The article

Чем отличаются неопределенный и определенный артикли?

Неопределенный артикль "а" ("аn" - перед существительными, которые начинаются с гласного звука: an apple) оформляет единичный, отдельный предмет, который мы не выделяем из класса ему подобных.

• I saw a man yesterday. - Вчера я видел человека (одного из многиx, ему подобных, просто человека).

Определенный артикль "the" выделяет предмет или предметы из класса им подобных.

• The man I saw yesterday was your brother. - Человек, которого я видел вчера, был твоим братом (это конкретный человек, которого говорящий выделяет из класса ему подобных).

Неопределенный артикль происходит от числительного "one" (один), определенный от указательного местоимения "that" (тот). Данные принципиальные различия уточняются в более частных случаях употребления определенного и неопределенного артиклей.

Неопределенный артикль УПОТРЕБЛЯЕТСЯ:

1. с исчисляемыми существительными, когда они упоминаются впервые:

• I can see a book on the table.

2. с существительными, являющимися частью составного именного сказуемого:

• My brother is a doctor.

3. с существительными после оборота there is..., а также после it is..., this is...:

• There is a new music school in our street.

• It is a pen. This is a pen.

4. после слов such, rather, quite, what:

• Tom is such a nice boy.

• What a naughty girl you are!

• It was rather a dull film.

• She has told us quite a new story.

5. с существительными в роли приложения:

• My grandmother, a schoolteacher, is on pension now.

6. перед числительными a dozen, a hundred, a thousand, a million; в выражениях a lot(of), a great many of:

• I have read a lot about this author.

7. в некоторых оборотах: it is a pleasure, as a result, as a matter of fact, as a rule, to be in a hurry, it's a pity:

• He never seems to be in a hurry. As a result, he is constantly late.

8. в устойчивых сочетаниях с глаголами: to have, to take, to give:

• to have a cold, to have a good time, to have a toothache, to have a rest, to have a smoke, to take a shower, to give a hand.

Неопределенный артикль НЕ УПОТРЕБЛЯЕТСЯ:

1. с неисчисляемыми и "абстрактными" существительными:

• I like cheese and milk.

2. с существительными во множественном числе:

• There are people in the street.

3. с именами собственными:

• I saw John two days ago.

4. с существительными, перед которыми стоят притяжательные или указательные местоимения:

• I saw his car near my house.

5. с существительными за которыми следует количественное числительное, обозначающее номер:

• Mary lives in apartment seven.

Определенный артикль УПОТРЕБЛЯЕТСЯ:

1. когда говорящему или слушателю известно (из контекста, из окружающей обстановки и т.д.), о каком предмете (предметах, явлениях) идет речь:

• Open the window, please.

• I am going to the library.

2. когда речь идет об уникальном, единственном в своем роде предмете или явлении:

• The sun is shining brightly.

• The Earth seems to be the only inhabited planet in the Universe.

3. когда существительное имеет ограничивающее определение, чаще всего с предлогом "of":

• I don't know the name of the street.

4. с существительным, которое упоминается в контексте во второй раз:

• I saw a new film on TV yesterday. The film was not very interesting.

5. когда перед существительным стоит:

• порядковое числительное:

• Gagarin was the first cosmonaut in the world.

• НО: Если после существительного следует количественное числительное, тогда перед существительным никакой артикль не употреляется:

• We always have English lessons in Room 10.

• прилагательное в превосходной степени:

• Minsk is the largest city in Belarus.

• одно из прилагательных: following, last, next, same, very, only:

• Answer the following questions.

• She is the only child in the family.

• НО: next door, last week, next year, last time;

6. с исчисляемыми существительными, обозначая весь класс однородных предметов, а не выделяя один из ряда ему подобных:

• The cow is a domestic animal.

• The article is a structural part of speech used with nouns.

• The snowdrop is the first spring flower.

7. с фамилиями для обозначения всей семьи в целом:

• The Browns spend their holidays in Italy.

8. с названиями некоторых исторических зданий (учреждений),музеев, театров, библиотек, организаций, английских газет:

• the Kremlin, the British Museum, the National Gallery, the United Nations Organisation, the Times, the Bolshoi Theatre.

Как используется артикль с географическими названиями?

С географическими названиями, как и с прочими собственными именами, артикль, как правило, не употребляется, кроме следующих случаев:

1. с названиями океанов, морей, рек, горных хребтов, групп островов используется определенный артикль:

• the Black Sea, the Thames, the Alps, the Pacific Ocean.

2. определенный артикль используется с несколькими названиями городов, стран и областей (хотя обычно с этими типами названий артикль не употребляется):

• the Hague, the Netherlands, the West Indies, the Ruhr, the Rivera, the Crimea, the Ukraine, the Caucasus, the Congo.

3. c) определенный артикль используется также с образованиями типа:

• the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China.

Exercise 1.Choose the sentences in which the indefinite article before nouns is necessary. Correct the wrong sentences.

