articles Flashcards
when do we usually use the
- the sky, the world, the atmosphere, the sun, the ground, the climate, the horizon, the environment, the internet, the travel industry
- the beach, the town, the sea, the land
- the past, the present, the future
BUT Climate is one of the many factors involved in changing farming methods (general concept)
Dream of A future WHERE she could… - the + morning/afternoon/evening for a day which is understood or specified
BUT Morning is the time I work best- morning in general
I’ll be there by(the) morning/evening (but by the afternoon)
I’ve had a terrible morning(compared to other mornings)
the or a
the+singular countable noun to make generalisations about classes of things: The computer has revolutionised publishing/ is a powerful medium
alternative - a plural countable noun: Computers are an essential research tool.
BUT if the is used with plural and uncountable noun we refer to a specific thing
TOOL collocations
- a useful tool, a business/marketing/research tool
- sell agricultural machinery and tools( the government machinery)
- a tool of the trade
to define sth we use…
a/an
A corkscrew is a gadget for getting corks out of bottles
a device -
gadget
kitchen/household gadget, digital/electronic gadget/high-tech gadgets,
high-tech industry/company/equipment
HARMFUL -
the campaign against smoking in public places makes the case that its harmful effects are not confined to the smoker
be detrimental to, a detrimental effect/impact on,
deleterious effect
stop -
cease
without cease- incessantly
how to use articles while talking abt a job
- we use a/an to say what a person’s job is, was, will be: I am a company director
- when we give a person’s job title or their unique position we can use the or no article: she’s been appointed (the) head of the company
- after the position of, the post of, the role of we use zero article: I’ve taken on the position of Head of Department
when do we use zero article
- with plural and uncountable nouns to talk generally without definite people or thing in mind
-with the names of holidays, special times of the year, months, days of the week, Easter, Ramadan
BUT - I’ll see you on Saturday(next Saturday). They came on a Saturday (day of the week, we don’t know which one). I arrived on the Saturday after the accident(specify) - with winter, summer, autumn, spring we can use either the or zero article
But we use only THE when it’s understood or we go on to specify which summer, winter, autumn, spring : I’d like to go skiing in the spring, I went away in the winter of 2002
-with times of the day and night such as midnight, midday, noon: If possible, I’d like it finished by midday/The railway operates between noon and 5 p.m. daily - we can say dawn or the dawn
- we often use by+zero article to talk abt means of transport and communication: I generally go by bus to work- i take the bus(go/travel by car/bus/plane/train/air/sea; contact/communicate by post/email/phone)
agriculture or the
islands
- As the soil quality deteriorated so too did the agriculture on which the region depended.
- around 60 percent of the labour force in the country is supported by agriculture.
- Around the world islands are being threatened by rising sea levels
- The islands off the east coast of….
heavy rain -
torrential rain/storm
sunrise-
dawn
awake at dawn/ as dawn was breaking, leave at the break of dawn
the dawn of sth - the beginning of sth - mark the dawn of a new era/ the dawn of civilization
it dawns on you , it dawned that - became known that
how to use any
- in non-affirmative sentence
There’s hardly any sugar left - with : barely, never, scarcely, seldom
deny, fail, forbid, prohibit, refuse, prevent ,( deny the allegations, deny that, there’s no denying; be forbidden from ing, be prohibited from, strictly prohibited, prohibited by law)
reluctant, impossible, unlikely
We’d gone barely any distance from the shore - with clauses that begin with before : go away before anyone sees us
- comparisons: it was more colourful than anything i’d seen before
how to use some
- when it means not all: Some parents are of the opinion that …
- when we-re talking abt a particular but unspecified person/thing : I was reluctant to repeat something so critical of him
- before plural and uncountable nouns we sometimes use some or zero article with little difference in meaning
- some is used before a number to mean approximately
only just, almost never
scarcely
I was scarcely able to, I could scarcely believe that; I scarcely ever..; I’d scarcely have done it without you
Scarcely had I opened the door when I heard
Seldom do we receive any apology
how to use many and much
- a large/considerable/substantial amount of = with uncountable nouns
- a large/considerable/great/substantial number of= plural nouns
MANY: - we can use many and much as pronouns: Many have argued that
- use many with time expressions such as days, minutes, weeks, years and number of
- we can use many following the, my, his, her and plural countable nouns : Among the many unknowns after the earthquake is the extent of damage to the foundations of buildings
- many a with a singular noun : Many a pupil at the school will be over the moon that Latin is no longer compulsory/ I’ve spent many a sunny afternoon …
NO singular and plural?
Singular is more formal : No answer could be found
but : he has no friends = plural is expected
How to emphasise no /none/
no amount of with uncountable nouns
not one/ not a single with singular countable nouns
not one of with plural nouns
a hole in your tyre
puncture
I’ve had a puncture
not a =
not any =
how to use in a sentence
there isn’t any left - there’s none left
Don’t use not a/any, not anyone in initial position in a sentence/clause or straight after and, but, that; use no, none of, no one
no force was needed to make them move
in formal context we use not a in initial position
not a sound came from the room
other ways to say a lot of, many of, much of;
- a good/great many with a plural noun : I have a great many friends
- a good/great deal of with a singular or uncountable noun: a good deal of the exhibition was dedicated to
-far too many of far too much: many have claimed that his study on current attitudes to politics is flawed; one criticism is that far too many people questioned in the survey were under 18.
a lot of or much/many in the formal context
much/many
much research has been conducted on the effects of diet on health, with many studies focusing on the link between fat intake and brain function
how to use all
- his songs all sound much the same to me
- we all think= all of us think
- put all after the verb be and after the first auxiliary verb
- to make a negative use not all of
- before singular countable nouns WHOLE instead of all
- all day/week/night/month, all the time
- we can use entire instead of whole: the entire /whole building BUT
all of the towns had their electricity… = every
whole towns = some completely affected
every or each
every :
- with almost. virtually + noun to talk abt a group as a whole
- with a plural noun when every is followed by a number
- every chance, confidence, hope, reason, sympathy : she has every reason to.., every effort is being made to.., every chance of success
- every other, every single, every so often( occasionally), every few(months), every now and again(occasionally)
each
- each one
- as a pronoun
- each of, each and every one of
