartwithaconsonantevenifthefirstletterisavowel.Alsouse A beforelettersandnumberswhichsoundliketheybeginwithaconsonant,suchas"U","J","1"or"9".Remember,itisthesoundnotthespellingwhichisimportant.Forexample,"1"isspelledO-N-E;however,itispronounced"won"likeitstartswitha"W".
Examples:
∙Shehas a euro. Soundslike"yu-ro".
∙Thatnumberis a "1". Soundslike"won".
USE6
Use AN beforewordssuchas"hour"whichsoundliketheystartwithavowelevenifthefirstletterisaconsonant.Alsouse AN beforelettersandnumberswhichsoundliketheybeginwithavowel,suchas"F"or"8".Remember,itisthesoundnotthespellingwhichisimportant.Forexample,"F"ispronounced"eff"likeitstartswithan"E".
Examples:
∙Ionlyhave an hourforlunch. Soundslike"au-er".
∙Doeshisnamebeginwith an "F"?
Soundslike"eff".
USE7
Somewordssuchas"herb"or"hospital"aremorecomplicatedbecausetheyarepronounceddifferentlyindifferentEnglishaccents.InmostAmericanaccents,the"h"in"herb"issilent,soAmericansusuallysay"anherb".InmanyBritishaccents,the"h"in"herb"ispronounced,somanyBritishsay"aherb".InsomeBritishaccents,the"h"inhospitalissilent,sosomeBritishwillsay"anhospital"insteadof"ahospital".
USE8
InEnglish,somenounsareconsidereduncountablesuchas:
information,air,advice,saltandfun.Wedonotuse A(AN) withtheseuncountablenouns.(Learnmoreabout countableanduncountablenouns.)
Examples:
∙Shegives a goodadvice. NotCorrect
∙Shegivesgoodadvice. Correct
USE9
A and AN arecalledindefinitearticles."Indefinite"means"notspecific".Use A(AN) whenyouaretalkingaboutathingingeneral,NOTaspecificthing.
Examples:
∙Ineed a phone. Notaspecificphone,anyphone
∙Markwants a bicycle. Notaparticularbicycle,abicycleingeneral
∙Doyouhave a driver'slicense?
Ingeneral
Use A(AN) whentalkingaboutathingwhichisnew,unknown,orintroducedtoalistenerforthefirsttime.Alsouse A(AN) whenyouareaskingabouttheexistenceofsomething.
Examples:
∙Ihave a car. Thecarisbeingintroducedforthefirsttime.
∙Tomis a teacher. Thisisnewinformationtothelistener.
∙Isthere a dictionaryinyourbackpack?
Askingabouttheexistenceofthedictionary
Similarly,use A(AN) tointroducewhattypeofthingwearetalkingabout.
Examples:
∙Thatis an excellentbook. Describingthekindofbook
∙Doyoulivein a bighouse?
Askingaboutthekindofhouse
∙Iate a thick,juicysteak. Describingthekindofsteak
REMEMBER:
Youcannotuse A(AN) withpluralnounsbecause A(AN) means"one"or"asingle".
Examples:
∙Isaw a bearsinYellowstoneNationalPark. NotCorrect
∙IsawbearsinYellowstoneNationalPark. Correct
USE10
THE iscalledadefinitearticle."Definite"means"specific".Use THE whentalkingaboutsomethingwhichisalreadyknowntothelistenerorwhichhasbeenpreviouslymentioned,introduced,ordiscussed.
Examples:
∙Ihaveacat. The catisblack.
∙Thereisabookinmybackpack. The bookisveryheavy.
∙DoyouknowwhereIleft the carkeys?
Thelistenerknowswhichspecificcarkeysyouaretalkingabout.
∙Doyouownacar?
Is the carblue?
Youassumetheydohaveacarafteraskingaboutitinthefirstsentence.
∙Nobodyliveson the Moon. TheMoonisknowntoeveryone.
IMPORTANT:
Youcanuse THE withbothsingularnounsandpluralnouns.
Examples:
∙Isaw the bearinYellowstoneNationalPark. Correct
∙Isaw the bearsinYellowstoneNationalPark. Correct
USE12
A(AN) canbeusedliketheword"per".
Examples:
∙Applescurrentlycost$1.30 a pound.
∙Cheetahscanrun60miles an hour.
∙Youwant$150 a personforthetour?
USE13
Use THE withnounsmodifiedbyrankingororderingexpressionssuchas"thefirst","thesecond","thethird","thenext","thelast","theprevious","thefollowing","thepenultimate",etc.
Examples:
∙Thisis the fifthdayofourconference.
∙I'llpay the nexttimewehavedinner.
∙Don'tforget the followingrule.
USE14
Use THE withsuperlativessuchas"thebest","thebiggest","themostimportant","theleastinteresting",etc.
Examples:
∙Thisis the bestdayever.
∙Thatis the mostexpensivehotelroomI'veeverheardofinmylife.
∙Hetold the funniestjoke!
Comparativeforms,suchas"bigger","better","more"canbeusedwithboth A(AN) and THE andfollowgeneralarticleusage.