1.I haven't got car. 2.Salt is not expensive. 3.Ann never wears hat. 4.Mary doesn't eat meat. 5.Are you looking for job? 6.I'm going to party tonight. 7.Do you like cheese? 8.Do you want cup or coffee? 9.I never drink milk. 10.Britain is island. 11.Jack made very bad mistake.12.Everybody needs food. 13.Can you drive car? 14.I've got very good idea.

Exercise 2. Insert the indefinite article where necessary.

1.This is yellow pencil. 2.That text is easy. 3.This is easy text. 4.That is good idea. 5.These are low tables. 6.This table is low. 7.This is low table. 8.Roses are beautiful flowers. 9.This rose is beautiful flower. 10.London and Rome are big cities. 11.Naples is big city, too. 12.I like much sugar in my tea. 13.My tea is hot. 14.Tea is hot drink.

Exercise 3. Insert the definite article where necessary.

1.Sky is blue and sun is shining. 2.What are you going to have for lunch? 3.Our apartment is on third floor. 4. Help! Fire! Somebody call fire brigade. 5.Who was first man to walk on moon? 6.Which city is capital of your country? 7.What is largest city in world? 8.Would you like to be in army? 9.Do you live near sea? 10.After dinner we watched television. 11."Where is your dictionary?" - "It's on top shelf on right." 12.We live in country, about five miles from nearest village. 13.Ann is coming to see us at end of May or beginning of June. 14."Is this book cheaper than that one?" - "No, they are same price." 15.Prime Minister is most important person in British government. 16.I don't know everybody in this photograph. Who is man on left? 17.It was a very nice hotel but I don't remember name. 18.I didn't like her first time I met her. 19.What do you usually have for breakfast? 20."Have you got any milk?" - "Yes, there is some in fridge."

Exercise 4. Do as above.

1.Kevin lives in Coronation Street. 2.Have you ever been to National Theatre? 3."Where are you staying?" - "At Intercontinental Hotel." 4.Milan is a large city in north of Italy. 5.Brussels is capital of Belgium. 6.Manila is capital of Philippines. 7.National Gallery is in Trafalgar Square in London. 8.Most of the best shops are in Merrion Street. 9.Rocky Mountains are in North America. 10.In London, Houses of Parliament are beside River Thames. 11.Have you ever been to British Museum? 12.Texas is famous for oil and cowboys.13.Last night we saw a play at Royal Theatre. 14.You must visit Museum of Modern Arts. It's very interesting. 15.Alan studied chemistry at London University. 16.When I finish my studies, I'm going to United States for a year. 17.Panama Canal joins Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. 18.There are two cinemas in our town - Regal and Plaza. 19.If you sail from Britain to Denmark, you cross North Sea. 20.Mary comes from a small village in west of Ireland. 21.Europe is not a large continent but it has a large population. 22.Have you ever been to USA?

Exercise 5.Fill in the blanks with either an indefinite or a definite article where necessary.

1.Come to ..... blackboard and write ..... Exercise 5. 2.You have ..... mistake in ..... word "correspondence". 3. I heard ..... knock at ..... door and went to open it. 4.John saw ..... small girl enter ..... house where he lived. 5.He is still ..... young man, and we hope he'll become ..... good pianist. 6.I don't like ..... milk with ..... my tea. 7.We bought ..... oranges and ..... butter. 8.Are ..... rooms in ..... your flat large? 9.They are going to build ..... new house; .....one they've been living in is too small for ..... family of six. 10.There is ..... love in her eyes. 11.I like ..... jam on ..... piece of ..... bread. 12.I prefer ..... book of ..... good poetry to ..... detective novel. 13.Can you give me ..... piece of ..... advice? 14.I worked as ..... shop assistant in ..... local supermarket. 15. ...... young woman dressed in ..... red entered ..... room where ..... whole company gathered. 16. ..... London is on ..... Thames. 17. ..... Mexico is south of ..... United States of America. 18. ..... Urals separate ..... Europe from ..... Asia. 19. ..... Mississippi is ..... longest river in ..... world. 20. What is ..... capital of ..... Spain?

Exercise 6. Insert articles where necessary.

1.I turned off light, opened door and went out. 2.Excuse me, can I ask question, please? 3. Alan is best player in our football team. 4. How far is it from here to airport? 5.Enjoy your holiday and don't forget to send me postcard. 6.Have you got ticket to concert tomorrow night? 7.What is name of director of film we saw last night? 8.Yesterday I bought jacket and shirt. Jacket was cheap but shirt was expensive. 9. Peter and Mary have two children, boy and girl. Boy is seven years old and girl is three.

Exercise 7.Fill in the blanks with articles where necessary.

There were only.....two people in.....hall when I went in,..... man with.....long beard and.....child. .....child was sitting on .....chair by.....window playing with.....small kitten, while.... man with.....beard was reading.....newspaper. Suddenly he put.....newspaper on.....table which stood by, and said,".....president is shot dead in.....Alabama". .....child burst into......tears. "Don't cry", said .....man, "you wanted to be president, and you'll be..... next one".

