Articles are small but crucial words that determine nouns and provide information about their definiteness or indefiniteness. Mastering the use of articles is essential for the ЕГЭ English exam, as they are frequently tested and can significantly impact your score. This guide will help you understand and correctly use articles in various contexts.
In English, there are three articles: the definite article "the," the indefinite articles "a" and "an," and the zero article (when no article is used). Articles are used before nouns to indicate whether the noun refers to something specific or general. Understanding when and how to use each type of article is crucial for achieving a high score in the ЕГЭ English exam.
The definite article "the" is used when we talk about something specific that both the speaker and the listener know about. It can be used with singular, plural, and uncountable nouns.
We use "the" in the following situations:
| Usage | Examples |
|---|---|
| When we talk about something specific that has been mentioned before | I bought a book. The book was expensive. There's a car outside. The car is red. |
| When there is only one of something | The sun is shining. The president of the United States. The Earth orbits the sun. |
| With superlatives and ordinal numbers | This is the best restaurant in town. She was the first person to arrive. The tallest building in the world. |
| With unique musical instruments | She plays the piano. He's learning the guitar. |
| With countries that are unions or include "republic," "kingdom," etc. | The United States, the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, the Czech Republic |
| With oceans, seas, rivers, mountain ranges, deserts, groups of islands | The Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile, the Alps, the Sahara Desert, the Canary Islands |
| With plural names of countries and regions | The Netherlands, the Philippines, the Middle East, the Midwest |
| With newspapers, ships, and unique buildings | The New York Times, the Titanic, the Eiffel Tower, the White House |
| With families (plural surname) | The Smiths, the Johnsons |
| With adjectives used as plural nouns to refer to a group of people | The rich, the poor, the elderly, the unemployed |
| With inventions | The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell. The internet has changed the way we communicate. |
"The" is pronounced /ðə/ before consonant sounds and /ði/ before vowel sounds:
/ðə/ book, /ðə/ car, /ðə/ house
/ði/ apple, /ði/ elephant, /ði/ hour (note that "hour" begins with a vowel sound)
The indefinite articles "a" and "an" are used when we talk about something for the first time or when we talk about one of many. They can only be used with singular countable nouns.
We use "a" before consonant sounds and "an" before vowel sounds:
We use "a" and "an" in the following situations:
| Usage | Examples |
|---|---|
| When we mention something for the first time | I saw a dog. The dog was barking. She lives in an apartment. The apartment is small. |
| When we talk about one of many | I need a pen. (any pen, not a specific one) She bought an umbrella. (any umbrella, not a specific one) |
| With jobs | She's a doctor. He works as an engineer. |
| With nationalities and religions | He's a Russian. She's an American. |
| With expressions of price, speed, ratio, etc. | five dollars a kilo 60 miles an hour twice a day |
| With singular countable nouns after the words "such," "what," "rather," "quite" | Such a nice person! What an interesting book! |
| In certain fixed expressions | a lot of, a few, a little, a couple, a dozen |
In some cases, we don't use any article. This is called the "zero article."
We use the zero article in the following situations:
| Usage | Examples |
|---|---|
| With plural and uncountable nouns when talking about things in general | __ Books are expensive. (books in general) __ Water is essential for life. (water in general) |
| With most countries, cities, towns, streets, lakes, and mountains | __ France, __ Tokyo, __ Oxford Street, __ Lake Michigan, __ Mount Everest |
| With meals | What's for __ dinner? We had __ breakfast at 8 o'clock. |
| With languages | She speaks __ English fluently. __ Japanese is difficult to learn. |
| With sports and games | He plays __ football. She enjoys __ chess. |
| With academic subjects | __ Mathematics is my favorite subject. She's studying __ history. |
| With modes of transport when talking about the general method | We traveled by __ car. I go to work by __ bus. |
| With seasons | __ Summer is my favorite season. They got married in __ spring. |
| With institutions (when referring to their primary purpose) | She's in __ prison. (as a prisoner) He's in __ hospital. (as a patient) |
| With titles followed by names | __ Queen Elizabeth, __ President Biden, __ Doctor Smith |
We use "the" with institutions when referring to the building or specific institution, not its primary purpose:
She's in the prison. (visiting, not as a prisoner)
He's in the hospital. (visiting, not as a patient)
