How to Use the Definite Article (THE) & Zero Article (X) | Grammar Lesson
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
- Articles are those tricky little words we often find before nouns. Sometimes we use them and sometimes we don't. In this lesson, we'll look at the difference between the Definite Article (THE) and the Zero Article (X). We'll talk about how to use these articles (or how NOT to use them), and some of the rules we should follow to help us become better speakers and writers.
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THANKS FOR WATCHING!
Do you have questions about the DEFINITE ARTICLE or ZERO ARTICLE? Let us know! Write it in the comments. 👍
Even if you have a question about life in general, write that as well. We'll try to help. 😉
Thanks 😃
I do have a question. When I talk about a political party should I use the article “the” or zero article? For example, should I say the CCP ( the Chinese Communist Party ) or CCP ?
I tend to use zero article. Am I right ??
Lòp8p
Thank you for clarifying about articles, it's very useful and easy to understand, rather than read again and again in the books
Thanks for your comment! I really appreciate it. I'm glad you found the lesson useful. And you're right, videos create a different learning dynamic which is one reason we enjoy teaching on RUclips. Have a great day! 😊
Thanks!
Thanks so much for your support. It helps us keep going and growing the channel. You're the best! 😊 ❤️
@@InteractiveEng Thanks to you and your amazing wife I am paying a fortune at McGill University but I learn much more with you guys
You are the best teacher that I have ever seen. I really encourage all to watch your channel
Thanks so much for commenting & checking out the lesson. 👍
Hey, Wes. Thank you for another outstanding English lessons. However, I don’t feel comfortable saying where I’m from. Privacy is a major concern for many, me included. I wouldn’t mind telling YOU where I’m from as long as you keep that information to yourself. I enjoy your English lessons and - based on what I’ve seen here on RUclips - you’re the best.
Thank you for the thorough lesson. I love the format and your style of teaching.
Glad you enjoyed the lesson & found it useful. Thanks so much for your comment. 😊
RUclips is great for learning English
I am watching your precious lessons from Myanmar.
That's great! Thanks for checking out the lesson. 👍
Your all videos are very helpful
That's great! Thanks for checking out the lesson. 👍
Thank YOU for your great efforts.
Glad you enjoyed the lesson and found it helpful. 😃
Hello from Iran-Tehran
Hello. Thanks so much for commenting & checking out the lesson. 👍
As always an excellent lesson with very good explanations, a lot of examples and the best practice, doing all the exercises helps me to master this part of the English grammar. Thank you so much for your lessons.
I always try to watching your lessons. And inspired your stunning lectures. Thank you very much. 😀
Hi Zoltakk. Thanks for commenting. We're glad you find our lessons useful. Hope you have a wonderful day! 😃👍
Please explain more about other nouns,for example: knowledge,science,art :when to use ‘the’ ‘a/an’ or zero with these kinds of nouns
RUclipss is great for learning English
your classes are wonderful🙂🙂
Glad you like them! Thanks for your comment. 😃
Thank you very much!
You're welcome! Thanks for commenting & checking out the lesson. 👍
Very helpful lesson, thanks teacher
Glad to hear that! Thanks for your comment. 😃
Wes. It's late in time, but right now I'm watching the video.
My hello to you.
Hello there! Thanks for commenting & checking out the lesson. 👍
RUclips is great for learning English.
Thank you so much for teaching us. It's so helpful. I am Indonesian 🇮🇩.
Hi. How's it going? Thanks for commenting & checking out our lesson. Glad you found it useful. Have a wonderful day! 😃
Hi, thank you for the valuable clarification. Could you please tell us whether we use "the" before Society?
Glad you enjoyed the lesson. When it comes in the name, then you would use 'the.' (e.g. The Dead Poet's Society) 👍
I'm so thankful for this video. It's very helpful❤
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for your comment. 😊
It's great! Thx.
Glad it was helpful! 😃
you tube is great for learning english
Reforma street is one of the most popular and fancy streets in Mexico City. The Revolution Monument and The Independence Angel are important landmarks here too.
Hi am enjoying the lesson
That's great! Thanks for your comment. 😊
Thanks teacher
Glad you liked it! Thanks so much for your comment. 😊
Hello from Guatemala!!!! 🇬🇹
I like to drink coffee and water with lemon.
In my country there is a big river, its name is the Usumacinta River.
A famous street is Avenida Reforma.
Let’s practice:
Look at the cats over there.
Doctors say drinking soda is unhealthy.
Washington Boulevard is named after George Washington.
The Danube River flows into the Black Sea.
RUclips is great for learning English.
Mt. Everest is the tallest mountain in the world.
Which type of pizza is the best? For me the best pizza ever is hawaiian pizza (cheez + ham + pinnapple)
Superb lesson!!!
