The use of articles in English is an excellent indicator of the speaker's speech literacy, so do not neglect such a seemingly insignificant part of learning a language. Often, the placement of articles (or lack of them) is determined using simple rules, but there are exceptions that you just need to remember.
Types of articles
First of all, it is worth deciding what articles in general are in English. Most people, when asked how many there are, will answer you without hesitation that there are only two, indefinite (a or an) and definite (the). However, this is not true. There is also a third type, the zero article. In English, the absence of this word plays a role almost as important as its presence.
What is the zero article
So, in simple terms, this is the absence of an article before a noun. It is used in a number of cases, some of them are explained by the simplest grammar and are easily remembered in the form of a simple rule, while others were formed inlanguage development process, and they just need to be memorized, like irregular verbs.
Basic rules
When is the zero article used?
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If the noun is preceded by a possessive, demonstrative, interrogative or indefinite pronoun, or the noun is in the possessive case. Examples:
I love her voice - I love her voice. Some man just bought it - Some man just bought it.
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In cases where the noun must be preceded by an indefinite article, but because of the plural, it cannot be put. Examples:
I see children playing - I see children playing. I brought apples from the garden - I brought apples from the garden.
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A noun is defined by the ordinal or cardinal number in front of it. Examples:
Room twenty-two - Twenty-second room. Five men play football - Five men play football.
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With proper names as they are unique. Examples:
Larry just came by - Larry just came by. He lives in France - He lives in France.
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With abstract, uncountable nouns. Examples:
He is an expert in modern French cinema - He is an expert in modern French cinema. She walked with dignity - She walked with dignity.
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With uncountable nouns denoting a substance. Examples:
I like coffee - I love coffee. However, whenHowever, the article is still used in concretization. The coffee is too strong - This coffee is too strong.
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In newspaper headlines, advertisements, etc. Example:
Boy was saved from fire - The boy was saved from the fire.
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If the noun acts as an address in the sentence. Example:
Good morning, officer - Good morning, officer.
- Before geographical names (lakes, waterfalls, rivers, continents, countries, cities, villages, etc.). Exceptions: if the country name contains the words "united", "united", "republic", "emirates", "kingdom", "states", "union". If the noun is used within the construction "Of…the". If there is a clarification.
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When a noun indicates a position currently held by only one person. Example:
President of the United States of America - President of the United States of America.
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Before the names of languages (if the phrase does not contain the word "language"), sports, dishes, diseases and flowers. Examples:
I speak English - I speak English. The English language is so beautiful - The English language is so beautiful.
- Before the names of institutions named after their founder or owner.
Exceptions
There are situations where the zero article is used in English for no apparent reason. Such exceptions are worth learning. It's not that hard, becausemost nouns that are not preceded by any article in a sentence can be thematically classified under the heading "family and school". The zero article is used with the following words: school (school), home (home), church (church), college (college). Also, the article is not placed before words denoting family members, meals or holidays.
There is a list of set English expressions that use the zero article. Here are just a few:
- at breakfast (dinner, lunch) - at breakfast (lunch, dinner);
- at home - at home;
- at night - at night;
- at sunset (sunrise) - at sunset (dawn);
- at war (peace) - in a state of war (peace);
- by accident - by accident, by accident;
- by air (sea, water, land) - by air (sea, water, land);
- by chance - by chance;
- by heart - for memory, by heart;
- by mistake - by mistake;
- by train (bus, ship) - by train (bus, ship);
- from time to time - from time to time;
- in fact - actually, in fact;
- in case of - in case;
- in secret - in secret;
- in sight – available (on the market);
- in time - on time;
- on demand.
By memorizing these words and expressions, you can easily begin to navigate the use of the zero article.
