The use of articles in the English language is an excellent indicator of the literacy of the speaker’s speech, so do not neglect such a seemingly insignificant part of learning the language. Often the arrangement of the articles (or their absence) is determined using simple rules, but there are exceptions that you just need to remember.
Article Types
To begin with, it is worth deciding what articles in the English language generally are. Most people will answer the question how many there are, without hesitation, that there are only two, indefinite (a or an) and definite (the). However, this is not true. There is also a third kind, the zero article. In English, the absence of this word plays a role almost as important as its presence.
What is the zero article?
So, in simple terms, this is the absence of an article in front of a noun. It is used in a number of cases, some of which are explained by the simplest grammar and are easily remembered as a simple rule, while others were formed in the process of language development, and they just need to be memorized, such as irregular verbs.
Basic Rules
When is the zero article used?
- If the noun has a possessive, indicative, interrogative, or indefinite pronoun, or the noun is in the possessive case. Examples:
I love her voice - I love her voice. Some man just bought it - Some man just bought it.
- In cases where the noun must have an indefinite article, but because of the plural, it cannot be put. Examples:
I see children playing - I see children playing. I brought apples from the garden - I brought apples from the garden.
- A noun is determined by an ordinal or quantitative numeral. Examples:
Room twenty-two - Twenty-second room. Five men play football - Five men play football.
- With proper names, as they are unique. Examples:
Larry just came by - Larry just came in. He lives in France - He lives in France.
- With abstract, uncountable nouns. Examples:
He is an expert in modern French cinema - He is an expert in modern French cinema. She walked with dignity - She walked with dignity.
- With uncountable nouns denoting a substance. Examples:
I like coffee - I like coffee. However, when concretizing the article is still used. The coffee is too strong - This coffee is too strong.
- In newspaper headlines, advertisements, etc. Example:
Boy was saved from fire - The boy was saved from the fire.
- If the noun acts in the sentence in the role of appeal. Example:
Good morning, officer - Good morning, officer.
- Before the geographical names (lakes, waterfalls, rivers, continents, countries, cities, villages, etc.). Exceptions: if the name of the country contains the words “united”, “united”, “republic”, “emirates”, “kingdom”, “states”, “union”. If the noun is used within the framework of the "Of ... the" construct. If there is a clarification.
- When a noun indicates a position that is currently occupied by only one person. Example:
President of the United States of America - President of the United States of America.
- Before the names of languages (if the phrase does not contain the word "language"), sports, dishes, diseases and colors. Examples:
I speak English - I speak English. The English language is so beautiful - English is so beautiful.
- Before the names of institutions named after their founder or owner.
Exceptions
There are situations where the zero article is used in English for no apparent reason. Such exceptions are worth just memorizing. This is not so difficult, because most of the nouns in front of which the sentence does not contain a single article can be classified as “family and school” thematically. The zero article is used with the following words: school (school), home (house), church (church), college (college). Also, the article is not put before the words denoting family members, eating or a holiday.
There is a list of persistent English expressions that use the zero article. Here are just a few of them:
- at breakfast (dinner, lunch) - at breakfast (lunch, dinner);
- at home - at home;
- at night - at night;
- at sunset (sunrise) - at sunset (dawn);
- at war (peace) - in a state of war (peace);
- by accident - by accident, by accident;
- by air (sea, water, land) - by air (sea, water, land);
- by chance - by chance;
- by heart - for memory, by heart;
- by mistake - by mistake;
- by train (bus, ship) - by train (bus, ship);
- from time to time - from time to time;
- in fact - in fact, in fact;
- in case of - in case;
- in secret - secretly;
- in sight - available (in the market);
- in time - on time;
- on demand– upon request.
By remembering these words and expressions, you can easily begin to navigate the use of the zero article.