Using articles with proper names, groups and classes, people, titles, nationalities, languages and countries

 

Ingrid Vooglaid

Proper names

Proper name is a name used for an individual person, place, or organization, spelled with an initial capital letter, e.g. Jane, London, and Oxfam. 

People

Generally no article is used before a person`s name.

E.g. My name is Ingrid.

 

Exceptions:

*Surname in plural needs the before it to show the members of the family together. E. g. The Johnsons went travelling. Also, when speaking of several specific persons with the same name, e.g. The Marys have left - meaning there are several people named Mary, all known.

*The may be used in nicknames. E.g. Friends call him Monkey/The Monkey/the Monkey.

 

People 2

 

*A/An can be used with a person`s name if the person is unknown to us. E.g. A James Marsh called for you today / An Eleanor is waiting for you at the door - meaning someone who said that is their name, we don`t know him/her.

*Referring to a person from a specific context requires the. E.g. The Jenny that I used know as a child - meaning that Jenny, not some other Jenny.

*When a person`s name is associated with an object, it is used with an article, e.g. She has a Picasso at home - referring to a painting by Picasso. 

People 3

Appositive - a noun (or a phrase) that defines or explains another noun in the sentence by renaming it. An appositive stands immediately after or before the noun that it defines and requires an article. E.g. The English writer Agatha Christie. Lord Byron, an English poet.

 

Titles

1. Titles with a name don`t require an article.

2. Titles without a name do require an article.

E.g. 1. Queen Elizabeth; Aunt Mary; Diana, Princess of Wales; Franklin Roosevelt, President of the United States.

E.g. 2. the Queen of England; the Princess of Wales.

*After such verbs as "be, become, elect, appoint" the definite article is often omitted. Compare: The general manager is on vacation now. Thomas Leads became general manager of a large advertising agency two years ago.

*The is used with titles in the form of epithets: Richard the Third; Richard the Lion-Hearted; King George the Fifth (King George V; George V).

 

Countries

Countries and regions generally don`t require an article.

E.g. Estonia, Turkey, Italy, Asia, Europe. 

An article is used as part of a name when the name refers to a union. E.g. The United Kingdom, The Great Britain, The United States of America, The European Union, The United Arab Emirates. Such names are usually abbreviated and usually with an article, e.g. the UK, the GB, the USA, the EU, the UAE. If the abbreviation is seen as an alternative proper name, it is written without an article but often it is still read with one. 

Nationalities and languages

Nationalities and references to the region of a person`s origin do require an article. Languages don`t.

E.g. singular: an Estonian, a Turk, a Japanese, a German, a Brazilian, an Asian.

Plural: the Estonians, the Turks, the Japanese, the Germans, the Brazilians, the Asians, the Irish / the Irish people.

Language is the same as national adjective: She speaks fluent French. (Adjective: This is French food.)

 

 

Class

When a singular noun is meant to represent a whole class to which it belongs, it is used with the.

E.g. The cow is a useful animal. (Here the singular noun cow represents a whole class.) The rose is the sweetest of all flowers. The spider has eight legs. In plural they are used without an article. E.g. Cows are useful animals.

Fill in the gaps where needed

.......... Americans ...... Mary and ...... John bought a new house in .......... Great Britain. They haven`t met their neighbours, ......... Galloways, yet.  Galloways are .......... Irish and ......... Mary is hoping her .......... daughther  .......... Mona might learn .......... Gaelic from them. ......... Gaelic is an old language that used to be spoken by ........... Irish people. ........ John is ......... teacher and hopes to find work at the local school. .......... Mona loves gardening and her favorite flowers are  .......... lilies. 

 

Home task

Write a short story using references to at least:

1 language,

1 nationality,

1 country,

1 title or rank,

1 class,

1 surname in plural,

1 first name. 

Use the correct articles where needed.

Materials used

http://usefulenglish.ru/grammar/part-6-articles-with-peoples-names

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/154519/using-the-with-abbreviations-of-nouns

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/people-and-places/nationalities-languages-countries-and-regions

https://www.englishgrammar.org/definite-article/