The definite article, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is normally used when one specific case of a noun is meant: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The dinosaur I saw had longer eyelashes than yours.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d But it can also signify an iconic or representative abstraction: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153To the researcher, such events can be very revealing. To the random vacationer, they are simply irritating.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (No specific researcher or vacationer is referred to here, only researchers and vacationers in general.)<\/p>\n
Normally, singular nouns require an article, while plural nouns take no article if indefinite, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153people are funny\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, or a definite article if a specific group of the noun is meant, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the people who planned the ice-cream barrage are in this room\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. There are some general rules, but also many exceptions which simply have to be learnt, and the Brits and Americans don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t agree on everything. Specific place names may or may not require an article and this can only be learnt from experience or by looking them up; there is no consistent rule. It is The<\/strong> San Joaquin Valley, The<\/strong> Rift Valley and The<\/strong> Holme Valley, but Death Valley, Grass Valley, and Apple Valley never take an article.<\/p>\n This aspect of English can be very confusing to foreigners, as dictionaries and other reference resources rarely explain whether a noun needs an article or not. While there is no irrefragible rule, there are some guidelines. With some nouns, particularly place names and proper nouns, the only way to be certain is to examine usages.<\/p>\n Names of countries have no articles (if singular)<\/p>\n France borders Switzerland.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The BBC is not permitted in \tZimbabwe.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n But: (plural country names) I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m \tvisiting the<\/strong> United States next week after touring the<\/strong> Netherlands and the<\/strong> British Isles.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Exceptions: I have never been to \tthe<\/strong> Ukraine, the<\/strong> Gambia, nor the<\/strong> United Kingdom \t(or the<\/strong> UK).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \n There is no article used with with the names of languages.<\/p>\n Swedish was not much use in \tArgentina.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n English has a vast vocabulary.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Mahatma Gandhi corresponded in \tGujarati.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \n There is no article before the names of meals.<\/p>\n Breakfast was revolting.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n We had lunch with a dispeptic \tCroat.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Dinner lasted until midnight.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \n There is no article with proper names (if singular).<\/p>\n Rupert dropped the eggplant on the \tPersian carpet.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Geoffrey bent his spanner.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n But: (plural) the Morgans have revolting \ttable manners (plural proper noun).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Exceptions: The<\/strong> Fonz, the<\/strong> Cisco Kid, the<\/strong> Scarlet Pimpernel.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \n There is no article with titles and names:<\/p>\n Prince Charles has big ears.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n President Fillmore is the one nobody remembers.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Dr. House insulted the patient.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n But: the<\/strong> Prince of Wales, \tthe<\/strong> Bishop of Canterbury, and the<\/strong> Dalai Lama walked into a bar.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \n There is no article with professions and fields of study.<\/p>\n Statistics is sometimes useful for \tproving things that aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t true.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Music should not be studied by the \tdeaf.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n He wants to work for NASA.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll probably end up in food \tservice or law enforcement.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Exceptions: He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll probably end up \tin the<\/strong> military|the<\/strong> navy|the<\/strong> army.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \n There is no article with mass (uncountable) nouns:<\/p>\n Water is in short supply.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Coffee can be used to disrupt a \tconcert.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Research is lacking in the field \tof invertebrate alcoholism<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \n There is no article with singular islands, mountains and lakes.<\/p>\n More people know that Loch Ness \thas a monster than know it is in Scotland.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Kauai is mostly coastline.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Mount Fuji is the most \tphotographed mountain in the world.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Moussorgsky didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t name it \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Pandemonium on Bald \tMountain\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n But: The elephants traversed the<\/strong> Alps|the <\/strong>Pennines|the <\/strong>Adirondacks (plural).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Exceptions: They climbed The<\/strong> Matterhorn. They went boating on The <\/strong>Serpentine. The dragon flew over The<\/strong> Lonely Mountain. The<\/strong> Hebredes is off the West coast of Scotland.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \n No article is used with most names of towns, streets, stations and airports.<\/p>\n Charing Cross station is some \tdistance from Piccadilly|Big Ben|Hyde Park Corner|St. Paul\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Cathedral \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not close to: the <\/strong>Marble Arch|the <\/strong>Embankment|the <\/strong>London Eye|the <\/strong>Serpentine.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Can you direct me to Curson \tStreet?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n She found joy in Sienna.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n They depart from LAX on the 14th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \n No article is used with some destinations:<\/p>\n He went to school unwillingly. (He \tis in school.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n She didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go to work today. (She \tis at work.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n They never went to college. (She \tis at college.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n He might have gone to prison. (He \tis in prison.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n They never go to church. (They \tare in church.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too early to go to bed. (He \tis in bed.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in skid row.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n They told us we were going to \theaven or hell.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n She had to go to hospital (UK). \tBut: she had to go to the<\/strong> hospital (USA).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Some nouns may be used with or without an article, but have very different meanings depending upon whether an article is used.<\/p>\n \n \n The article is absent in modes of transport and some expressions. Note significant differences between USA and UK usages.<\/p>\n We went:<\/p>\n by car.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n by train.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n by air.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n on foot.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n on holiday (UK) on vacation (USA).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n on air (in broadcasting)(UK) But: \ton the<\/strong> air (USA).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Articles The definite article, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is normally used when one specific case of a noun is meant: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The dinosaur I saw had longer eyelashes than yours.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d But it can also signify an iconic or representative abstraction: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153To the researcher, such events can be very revealing. To the random vacationer, they are simply irritating.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (No specific […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":258,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-382","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.abacus-es.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.abacus-es.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.abacus-es.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.abacus-es.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.abacus-es.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.abacus-es.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":384,"href":"http:\/\/www.abacus-es.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/382\/revisions\/384"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.abacus-es.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.abacus-es.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Exceptions to the rule requiring articles for singular Nouns in English<\/h2>\n
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