- In the position of subject nouns
are used with both articles or without them. In sentences with the
construction “There is” the indefinite article is almost always
used before the subject expressed by a count singular noun and no
article before plural nouns. For example: There’s a man at the
door. There are books on the shelves. There are hospitals, he said.
- Before predicative singular nouns
the indefinite article is used most often/in the classifying
function/.For example : He was a fearful snob.
- Plural nouns are used in these cases
without articles. For example: Because we are not brutes.
- The definite article is necessary if the
referent of the predicative is definite .For example: This was the
man she wanted to live with.
- If a predicative noun denotes a unique
post, position or occupation no article or the definite article is
used. For example: You can’t become prime minister at once .Mr.
Hall was /the/Director of the National bank .
- In the position of object the indefinite
article is very often used even with nouns whose referents are unique.
For example: He has a mother. He has a good heart.
- Before appositive nouns denoting title
,rank, dignity ,kinship no article is used. For example: Professor
Bloch, Lord Byron, Lady Hamilton, Aunt Ann, Uncle Tom.
The definite article is used with nouns
which are modified by:
- adjectives in the superlative degree of
comparison/They are the happiest people I know
- ordinal numerals/The third letter was
shocking
- some adjectives/last, left, right, only,
wrong/I thought I had come to the wrong house
- the adjective pronoun same/It’s not
quite the same thing
Note
With set prepositional phrases :
- No article: from morning till
evening, from head to foot, from cover to cover ,by train, by bus
,side by side ,etc
- With the definite article :in the
main, one the on hand, etc
- With the indefinite article: in
a hurry, in whisper ,to be /feel/ at a loss ,at a distance of.
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