Articles are an important part of the English language. But unfortunately, this topic is not always understood by Russian-speaking students. Because in their native speech, such a phenomenon is absent. Nevertheless, the rules for the use of articles must be studied by a person who wants to correctly use various means of the English language. And in some situations, small and seemingly insignificant articles even help to correctly understand the interlocutors.
What are articles and what are they
An article is a service part of speech that is inextricably linked with a noun. It does not have its own meaning (translation into Russian), but conveys only the grammatical meaning.
In English, the article does not indicate the gender and case of nouns. It conveys in some cases a singular or plural, but basically carries only the category of certainty-uncertainty. Based on this, there can be three situations with the article: its absence, indefinite and definite. Each of these three situations has its own specifics and its own rules.
The definite article was once formed from that, a demonstrative pronoun. Therefore, in Russian it is often possible to find the translation “this,” “these,” etc. Formally, this is not entirely true, because the service parts of speech do not have a translation, but in the case of the article, especially certain, this is often allowed. It is all a special stylistic function that he can play in the sentence, pointing in a special way to objects and people.
The use of the article will be the topic of this article. We will consider various situations, give examples. There will be many cases of use, but do not be alarmed if you can not immediately understand everything and even more so remember. More and more immersed in the English language through constant studies, you will understand this logic and soon you will be able to easily determine which article is needed in each case.
The definitive article before nouns
The classic case when it is necessary to use the article the in front of the name of an object (person, animal) is the uniqueness of the latter.
1. The named noun is one of a kind.
For example: the sun - the sun, the world - the world .
2. The noun is unique in this situation.
Do you like the pie? - Did you like the cake?
3. This subject (man, animal) has already been mentioned in this conversation and therefore the interlocutors understand what (com) it is about.
I've got a cat. Her name is Lucy, she's very cute. May I take the cat with me? - I have a cat. Her name is Lucy, she is very cute. May I take a cat with me?
4. Such article is also put in front of proper names when it is necessary to designate the whole family. For example: the Smiths .
The definite article before other parts of speech
Of course, the article the and any other are used only with nouns. Articles are not needed in front of other parts of speech. But it often happens that between the article and the related noun is a numeral or adjective. We will consider such cases.
1. A definite article is always put before ordinal numbers: the twentieth century - the twentieth century.
2. The article the invariably is also placed before the superlative degree of adjectives: the brightest star is the brightest star.
3. It is necessary to use a certain article when designating a group of people united by a common attribute: the young - youth .
A definite article with geographical names and concepts
With those concepts that somehow relate to geography, the article the is used especially often.
1. Cardinal points: the East.
2. Names of individual countries: the Russian Federation.
3. Oceans, seas, rivers, waterfalls: the Indian Ocean.
4. Groups of islands, lakes, mountains: the Bahamas.
5. Deserts and Plains: the Great Plains.
When using the article (or its absence) with geographical names, there are also many exceptions, so the simplest memorization is the most reliable option. And if you have any doubts, you should always look into the grammar guide and clarify the question on a specific occasion.
Certain Occasions
There are also a number of words that can fulfill the function of defining a noun. These words are given in the table below.
previous | previous |
last | past, past, last |
only | only |
next | following |
following | following |
coming | upcoming |
right | right right |
left | left |
central | central |
very | exactly the one |
wrong | not the wrong one |
same | the same |
upper | upper, higher |
main | main |
They always need to use the English article the. For instance:
This is the very book I need! “This is exactly the book I need!”
The last time I saw him was Friday - The last time I saw him on Friday.
A definite article is also required before the words:
A definite article to enhance meaning
Situations are highlighted separately when the article the carries a stylistic function. In these cases, it can be used in front of proper names, which under normal conditions remain without the article. This is best seen in an example. Compare two sentences: the first with the usual use of a proper name, and the second with a stylistic reinforcement of meaning.
This is Jack, always cheerful and generous! - This is Jack, always funny and generous!
This is the Jack I love most - cheerful and generous! - This is the same Jack that I love most - fun and generous!
As it is easy to see, there is something in common in all cases of the use of a certain article: usually it is put before words that carry a specific, concrete, narrow, unique meaning. Remember this when you doubt the choice of a service word, but the directory is not at hand.