寥寥兩個字——冠詞
冠詞是所有詞類中，最讓人頭痛的兩種之一（另外一個是介詞）。為什麼讓人頭痛？因為它們看上去簡單，卻又無窮多種搭配的方式，和怪異的習慣性用法。
接下來，二亭會圍繞冠詞，進行非常詳細的講解，with tons of practice，將冠詞的用法講得徹徹底底，一網打盡。
注意，這篇文章為了最準確地表達意思，二亭所有的講解和練習用的都是英文，如果不適應，或者閱讀這篇感覺存在較大困難的同學，請先移步其他老師中文版的語法講解，瞭解中文版冠詞的用法。
開始之前，我們需要先簡單瞭解以下的重要概念。
請各位前伸手黨百度一下謝謝，我相信你們資訊時代的基本生存能力。
What are definite and indefinite articles/nouns？
What are generic and concrete nouns？
好的，辛苦各位了！下面開始正式內容
1.Articles for generic nouns:a, an, or no article(∅）
What is a generic noun？ →
A generic noun is a symbol。
What does a generic noun represent？ →
It represents
a whole group of people, places, or things and means
any
and
all
members of the group。
What article（s） do we use with generic nouns？ →
Use
a， an
or no article（∅） with generic nouns。
eg。
For what purpose do we use generic nouns？ →
We use generic to make generations。
Is there any exception？
→ Occasionally，
the
is used with generic singular count nouns， especially with animal species（
the
giant panda） and inventions（
the
microwave）。
Practice a
Write G (generic) in the blank spaces in front of generic nouns. Write NG(not generic) in front of concrete nouns.
Example
： The contestants on
NG
the television show
Survivor
soon got tired of eating
G
rice every day。
1） They started dreaming about _____ chocolate and____ pizza。
2） One day， the television show‘s helicopter brought them ____ chocolate and _____ a slice of pizza。
3） The people had ____ contest to see who could win ____ chocolate and ___ pizza。
4） They had ____ contests on ____ show every few days。
2. Articles for indefinite nouns: a, an, or some
What are indefinite nouns？
→An indefinite noun names real（not symbolic） people， places， and things， but it does not point out a particular person， place， or thing。
What articles should you use with an indefinite noun？
→
a， an，
or
some
Nouns are indefinite in the following cases：
a。 When you don’t have a specific person， place， or thing in mind
► Let‘s call
a friend,
make
some sandwiches,
buy
some fruit
and
some cold drinks,
and have
a picnic.
b。 When the person， place， or thing is unknown to the reader， perhaps because the noun appears for the first time
► My wife and I bought
a new house
last year。
► It has
a small yard,
so we planted
some grass
and
some flowers.
When do we use
a， an，
or
some
other than with indefinite nouns？
You can also use a or an in the following cases.
c。 When you mean “one”
► I came here
a year
ago。
d。 When you want to identify or define a person， place， or thing （in singular only）
► He’s
an American.
（BUT They‘re Americans。）
► She’s
a doctor.
（BUT They‘re doctors。）
► Houston is
a city
in Texas。 （BUT Houston and San Antonio are cities in Texas。）
► What’s this？ It‘s
a coffee grinder.
（BUT They’re coffee grinders。）
3。
Articles for definite nouns: the
What are definite/specific nouns？
→ The nouns that name a specific person， place， or thing。 Specific nouns are known to the reader。
For what reasons specific nouns can be known to the reader？
→
a。 The noun names a unique person， place， or thing。
（Unique= There is only one。）
► The crowd waited for hours to see
the president.
► You can‘t see many stars in
the sky.
►
The moon
is full tonight。
b。 The noun is a superlative。
► John is
the smartest student
in our class。
► Venus is
the brightest star
in the sky。
► I had
the worst cold
in my life last winter。
c。 You mention a noun for the second time。
► We bought
a house。
The house
has a small yard。
►
The yard
has a lot of grass and a few trees。
► We planted
some flowers，
but
the
flowers
haven’t bloomed yet。
d。 The reader knows the person， place， or thing because the writer and reader share common experiences or a common environment。
►
The teacher
chose my essay to read out loud。
►
The class
seemed to like it。
► John went to
the library
to study。
（The writer and reader are in the same school。 They both know which teacher， which class， and which library are meant。）
e。 Sometimes（but not always）other words in the sentence identify the noun for the reader。
►
The red car
is mine。 （The adjective
red
tells us which car。）
►
The sandwiches from Sam's Delicatessen
are cheap and delicious。 （
From Sam‘s Delicatessen
tells us which sandwiches。）
►
The milk that I just bough
t is sour。 （
That I just bough
t tells us which milk。）
*An adjective，a phrase，or a clause does not always identify a noun， however。Sometimes it simply describes the noun but doesn’t identify it for the reader。
► I want to buy
a red car.(
Red
tells only what color car I want to buy。It doesn‘t identify a specific car。）
► Last night I dreamed about a girl with green eyes。 （
With green eyes
only describes。It doesn’t identify a specific girl。）
► John likes steaks that are thick and juicy。 （
That are thick and juicy
only tells what kind of steaks John likes。It doesn‘t identify a specific steak。）
4。
Special uses of the
Use the before the following kinds of common nouns.