Hi Jacqueline. Thanks for commenting & sharing these sentences with us. Keep up the good work! 👍 Hope you have a wonderful weekend. 😊
thank you for your efforts, i am asking if a life courses for writing to avoid a poor English sentences are available
Glad you enjoy the lessons. Right now, we don't offer any writing courses but we may in the future. 👍
@@InteractiveEng thanks
Thanks it is is
Really helpful lesson 😌🙏😌🙏
It's my pleasure. Glad you enjoyed the lesson. 👍
Hi Wes, I'm from El Salvador but I live in New Jersey.
Hi Jeannette. Thanks for commenting & checking out the lesson. 👍
Thanks lot for such an insightful video. I am struggling a bit trying to understand the usecase of the definite article with nature. I understand that by using the article I am referring to something particular and not using it would convey a more general sense of the word. Could you please kindly check the sentence examples and let me know if I get it right?
## Particular
A. What do you love more about Norway?
B. I love the nature. It is fascinating.
## General
A. What are the principles of your group?
B. There are four but the most important one is the protection of nature.
Thank you wess it was very helpful .
Glad it was helpful! 😊
Tq u sir giving useful lesson
The River Niger, in Nigeria. The Third mainland Bridge, in Lagos Nigeria.
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I am from India,Odisha...❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thanks for commenting & checking out the lesson. 👍
Hi, Teacher Was. Nice to see you again.
uncountable plural nouns, specific situation, "THE" right?
uncountable plural nouns, general situation, zero article,right?
Countable singular nouns specific,the right?
Countable plural nouns, general, a/an, right?
Hi Annie. Yes, this is right. Keep up the good work! 👏
Well, its a great lesson. Thank you very very much!
Thanks for commenting & participating in the lesson Miguel. Way to go! 👏
Hello Sylla from France, very helpful video to me. Thank you !
Hi Sylla. Thanks for checking out the lesson. Keep watching, keep commenting, and keep up the good work. 👍
Thank you so much! I really appreciate that 💯✊🏼
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for checking out the lesson. 🤗
Lea from Brasil. Love your channel. Has helped me a lot.
Hi. What's up Lea? Thanks for commenting & checking out the lesson. We're glad you enjoy our videos. Have a great day! 😊
Thank you
👋 Watching from Brooklyn NY.
Awesome! Thanks for commenting & checking out the lesson. 👍
Hey, Wes. If I’m not mistaken, this is not the first time you mentioned the Oxford English Corpus. I visited their site but access to it is restricted. If that’s the case, don’t you think it’d be best to point that out?
A good lesson!
Thanks so much for commenting & checking out the lesson. 👍
@@InteractiveEng Why do we say ' The' Present Tense'?
Thanks a lot of these inportan video☺
You're very welcome. We're really glad that you find the lessons helpful. We'll do another live-lesson tomorrow afternoon (3:30pm GMT +2) if you'd like to join. If you're not available, the lesson will get posted afterwards. Enjoy the weekend! 😃
For me personally, double cheese pizza is the best out of every types of pizzas
Thanks for commenting & participating in the lesson. 👍
Keep going👍
Thank you, I will. Glad it was helpful! 👍
Hello, The Lerma River is in the State of Mexico
Nice. Thanks for commenting & participating in the lesson. Keep it up! 👍
very good video. thank you very much
Hi Rajandeep. Thanks for commenting & checking out the lesson. 😊
Great lesson thank you
We're glad you enjoyed the lesson. 😃 Hope you were able to learn something new about these tricky articles. Thanks so much for commenting. 👍
Hello sir, I have a question. When referring to household things like television, refrigerator do we need to use any article. I often hear people say I watched it on television, not "a television".
thank you so much
Glad you enjoyed the lesson. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Thanks a bunch for this fascinating lesson, I have a question: why do we say Lake Malawi instead of Malawi Lake in addition to saying Mt. Everest instead of Everest Mountain ?
It was really awesome. Thank you for your clear explanation
Hi Ramil. Thanks for commenting & checking out the lesson. 👍
great video as always .i have something to add if you allow me to the places that you guys do not use the with like iam in college iam at home is there a list of them that we have just to memorize or what thanks in advance
Thanks for commenting & checking out the lesson. There are some exceptions when it comes to using articles. Here's a good resource: www.englishpractice.com/improve/articles-special-rules-exceptions-2/ 😊
Interactive English thanks for the help keep up the good work
Hello from India, In a grammar book the chapter heading THE SENTENCE what is the referring to?
From Russia. Very useful video, Thank u！
Hi Maha. Thanks for commenting & checking out the lesson. Hope you have a great day. 😊
The amazon river.
what about the mountains.
what we use before mountains?
sorted.no article right? thank you!
