From this August 13th-14th, I concentratedly studied "Articles" of English.
(the = definite article, a, an = indefinite article)
As a collection of problems, my teacher chose this site.
I wrote some rules of articles I learned below.
1. Name of official places
< Country Names >
Single names don't use "the"
ex) Japan, America,
Plural names need "the"
ex) the Philippine Islands, The Philippines, The United States of America
< City Names >
don't need articles
ex) Tokyo, NewYork, Bangkok,
< Road Names >
don't need articles
ex) Wall Street, Milton Road, Madison Avenue, 5th Avenue
< Others >
Mount Everest (single)
Mt. Fuji (single)
the Himalayas (plural)
2. Very obvious things don't need "the"
< Public Place >
ex) He go went to hospital, church, school, Institution, prison
< God >
ex) An atheist doesn't believe in God.
< Meal >
ex1) We usually have dinner at eight.
ex2) What time would you like breakfast.
> Meals are routine and not specific.
cf. Breakfast is in the morning, Lunch is in at midday, DInner/Tea is in late afternoon, Supper is late at night.
< Work >
ex1) We start work at eight.
ex2) He went to work.
3. When a noun is used specifically, use "the".
ex1) My garden's looking lovely now that the daffodils are in flower
> These daffodils are only in the garden.
ex2) Would you mind turning off the lights when you leave?
> specific lights
ex3) Could you take the books you borrowed back to the library, please?
ex4) We were stopped by the police
※"Police" is uncountable but "policeman" or "police officer" is countable.
ex5) The water in the outside swimming pool will be cold (in winter)
< examples that don't need "the" >
・He doesn't listen to classical music.
・I'm against capital punishment.
・There is a major problem with crime nowadays.
> "music", "punishment" and "crime" are uncountable and not particular in these cases.
4. We use a/an depending on the sound of the first letter of the word
(Pronunciation is different from letters)
(Pronunciation is different from letters)
ex1) She did an MA in French literature. (MA is pronounced like "Em A".)
ex2) He joined a union (Union is pronounced like "You Ni On".)
※"the" also can be used, but isn't included in the choices of Q48.
5. Other examples I felt confused about
ex1) Christmas Day falls on a Sunday this year.
> That means one of the Sundays in this year.
ex2) They live in the lovely flat.
> "flat" doesn't mean an area of low level ground. It means an apartment (British English).