a。 Time periods
►
in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening
BUT
at noon,at night,at midnight
►the past,the present,the future
►
the beginning,the middle,the end
►
the spring,the summer,the fall,
►
the autumn,the winter
►
the twentieth century,the second millennium
b。 Parts of the body in a prepositional phrase
►He cut himself on
the
leg。（ALSO on
his
leg）
BUT He injured
his
leg。He broke
his
leg。→These are not prepositional phrases。
c。 Certain nouns that name different social and economic classes and some other special groups
►
the middle class
►
the government
►
the clergy
►
the media
►
the public
►
the press
d。Nouns made from adjectives that mean“a group of people who are 。。。 ”（rich，young，unemployed，etc。）
►
the rich
►
the unemployed
►
the poor
►
the disabled
►
the young
►
the homeless
Practice b
Cross off the incorrect article in each pair.
Example
： We watched
the（劃掉）/a
TV show last night called
Survivor。
1） It was similar to
the/a
European show that was popular in
the/∅
nineties。
2）
The/A
European show was also about people living together on
the/an
island。
3）
The/A
main idea of both programs was to see who could survive
the/a
longest time in
the/a
hostile place。
4） Every few days，
the/some
contestants voted to send one person off
the/an
island。
5）
The/A
last remaining person would win
the/a
million dollars。
6）
The/A
biggest challenge was not to survive nature but to make friends with the other contestants so that they would not vote against you。
7） One man caught
the/∅
fish almost every day， so he had lots of friends。
8） In fact， he was
the/a
winner of
the/a
million dollars。
Use The with certain proper nouns
Most proper nouns do not have articles。 We say Prince Charles ，Friday， January ， Mexico， Asia， Main Street， and so on。 The following kinds of proper nouns use the。
a。All proper nouns that contain an of-phrase
►the United States of America
►the University of Texas
b。Certain geographic names
⭕️Geographic names that contain the word
kingdom， republic
，or
union
►the United Kingdom
►the Dominican Republic
⭕️Plural geographic names （except waterfalls）
►the United Arab Emirates
►the Philippines
BUT
Niagara Falls
⭕️Bodies of water （except lakes and bays）
►the Pacific(Ocean)
►the Amazon(River)
BUT
Lake Victoria
⭕️Regions
►
the Middle East
►
the South
⭕️Points on the globe
►
the North Pole
►
the Equator
⭕️Deserts and forests
►
the Sahara(Desert)
►
the Black Forest
c。 Buildings，bridges，named roads， tunnels，towers，monuments （but not dams）
►the Empire State Building
►the Chunnel
d。Hotels，theaters，movie theaters， libraries，and museums
►the Hilton(Hotel)
►the Louvre
e。Historical periods and events
►the Tang Dynasty
►the Russian Revolution
f。Names of organizations， departments of government， and political parties
►the United Nations
►the Red Cross
g。Names of historical documents
►the Constitution
►the Magna Carta
h。Names of newspapers （Capitalize the if the newspaper uses it as part of its name。）
►The New York Times
►the San Francisco Chronicle
i。Plural family names（used to refer to all members of a family）
►the Smiths
►the Bushes
j。Adjectives naming nationalities that mean“the people from thiscountry”
►the British
►the Swiss
k。Titles that refer to a unique person
►the Pope
►the Dalai Lama
l。Electronic sources
►the Internet
►the World Wide Web
m。 Ships and trains
►the Titanic
►the Shanghai Express
5. Idiomatic uses of articles
With the
Use the in these phrases even though the noun is not specific.
► go to
the
bank，
the
post office，
the
store，
the
bathroom
► go to
the
theater，
the
movies
► go to
the
doctor，
the
dentist，
the
hospital （BRITISH ENGLISH： go to hospital）
► be in
the
hospital （BRITISH ENGLISH： be in hospital）
► call
the
police，
the
fire department，
the
highway patrol
► live in
the
city，
the
country，
the
suburbs
► listen to
the
radio BUT listen to music
► turn off
the
television（= television set） BUT watch television（= the medium）
► play
the
piano，
the
violin，
the
guitar
► on
the
ground， in
the
sky BUT in space
Without the
Don't use an article in these expressions.
