Definite article The / No (zero) article

Definite article The Zero (no) article

teacher Denise Moraes catteacher.com.br

We use the definite article the:

when there’s only one of something or the reference is to a whole group the sun, the world, the president, the rich, the media, the police with countries names that have plural nouns or the words States, Kingdom or Republic in the name the United Kingdom, the People’s Republic of China, the United States of America, the Netherlands

when something has been mentioned before I was walking past SPFC when I decided to go into the stadium to watch a game. when the noun answers the questions which? or what?

Which is your car?

The green one

with geographical features the Atlantic Ocean, the Sahara desert, the Himalayas, the Amazon river

teacher Denise Moraes

We don’t use article:

with plural countable nouns, when talking about them generelly I love cats = you love all cats Don’t say I love the cats

on the other hand

The neighbour’s cat is really cute = an specific cat

with uncountable nouns to talk about people, animals or things in a general way I love chocolate = you love all types of chocolate Don’t say I love the chocolate

with names of people, months, cities, most countries, products

Madonna, December, São Paulo, New York, France, cell phone, smartwatch

teacher Denise Moraes

Grammar Vocabulary Games Online classes

teacher Denise Moraes catteacher.com.br