Today is our topic of discussion – No Article and Exceptions
No Article and Exceptions
No Article and Exceptions
- Proper nouns
No Article is used before proper nouns. So no article is used before —
i) names of people
ii) names of continents/countries
iii)names of states/cities/towns
iv) names of days/months/festivals
v) names of subjects of study
For example:
We live in Dhaka / Bangladesh.
We are learning English.
He is a student of law/science.
Note:
family relations
These are normally treated like proper nouns, so no article is used before father, daddy, dad, mother, mum, mummy, uncle, aunt.
Example: Father/Daddy is at home. (not the father/daddy)
names of seasons
Though names of seasons can be used with or without “the”, it is more common to drop the article.
Example: Spring is in the air.
- Uncountable nouns
No article is used before uncountable nouns (material and abstract nouns).
Example:
He sells milk.
She lacks confidence.
- Names of games/sports
No article is used before the names of games/sports:
Example:
We play cricket/tennis/football. (not, a cricket)
- Public institutions
No article is used before public institution like these: church, court, hospital, market, temple, prison, school, college, university
Example:
We go to church on Sundays. (not the church) My child does not like to go to school. (not the school) Old people must go to hospital for regular check-ups. (not the hospital)
Note:
But a noun like this takes ‘the’ when it refers to its building:
Example:
I went to the mosque to admire its architecture.
- Names of important public buildings and institutions (for example, airports, stations, Universities) are often two words:
Manchester Airport
Victoria station (not the…)
Buckingham Palace
Harvard University
Canterbury Cathedral
Edinburgh Castle
Cambridge University
- We do not use ‘the’ names of people (“Helen’, ‘Helen Taylor’ etc.). In the same way, we do not normally use ‘the’ with names of places:
For example:
Continents
Africa, Europe, South America
Countries
France, Japan, Switzerland, Texas
Islands
Bermuda, Tasmania
Cities
Cairo, New York, Bangkok
Mountains
Everest, Etna, Kilimanjaro
Compare:
With most other places, you need ‘the’.
For example:
the cinema, the bank.
- Compare:
In general (without the)
- Children learn from playing. (children in general)
- I couldn’t live without music.
- All cars have wheels.
- Sugar isn’t very good for you
- English people drink a lot of tea. (English people in general)
- I like working with people. (people in general)
- Do you like coffee? (coffee in general)
Specific people or things (with the)
- We took the children to the zoo. (a specific group. perhaps the speaker’s children)
- The film wasn’t very good, but I liked the music. (the music in the film)
- All the cars in this car park belong to people who work here.
- Can you pass the sugar, please? (the sugar on the table)
- The English people I know drink a lot of tea. (only the English people I know, not English people in general.)
- I like the people I work with. (a specific group of people)
- Did you like the coffee we had after dinner last night? (specific coffee)
- Nouns as object complements
No article is used before a noun acting as a complement to the direct object:
Example:
They crowned him king. (not, a king)
The article is omitted when the object complement (king) indicates a unique status of the direct object (him).
They appointed him professor. (not a professor)
We elected him chairman. (not a chairman)
(N.B: “complement’ is a word or phrase added to a verb to complete the predicate in a sentence.)
- Names of meals/articles of food
No article is used before names of meals/articles of food:
Example:
I have breakfast at 8′ clock. (Not, a breakfast)
I usually have lunch at 2 p.m. (not, a lunch) I had just finished dinner when the call came.
There is brinjal on the menu today. (not, the brinjal)
Note:
When the name of a meal or article of food is modified by an adjective phrase or relative clause, an article must be used to make it specific.
Example:
I had a good breakfast this morning.
There is a dinner tonight in honour of the new director.
The bread/fish you are eating is not fresh.
Repetition of articles
When two or more nouns joined by and refer to the same person or thing, an article is used before the first noun only:
He is a great poet and thinker. (not, a thinker)
The District Magistrate and Collector is on tour (not, the Collector).
But when they refer to different/separate people or things, an article is used before each of them:
Both the boy and the girl have done well in their examinations.
The Prime Minister and the Education Minister are reaching tomorrow.
Note:
When two or more adjectives modify the same noun, an article is used before the first adjective only.
I have a red and blue pencil. (only one pencil that is partly red and partly blue)
But when adjectives modify different nouns, an article is used before each of them:
I have a red and a blue pencil. (two pencils-one is red and the other blue)