► on campus， off campus
► on foot
► by bus， by train， by car， by taxi， by plane， by subway
► go home， get home， arrive home， stay （at） home
► go to work， be at work， start work， finish work
► go to school， be in school， be at school
► go to college， be in college， be at college BUT go to
the
university
（BRITISH ENGLISH： go to university， be at university）
►go to church， be at church
► go to class， be in class
► go to prison/jail， be in prison/jail
► go to bed， be in bed， stay in bed
Without a/an
Don't use a or an with the names of meals unless there is an adjective before the name of the meal.
► eat breakfast BUT eat
a
big breakfast
► after dinner BUT after
a
delicious dinner
► have lunch BUT have
a
quick lunch
附表格：How to Choose the right article
Practice c
Complete the paragraphs with appropriate articles. Sometimes no article(∅) is necessary.
A。
∅
Astronauts who make 1。______ long trips into 2。 ______ outer space can learn from 3。______ contestants on 4。 _______ TV show
Survivor。
They can learn how to get along with each other for 5。 _______ long periods of 6。 _______ time in 7。 _______ dangerous enviroments。 8。 _______ Trip to 9。 _______ Mars will last approximately three years： nine months each way and approximately 10。 _______ year and 11。 _______ hal on 12。 _______ surface of 13。 _______ Mars。 Spending 14。 _______ nine months in 15。 _______ small， enclosed spaceship with 16。 _______ strangers will be difficult。
B。
1。 _______ Spaceship that travels to 2。 _______ Mars will probably be larger than 3。 _______ car but smaller than 4。 _______ airplane。 Mark Shepanek， who is 5。 _______ psychologist for 6。 _______ National Aeronautics and Space Administration， said， “Imagine taking 7。 _______ car trip with your family。 Imagine that 8。 _______ trip lasts for months。 Now imagine that you can’t open 9。 _______ windows。 Imagine that you can‘t get out of 10。 _______ car。 Imagine that 11。 _______ bathroom and 12。 _______ meals are in 13。 _______ car with you。 Do you think you might have 14。 _______ problem getting along with each other？”
Practice d
Sentence Completion
Complete the paragraph adapted from the methods section of a research report by adding a or an, if necessary, or ∅ if no article is required.
1。______ participants were first asked to take 2。______ piece of paper from 3。______ bag。 The paper contained 4。 ________ number which assigned them to one of two groups。 Then the participants entered the room and were asked to take 5。______ seat at one of the sears with 6。 ______ survey。 One of the experimenters then went around the room with 7。 ______ of pencils and 8。_______ participants were asked to take one to fill out the survey。 Upon completion， 9。_______ surveys and 10。_______ pencils were collected by 11。_______ experimenter。 12。_______ short video clip was then shown。 For the subliminal group 13。_______ subliminal message was inserted into the video； 14。_______ red background was also used for the computer screen。 For the non-subliminal group no message was flashed during the video， and 15。 _______ white background was used during the playing of the video。 At the conclusion of the video clip， 16。 _______ post-survey was passed out， to 17。 _______ participants。 18。 _______ bundle of pens was also handed out， and 19。 _______ participants were asked to choose 20。 _______ pen。 There were 45 pens in total， with 15 blue， black， and red pens each。
Practice e
Editing for Articles
Insert five article missing from the paragraph from the U.S. Department of Agriculture website.
Fourth USDA Greenhouse Gas Conference:
Positioning Agriculture And Forestry To Meet The Challenges Of Climate Change
February 5–8, 2007—B altimore Marriott Camden Yards
Baltimore, Maryland
Conference Overview
Purpose of this conference is to provide forum for presentation of scientific， technical， and policy information related to the impacts of climate change on agriculture and forestry， and potential role of management practices in related ecosystems and product use in mitigating climate change。 Ecosystems related to the practice of agriculture and forestry are all lands involved in the production of food， feed， fiber， and timber， including croplands， feedlots， pastures， rangelands， forests， and associated wetlands。 Conference will feature combination of plenary sessions， technical breakout sessions， and poster sessions organized to maximize interactions， discussion， and dialogue。
以上內容擷取及整合於以下來源
References
Hogue， A。 （2003）。
The essentials of English： A writer’s handbook
。 （p。157 - 165） Longman。
Canseco， G。 （2010）。
Inside academic writing： Understanding audience and becoming part of an academic community
。 University of Michigan Press。
Caplan， N。 A。 （2012）。
Grammar choices for graduate and professional writers
。 University of Michigan Press。
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