Language and functions

When do we say
"the dog"
and when do we say "a dog"? (On this page we
talk only about singular, countable nouns.)
The and A/An are called "articles". We divide them into
"definite" and "indefinite" like this:
Articles
|
Definite
|
Indefinite
|
The
|
A, An
|
We use
"definite" to mean sure, certain. "Definite" is particular.
We use
"indefinite" to mean not sure, not certain. "Indefinite" is
general.
When we are
talking about one thing in particular, we use the. When we are talking about one
thing in general, we use a or an.
Think of the sky
at night. In the sky there is 1 moon and millions of stars. So normally we
could say:
- I saw the moon last night.
- I saw a star last night.
Look at these
examples:
The
|
A, An
|
- The capital of France is
Paris.
- I have found the book that I lost.
- Have you cleaned the car?
- There are six eggs in the fridge.
- Please switch off the TV when you finish.
|
- I was born
in a town.
- John had an omelette for lunch.
- James Bond ordered a drink.
- We want to buy an umbrella.
- Have you got a pen?
|
Of course, often
we can use The or A/An for the same word. It depends
on the situation. Look at these examples:
- We want to buy an umbrella. (Any umbrella,
not a particular umbrella.)
- Where is the umbrella? (We already have
an umbrella. We are looking for our umbrella, a particular umbrella.)
This little story
should help you understand the difference between The and A, An:
- A man and a woman were walking in Oxford Street. The woman saw a dress that she liked in a shop. She asked the man if he could buy the dress for her. He said:
"Do you think the shop will accept a cheque? I don't have a credit card."