The use of articles with geographical names can be confusing. Here's a summary:
| Type | Article | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Most countries, cities, towns | No article | __ France, __ Tokyo, __ Moscow |
| Countries that are unions or include "republic," "kingdom," etc. | "the" | the United States, the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation |
| Plural names of countries and regions | "the" | the Netherlands, the Philippines, the Middle East |
| Oceans, seas, rivers | "the" | the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile |
| Mountain ranges, deserts, groups of islands | "the" | the Alps, the Sahara Desert, the Canary Islands |
| Individual mountains, lakes, islands | No article | __ Mount Everest, __ Lake Michigan, __ Sicily |
The use of articles with names of places and buildings can also be tricky:
| Type | Article | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Unique buildings and monuments | "the" | the Eiffel Tower, the White House, the Taj Mahal |
| Hotels, restaurants, theaters, museums, etc. (with proper names) | "the" | the Hilton Hotel, the National Theater, the British Museum |
| Shops, banks, airports, stations, universities (with proper names) | No article | __ Harrods, __ Barclays Bank, __ Heathrow Airport, __ Oxford University |
| Churches, cathedrals, castles, palaces (with proper names) | No article | __ Westminster Abbey, __ Notre Dame Cathedral, __ Buckingham Palace |
| Streets, roads, avenues, squares | No article | __ Oxford Street, __ Fifth Avenue, __ Trafalgar Square |
Articles are used in specific ways with expressions of time:
| Expression | Article | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Parts of the day | "the" or no article | in the morning/afternoon/evening, at night |
| Days of the week | No article | on __ Monday, __ Tuesday is my day off |
| Months and seasons | No article | in __ January, in __ summer |
| Years | No article | in __ 2023, __ 1999 was a good year |
| Decades and centuries | "the" | in the 1990s, during the 20th century |
| Specific times | No article | at __ 3 o'clock, at __ noon, at __ midnight |
| Holidays | No article | on __ Christmas Day, during __ Easter |
| Meals | No article | for __ breakfast, after __ lunch, before __ dinner |
Some expressions have fixed article usage:
| With "the" | Without an article |
|---|---|
| in the morning/afternoon/evening | at night |
| in the past/future | at present |
| on the radio/television | on radio/television (British English, when talking about the medium in general) |
| play the piano/guitar/etc. | play football/tennis/chess |
| in the street | go to bed, go to work, go to school |
| the same | next week, last year |
| the first, the second, etc. | by car, by bus, by train |
The use of articles depends on whether a noun is countable or uncountable:
| Type of Noun | Definite (Specific) | Indefinite (General) |
|---|---|---|
| Singular Countable | the book (specific book) the car (specific car) |
a/an book (any book) a/an car (any car) |
| Plural Countable | the books (specific books) the cars (specific cars) |
__ books (books in general) __ cars (cars in general) |
| Uncountable | the water (specific water) the information (specific information) |
__ water (water in general) __ information (information in general) |
Fill in the blanks with "a," "an," "the," or leave blank (Ø) if no article is needed.
Answers:
1. I saw an interesting film last night. The film was about Ø wildlife in Africa.
2. The Eiffel Tower is in Ø Paris, which is the capital of Ø France.
3. She plays the violin in an orchestra.
4. Ø Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
5. He goes to Ø work by Ø bus.
Choose the correct option in each sentence.
Answers:
1. She's studying Ø mathematics at Ø university.
2. We had Ø breakfast at 8 o'clock and then went to Ø school.
3. The people who live in the Netherlands speak Dutch.
4. I'd like a cup of coffee and a piece of cake, please.
5. He plays Ø football every Saturday and the piano every evening.
Correct the errors in the following sentences.
Corrections:
1. She gave me useful advice. ("advice" is uncountable, so no article is needed; "useful" begins with a consonant sound /j/, so "an" is incorrect)
2. Life is full of surprises. (When talking about life in general, no article is needed)
3. I visited France last summer. (Most country names don't take an article)
4. He's studying history at university. (Academic subjects don't take an article)
5. We had dinner at a restaurant on Main Street. (Meals don't take an article; "a restaurant" is correct because it's not a specific restaurant; street names don't take an article)
In the ЕГЭ English exam, articles are often tested in multiple-choice questions, gap-filling exercises, and error correction tasks. Pay special attention to fixed expressions and special cases, as these are frequently tested. When in doubt about which article to use, think about whether the noun is countable or uncountable, and whether it's specific or general. Also, remember that some nouns can be both countable and uncountable with different meanings.