Examples:
∙Ilike the biggerrollercoaster.
∙Hehas a moreexpensivecarthanIdo.
HOWEVER:
THE isoftenusedwithcomparativeforms(bigger)ratherthansuperlativeforms(biggest)whencomparingonlytwothings.Thisiscommonlyusedinphrasessuchas"thebiggerofthetwo".
Examples:
∙JessieandShaunaarebothsmart.ButIthinkShaunais the smarterofthetwo.
∙BetweenJason'ssonandhisdaughter,hisdaughteris the betterathlete.
USE15
Donotusearticleswhengeneralizingabout uncountablenouns andplural countablenouns.
Examples:
∙Curiosity isagreattrait. Uncountable
∙Water isanimportantresource. Uncountable
∙Vegetables aregoodforyou. Pluralcountable
USE16
Englishspeakersoftenuse THE plusasingularnounwhentheytalkaboutormakegeneralizationsaboutcertaintopics,including:
∙musicalinstruments(thepiano,theguitar,theflute)
∙plants(thecoconutpalm,thesaguaro,thebaobab)
∙animals(theleopard,theelephant,thelowlandgorilla)
∙inventions(thesteamengine,theplane,thelightbulb)
∙currencies(thedollar,theeuro,theyen)
∙bodyparts(thehead,theeye,theear)
Examples:
∙Iplay the piano.
∙The sequoiatreeisnativetoCalifornia.
∙The dolphinisaveryintelligentanimal.
∙TheWrightbrothersinvented the airplane.
∙Rightnow, the euroisstrongerthan the dollar.
∙Cherylgotpokedin the eye.
Ingeneral,Englishspeakerschoosetouse THE inthiswaytogivethenounamoreabstractorconceptualsound.Wechoosetosay"thepiano"tomakeitsoundmorelikeanabstractartform.Similarly,"thedolphin"soundsmorelikewearereferringtothespecies.Moreover,"theplane"hasamoreconceptualsoundthatconveystheideaofinvention.Butremember,youcanalsomakegeneralizationsaboutthesetopicsusingpluralsasinUSE15.
USE17
Theexpressions"afew"and"alittle"mean"some"andexpresstheideathatyouhavemorethanexpected.
Examples:
∙Healwayscarries afew dollarsforemergencies.
∙Hehad alittle difficultywithhishomework.
∙Shehas afew friendswhocanhelphermove.
HOWEVER:
Theexpressions"few"and"little"(withoutanarticle)mean"notmuch"andexpresstheideathatyouhavelessthanexpected.
Examples:
∙Unfortunately,Ihad little timetoenjoyNewYorkbecauseIhadtoworksomuch.
∙Sadly,hehas few peopleinhislife.
∙Theyhave little money,sotheirdaughtercannotpayhertuition.
BUTREMEMBER:
Whenthewords"only"or"just"areused,"afew"and"alittle"alsoemphasizethemeaning"notmuch".
Examples:
∙Unfortunately,I only had alittle timetoenjoyNewYorkbecauseIhadtoworksomuch.
∙Sadly,he just has afew peopleinhislife.
∙They only have alittle money,sotheirdaughtercannotpayhertuition.
USE18
Generally,articlesarenotusedwiththenamesofillnessesordiseases.
Examples:
∙Dr.Smithvisitsschoolsanduniversitiestoeducatestudentson AIDS.
∙Oncologistsaredoctorswhospecializeintreating cancer.
∙Thereareseveralmedicationsthatcanbeusedtotreat malaria.
HOWEVER:
Therearesomeillnesseswhichrequire THE.
∙themeasles
∙theflu
∙themumps
∙thebubonicplague
MOREOVER:
Thereareafewhealthconditionsorillnesseswhichcanbeusedwithboth A(AN) aswellas THE andfollowgeneralarticleuse.Thiscategoryincludesmostaches,pains,growths,andattacks.
∙acold
∙aheartattack
∙astroke
∙awart/tumor/growth/etc.
∙asorethroat/soreback/sorefoot/etc.
∙aheadache/toothache/backache/etc.
REMEMBER:
Thislastcategoryfollowsgeneralarticleuse.Studytheexamplesbelow.
Examples:
∙Johnhas a cold. The coldwasprettybad.
∙Nancyhad a heartattack. The heartattackseriouslyweakenedherheart.
∙Debhad a sorethroat. The sorethroatmadeithardtotalk.
USE19
Ifadirection(north,west,southeast,left,right)directlyfollowsaverb,donotuseanarticlewiththedirection.
Examples:
∙Weneedtowalk south.
∙Theydrove north allday.
∙Atthestopsign,turn left andwalkthreeblocks.
HOWEVER:
Ifadirectionfollowsapreposition,youmustuse THE.
Examples:
∙Weneedtowalkto the south.
∙Ourhouseisin the north.
∙Thegrocerystoreison the right.
MOREOVER:
Use THE withcompassdirectionswhenreferringtothemasspecialgeographicorculturalregions.
Examples:
∙Welove the South.
∙Haveyouevervisited the East?
∙The Westhasbetternationalparks.
USE20
THE can