Exercise 8. Fill in the blanks with articles where necessary.

1..... ox is .... strong beast of .... burden. 2.He asked for .... glass of .... fresh water. 3.He will give .... course of .... lectures on .... history. 4. .... snow covered .... ground. 5.I thought I had shut .... door, but it is still open. 6. .... London of .... our days differs from .... London of .... days of ..... Shakespeare. 7.Pass me .... salt, please. 8. .... teacher took much .... interest in .... little Charles. 9. .... unfortunate Tilly cried bitterly. 10. .... girl was carrying .... spray of lilacs. 11. .... Volga is very .... important waterway. 12.I like .... coffee for .... breakfast. 13.She married .... Smith we met .... last year. 14. .... heat is destructive to these .... plants.15. .... oaks are .... strong trees. 16.He was .... editor of ".....Monthly". 17.We shall talk it over at .... dinner. 18.This is .... different tea from .... one we usually buy. 19.All .... passengers gathered on .... deck. 20. .... boy will be sent to .... school .... next year. 21.Open .... drawer on the left. 22. .... moon was shining brightly. 23. .... Elbrus is .... mountain in .... Caucasus. 24. .... Johnsons settled here two years ago. 25. .... Zoo was just opposite .... house where he lived, and he often went there as he liked .... animals very much. 26.Not only we, .... people of Russia, but .... whole world was watching .... battle we were waging. 27. .... next day there was .... delightful weather, and .... sun shone warmly. 28.Towards .... evening we reached .... little village. 29. .... apple trees in .... garden stood in full bloom. 30. .... day was so lovely, so full of .... freshness of .... spring.

Exercise 9. Choose the one variant to complete the sentence. "A" stands for "the", "B" - for "a", "C" - for "an" and "D" stands for "0" article.

1.I'd like to have.....hamburger for.....breakfast.

2.Pushkin is .....outstanding Russian poet.

3.Can you play.....piano?

4.Will you play.....chess with me?

5.At.....night I had.....terrible headache after I had drunk ..... lot of coffee in.....evening.

6.There is.....bend in the road.

7.Thomas Banks is.....last person I want to see.

8.My favourite subject at school was.....History.

9.He knows.....history of the French Revolution well.

10.Tom's going to take.....his fishing-rod.

11.Could you phone later, please? Jane's having.....shower.

17.-By.....way, have you heard anything from Tom lately?

-.....last year he entered.....Oxford University.

18......President is going to open.....new hospital in.....capital.....next month.

19.Are you going to.....country on.....Saturday?

20.They usually go shopping on.....Mondays, but last Monday they didn't do.....shopping.

21.Dad came to.....school to see my teacher yesterday.

22."Do this exercise at.....school and that one at.....home", said our teacher in.....loud voice.

23.-Could you tell me.....time, please?

-It's.....quarter past four.

24.We are busy today, but we have.....little time to spare tomorrow.

25.The sweater was cheap. It cost only.....few pounds.

26.To tell.....truth, I didn't expect to see him.

27.It's.....high time you stopped being so lazy.

28......earth goes round.....sun.

29......life is hard in that climate.

30.What.....lovely song!

31.It took me one and.....half hours to get there.

32......half.....dozen eggs, please.

ARTICLES WITH PRORER NAMES.

Exercise 10. Fill in the blanks with the definite article where necessary.

1.I went to.....France last year, but I haven't been to..... Netherlands yet.

2.I live in..... Tverskaya Street.

3......Thames flows through.....London.

4......United Kingdom includes.....Great Britain and..... Northern Ireland.

5.My train leaves from.....Waterloo Station at 7.10 p.m..

6.St.Bernand dogs are named after a monastery high up in..... Alps.

7......Queen Elizabeth II won't speak on TV tomorrow.

8......USA is.....fourth largest country in.....world after.....Russia, .....Canada and.....Republic of China.

9......English Channel is between.....Great Britain and France.

10......Trafalgar Square is the geographical centre of....London.

11.When a student, Tom spent two years in.....Africa.

12......Houses of Parliament has over 1,000 rooms, and 2 miles of corridors.

13.Would you like to go to.....Kremlin?

14......Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

15......West End is the symbol of wealthy and luxurious life.

16.Where's.....John's raincoat?

17......Pacific is the largest ocean on our planet.

18.Have you ever been to.....Bolshoi Theatre?

20.Show me.....Canary Islands on this map, please.

21.How much does it cost to stay at.....Grand Hotel?

22......Volga flows into.....Caspian Sea.

23.Although the north of.....Scotland is called.....Highlands the mountains aren't high there. .....Ben Nevis (1343m) is the highest peak.

24.I've made up my mind to go to.....Black Sea next summer.

25.Two of my classmates entered.....Moscow University last year.

26......Lake Baikal is the deepest one in the world.

27.On Wednesday.....Moscow News published an article about Marcus Webb.

28......Urals are old and not very high.

29.Every morning during breakfast bagpipes are played outside the Queen's dining-room in.....Buckingham Palace.