Zero article With uncountable nouns Articles are not

Zero article

• With uncountable nouns • Articles are not used with uncountable nouns when we make general statements. • I love coffee. (. . . a coffee OR the coffee) • Milk is rich in nutrients. ( The milk OR a milk) • We can't do without water. ( The water OR a water) • She likes reading books. (. . . the reading books OR a reading books) • Men like watching sports.

• With the names of countries • We do not use articles with the names of countries. • Japan is a developed nation. ( The Japan) • I have been to England. (. . . to the England) • India is a secular republic. ( The India) • He has just returned from South Africa. ( …the South Africa) • But! • the Lebanon (mountain ranges ), the Sudan (deserts ),

• But we use 'the' if the name of the country or organization specifically states that it is a collection of states. (For example, The United States, The United Arab Emirates, The United Nations etc. ) • He is leaving for the United States tomorrow. • The United Nations is an international organization of countries created to promote world peace and cooperation.

• With the names of languages • We do not use articles with the names of languages. • Hindi is the national language of India. • It is not easy to learn French. • English is spoken in many parts of the world. • BUT!!! • I love the English language. • He doesn’t speak the German language.

• With the names of meals • We do not use articles with the names of meals. • We have lunch at midday. (. . . the lunch) • We have dinner in the evening. (. . . the dinner) • Breakfast is the first meal of the day. (. . . the breakfast) • BUT!!! • The lunch Anne cooked yesterday was delicious! (because it is specified) • The dinner that we had last night was terrible.

• With proper nouns • We do not use articles with proper nouns (the names of people, places etc. ) • Alice is an architect. ( The Alice or a Alice) • Mary is my friend. (The Mary) • Delhi is the capital of India. • But we use 'the' with plural family names to denote the whole family. • We are having dinner with the Smiths. • The Sharmas are very kind.

• With titles and names • We do not use articles with titles and names. • Princess Diana was killed in a car accident. • President Kennedy was assassinated. • But we say, the queen of England, the President of USA

• • • With years We do not use articles before years. India won freedom in 1947. (. . . in the 1947) I was born in 1979. But!!! In the 1900 s She had written all her novels in the late 1950 s. In the early(1, 2, 3) 1990 s / 20 s In the mid(4, 5, 6) 1990 s / 30 s In the late(7, 8, 9) 1990 s /teens With months if they are not specified I was born in August. The August of 1992 was very rainy.

• With days • Articles are not used to talk about the coming or last day/month. • See you on Friday. (=Coming Friday) • We are leaving for the US next week. ( …the next week. ) • But we use articles with the names of days of the week and months if we are talking about particular days or months. • She died on the Thursday after the accident. • We met on a rainy Friday. • It was a wet Monday in May.

• With possessives and demonstratives • We do not use articles before possessives (my, your, their etc. ) and demonstratives (this, that, these, those). • This is my book. (This is a my book. ) • I like this car. ( I like this car. )