Unit 14: Articles (a, an, the, zero article)
Ngữ pháp Articles (a, an, the, zero article)
📘 Giải thích tiếng Việt
Mạo từ a / an
Dùng trước danh từ đếm được số ít, chưa xác định. Chọn a hay an dựa vào âm chứ không phải chữ viết: an honest man, an hour (âm nguyên âm), nhưng a euro, a uniform (âm /j/, /ju:/). Ví dụ: I need a coat.
Mạo từ the
Dùng khi danh từ đã xác định (người nghe biết rõ), cho cả số ít, số nhiều và không đếm được. Ví dụ: Where are the books I ordered? Cũng dùng với biển/sông (the Atlantic), một số nước (the USA, the UK), nhạc cụ (play the piano) và buổi trong ngày (in the morning).
Không mạo từ (zero article)
Dùng với danh từ số nhiều hoặc không đếm được mang nghĩa chung chung: Prices have gone up. Không dùng mạo từ với tên thành phố (Moscow), hầu hết tên nước (France), châu lục (Europe), môn học (maths), bữa/hoạt động: go to work, go to school, play tennis, at night.
Quy tắc đặc biệt
Dùng the với nhóm người/tổ chức: the police, the army, the English. Dùng a/an khi nói về nghề: work as a writer.
Form & Use
a (indefinite article)
Use: singular countable nouns (not specific)
Example: I need to get a new coat.
an (indefinite article)
Use: instead of 'a' when the next word begins with a vowel sound
Example: I don't have enough money for an expensive dress.
• an honest person
• an hour
• a euro
• a uniform
the (definite article)
| Use | Example |
|---|---|
| Singular countable nouns (specific) | Let's go to the new shopping centre. |
| Plural countable nouns (specific) | Where are the books I ordered? |
| Uncountable nouns (specific) | I gave the shop assistant the money and then left. |
No article (zero article)
| Use | Example |
|---|---|
| Plural countable nouns (general) | Prices have gone up a lot recently. |
| Uncountable nouns (general) | Fresh fruit is really good for you. |
Special Rules
| Category | Use the | No article |
|---|---|---|
| Places | seas (the Atlantic), rivers (the Amazon), areas (the Antarctic), some countries (the USA, the UK), public buildings (the theatre), the Earth, the world, the sky, the moon, the sun, the sea, the environment | towns and cities (Moscow), most countries (France), continents (Europe), streets (Baker Street), planets (Mars) |
| Activities | on the radio, the media, play the piano | go to work, on TV, go shopping, play tennis, listen to music, go to school, be at school, be at university, school subjects (maths) |
| Time | in the morning/afternoon/evening, on the 20th March, in the 1950s | days (Thursday), months (May), years (2009), at night |
| People | the King, the Prime Minister, the army, the navy, the police, the Germans, the English | become king, he's English, speak English |
| Other | (Note: $a/an$ used for jobs: have a job, work as a...) |
Exercise A
Complete using a, an or the.
Exercise B
Write an article in each gap where necessary. If an article is not necessary, put a dash (-).
I had (1) really bad day on (2) Tuesday. I bought (3) new game on CD-ROM for my computer, but (4) game didn't work properly. I took it back to (5) shop on (6) North Street, but (7) manager blamed me! He pointed to (8) scratch on (9) CD-ROM and said I'd done it. I couldn't believe it! I had to buy (10) new one!
Exercise C
Circle (type) the extra word in each sentence.
Exercise D
In each sentence there is a word missing. Rewrite the sentence correctly with the missing word.
Exercise E
Rewrite the sentences correctly, adding articles where necessary.
Exercise F
Underline (identify) ten mistakes in the dialogue and correct them. Write the correction in the box.
Gary: It's the lovely day, isn't it? Let's walk down to a shops and look around.
Helen: That's an good idea. I'll just have a look in a kitchen and see what we need.
Gary: I got a milk yesterday, so we don't need any more. We might need a bread, though.
Helen: Okay. Bread... oh, and the packet of sugar. After shopping, we could go to a new market in a town centre and see what they have.
Gary: Right. You get your coat and I'll get a car keys.
