One of the most difficult topics for language learners is articles in English. The difficulty of understanding this topic for a Russian-speaking person is that in our language there are no articles or similar parts of speech. Sometimes it happens that it is almost impossible for a person who begins to learn English to explain from the standpoint of logic what the article is and when it should be used. Therefore, those who want to master the English language will have to remember many uses of articles. However, it is not as difficult as it seems.
Let's consider indefinite articles in English. It's a and an, before vowels and consonants. According to one version, the indefinite articles in English come from the word “one”, which means “one”. It is not known exactly how close this version is to the truth. However, with its help it is quite easy to remember the main cases of using indefinite articles. The most commonthe rule, in fact, is the same here: the indefinite article can be safely put where it is easy to enter the word “one”, “any”, “some”, that is, with all nouns that are singular in the sentence. For example, a donkey is a donkey, a telephone is a telephone, a dream is a dream. Or an armchair - an armchair, an hour - an hour. But this is far from all you need to know in order to correctly use this insidious part of speech that causes so many difficulties.
So, let's take a closer look at how to use articles in English correctly. The rules here are:
1) Indefinite articles should be used if the subject appears in the conversation for the first time and the interlocutor still does not know anything about the subject:
A book is so interesting - The book is so interesting (Some book that a person has not read yet).
2) If something is seen as one of a number of similar ones, for example, if we mean that a person works in one of the many small shops, on
one of the many factories or lives in one of the smaller towns:
I don't like to live in a town
3) If we talk about the subject as a representative of the entire class, for example:
A squirrel is a sweet animal
4) After the words quite, such, rather, what (but only in exclamatory sentences), as well as after the turnover there + to be, which are before countablenouns (uncountable nouns are those that can be counted individually. For example, a house, an apple, a window, a notebook. And uncountable ones are those that cannot be counted, for example, water, milk, sugar:
He was such a severe man! – He was such a strict man!
There is a pond near our house. – There is a lake near our house.
5) In such phrases as once a week, once a month, once a year, and also when the indefinite article is equal in meaning to the numeral one, the only one.
She'll be your wife in a year. – She will be your wife in a year.
And also in combinations a number (of), a few, a great deal (of), a little, a great manybe at a loss, etc.
Sorry, I can't explain, I am in a hurry. Sorry, I can't explain. I'm in a hurry.
From the above examples it is clear that the articles in the English language make up that layer of grammar, which is not just necessary to study, but vital. As can be seen from the examples, articles in English carry a significant semantic load. That is why it is impossible to skip them, which is a sin of many of our compatriots. Do not forget that in addition to the articles a, an, English has the definite article the, which also has its own nuances of use.
