The article

The article (determiner) precedes and modifies a noun. It is used before a noun or a noun phrase to indicate whether a noun (a noun phrase) refers to something specific or not.

Articles are of three types: the indefinite article – a/an, the definite article – the, the zero article (the meaningful absence of the article) – ø

The use of indefinite article a/An:

• with unspecified, singular, countable nouns.

e.g. He rents an office. (We don’t know anything else about it).

• with professions, beliefs:

e.g. My cousin is an accountant. He is a Muslim.

• with nouns expressing measurement:

e.g. It cost $2.00 a kilo.

• to describe all examples of the same kind:

e.g. A profit and loss account is a financial statement showing a company's net profit or loss in a given period.

• for exclamatory sentences starting with what:

e.g. What a stupid thing to say!

• with words such, quite, rather:

e.g. This is (a) rather (a) burning issue.

• with the numerals hundred, thousand, million, billion as the nouns:

e.g. A hundred of students won that scholarship to study abroad last week.

The use of definite article the:

• with a particular or unique noun (the Moon, the Sky, the Earth, the Pope, the Sun):

e.g. They place an order with us. The order they have placed with us is very big.

• with superlative expressions:

e.g. This company is the biggest wheat exporter and the most profitable.

• with ordinal numerals:

e.g. Product research is the first area we need to develop.

• for nouns with same, following, last, only, right, wrong, very, next etc:

e.g. This is the very software we are looking for.

• for nouns with some of, most of, one of, each of, none of etc:

e.g. None of the students miss the lectures.

• in the expressions such as: the more … the better …, the more … the less …, the sooner … the better …

e.g. The sooner you understand your mistake the better results you can achieve.

• with substantivized adjectives (the deaf, the rich) and participle (the disabled) describing a class of people:

e.g. The unemployed try to find a job.

• for two nouns joined with of:

e.g. I am interested in the history of business relationship.

• with names of nationalities in the meaning of the plural:

e.g. The English like tea with milk. (the people of the country)

BUT: He is an Australian. (a citizen)

The use of a zero article:

• with uncountable, plural noun in a general sense:

e.g. I like to attend conferences.

BUT: I like to attend the conferences we have at our headquarters.

• with names of months, days, seasons, sports, illnesses, academic subjects, meals of the day, languages (without the word “language”), colors, transport

e.g. He has had asthma.

What is for breakfast?

They went on a trip by coach.

He speaks French.

BUT: She speaks the Japanese language.

• with names of substances, liquids and gases:

e.g. The natural resources in Ukraine are oil, gas, coal.

• with abstract nouns such as information, power, success, advice, business etc if there is no description of the noun.

e.g. Success is of vital necessity for everyone.

BUT: I appreciated the advice my CEO had given me a couple of days ago.

• with nouns such as church, school, hospital if one thinks of their purpose:

e.g. Steve was badly injured and taken to hospital.

BUT: His relatives come to the hospital to see him. (physical building)

• with nouns which are followed by a cardinal numeral in the meaning of an ordinal one:

e.g. Your room is Room 30.

• with most + noun:

e.g. Most students are fond of studying.