Explanation and English Practice: ‘a’, ‘the’ and zero article - EP2-03G

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Explanation

To use the articles correctly, we must know not just when to use  ‘a’ / ‘an’ and ‘the’, but also when NOT to use an article – what we call the ‘zero’ article (Ø) Here is the rule:

Ø Books are expensive nowadays.

Ø Children should be seen and not heard. (English Victorian saying)

In the above examples, Books, Children are being used in a general sense – we mean all books or all children.

Even when we talk about ‘half-general’ things, we don’t use an article:

 

       Ø Scientific books are particularly expensive.

      Ø Naughty children should be punished.

 

We are still talking about scientific books in general and naughty children in general. So ‘the’ is used only when we are being really specific:

 

The scientific books we need for our course all cost at least £50.

The children who I grew up with were beaten at home and at school.

 

 

Exercises

A. Put a / an / the or  Ø (no article) in the gaps.

 

1. “Good morning, I’m looking for __________  4-slice toaster.”

“Did you see __________ one in _________  window, sir?”

“__________ white one?”

“Yes, that’s right, _________ one at £24.99.”

“Yes, I did, but I want ___________ stainless steel one.”

“Right, Sir, come this way, please.”

2. Do you like _________ coffee?

No, not really, but I quite like ________ coffee bags that they sell in Marks and Spencer’s.

3. That’s _______ unusual-looking mobile phone. Where did you get it?

4. “My back hurts again.”

“Well, go and see __________ doctor!”

5. I love watching _________ birds. _________ garden birds can get very tame, you know.

6. “My father’s _________ surgeon.”

“Is he ________ tall man with black hair who operated on my grandma last week?”

7. “We’re thinking of buying ________ dog”

“Are you? I don’t like ________ dogs. We have ________ cat, though.”

8. “Which ham would you like, Madam?”

“__________ home-cooked at _________  back next to ________ cheese, please.”

9. “What’s wrong, you look really annoyed.”

“Oh, __________ milk I bought this morning smells funny, I think it’s off.”

“Where did you get it?”

“From _________ corner shop near ________ bus stop.”

10. “I thought you didn’t like _________ jazz?”

“I don’t. But I like _________ music on this CD.

 

B. Put a / an / the or  Ø (no article) in the gaps in the following text:

 

My father’s _______ scientist and my mother works part-time as _________ teacher at ________ University of Sussex. I left ________ school two years ago and I’m going to _________ college next year to study for _______ career in ________ police.

 

Yes, my ambition is to be ________ policeman. My uncle is ________ detective with _________ famous ‘Scotland Yard’, so I won’t be ________ first policeman in our family. However, I don’t want to be ________ detective, I would like to work with one of ________ new computer units: maybe ________ one which tracks internet-based criminals who move _________ funds around _________ globe.

 

I have ________ sister, called Lilly. She works as _______ hairdresser, but not in ________ hair salon. In fact, she works for ________ BBC, in the hair and makeup department. She knows all about _______ hair styles in ________ other centuries, because they often make ________ films about _________ different periods in British history.

 

Finally, ________ last person in our house is my grandmother. She’s retired now, but she used to be _______ librarian. She didn’t work in _______ library, though!  She used to drive _______ van which was used for ________ mobile library. So her job was to drive around all _______ villages and ________ isolated farms in our county. She has some stories to tell, believe me!

 

I suppose I should also mention my grandfather. He was _______ inventor. Until his death last year, he continued to spend most of his waking hours in ________ large wooden shed which he had built at ________ bottom of his garden. I loved visiting him and watching him experimenting with _______ strange things: _______ wires, ________ instruments, ________ tubes, _________ boxes … his workshop was like _______ mysterious treasure house.