You would have noticed in above paragraph. 2 you would have studied this in earlier classes. Do you think it would rain. Please explain to me the use of would in these sentenced.
thank you so much 😍
Glad you enjoyed the lesson. Thanks for commenting & have great day. 😊
Thank you for THE video.I had a lot of confusion over THE usage of articles before watching this video.But now I'm certain about their rules.
That's great. We're glad you found the lesson useful. 😃 Thanks for commenting! 👍
That's just what I need.
Glad to hear that! Thanks for participating in the lesson. 👍
My country has the Han River in Seoul(the most famous river in South Korea) and the Gold River in Sejong(not a famous one). Both are beautiful rivers.
Look at the cats over there.
Thanks for commenting & checking out the lesson. 👍
The you tube is great for learn english
You mentioned that we use the with names of bridges. But we say Westminster Bridge. Without an article. Am I correct?
Thanks for commenting & checking out the lesson. These are general guidelines to follow. There may always be some exceptions, such as Westminster Bridge. So you are correct. 😊
@@InteractiveEng Thank you for reply. Have a nice day.
You are great
Thanks so much Sharon. Glad you enjoyed the lesson. 👍
Ann from USA
Hi Ann. Thanks for checking out the lesson. 👍
Hi, Teacher Was. Nice to see you again.
Hi Annie. Nice to see you too. Thanks for commenting & have a great day! 😊
My pleasure.
Have you lived in San Fransisco? I completed there a massage school, I had stayed there for a couple of months. Colder than Los Angeles but there is a red forest close by! Have you been there?
Yes, we lived near San Francisco...the East Bay. We loved the area for it's geography and weather. However, the prices are insane.
Good evening.
The street names example reminds me of a funny story. When I was working in New York City doing a newsletter that was for reforming juveniles. They were at the center as an alternative to being in a gang, and most of them had already been in a gang but were out now and trying to reintegrate into a society that didn't follow gang rules.
This one kid said "My name's Jamal. That's my street name." One of the other staff said "That's not a street name. Park Avenue is a street name."
I learned advanced English and writing skills when doing the newsletter for that place. Most of the kids, who'd spoken English all their lives, didn't know the language that exists outside a gang. They have their own language. I couldn't understand half of what they said when they were new to the center.
Thanks for sharing with us Vicki. Your story really shows that there are many different varieties of English even within the US. Have a great day! 👍
Thank you for your efforts. The Nile River is in Egypt.
The main St. is Al Azar.
Italian pizza is the best.
Excellent work Aimanno. The sentences you wrote are perfect. Keep up the good work! 🙂
Again, truly I tell you, if two of you on earth agree about any matter that you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.
I would like to thAnk you for this lesson
Hi Aboba. Thanks for your comment. I'm glad you found the lesson useful. Have a nice day. 😃👍
You're The best ever Wes*
Thanks so much Furkat! Sorry you arrived late. Hope you were still able to watch the video and learn a few new things. We'll do another lesson next week (probably around the same time). 😀
sure, watched until the end and knew so many new things. I'll try my best next week to be on time
A very charming personality!
Thanks so much Yassir for checking out our lesson. Hope you had a nice weekend! 😃
Hey great job
Thanks for commenting & checking out the lesson. Hope you have a great day! 😊👍
it's a very interesting when we can use and when not the articles. In Spanish articles are used most of the time. I think another use of Definite article is when we mention something that is unique like planets, e.g the moon, the sun. is it correct? I barely remember this rule, but I know that exists hahaha.
I completely agree. English has some peculiar rules when it comes to articles, as well as exceptions to those rules. I never really gave it much thought until I began teaching. Then I realized how crazy & confusing articles can be. Thanks for commenting and have a great weekend Ricardo! 😀
Hi I like your channel
Thanks so much Hussein. We're glad you find our lessons useful. Have a nice day! 😊
In the sentence 'Camel is the ship of the desert ' why articles are not used before the word 'Camel'.What grammatical rules prevent putting articles before the word 'Camel'. Explain sir.
Hmm....I don't know why an article is not used. It doesn't make much sense. 🤔
@@InteractiveEng
Tell me whether the sentence is correct or not. Your reply is not educative. Are you a teacher or not. Then why are you replying 'It doesn't make much sense '?
@@atiurrahman7907 what country are you from? you’re so rude! He’s one of the best teachers on RUclips.. in order to learn a language you first need to adopt it and see whether it makes sense or not.. actually it’s YOU who makes no sense at all
Nice Video 👍👌👏
Thanks so much for your comment. Glad you joined the lesson. 😃👍
one like from Lalitpur, one of the districts in Nepal.
thx teacher
Thanks fro commenting! We're glad you enjoyed the lesson. Have a great day! 🎉
You must visit Uzbekistan😊👍🏻 you will really enjoy if you interested in the Central Asian history .
By the way, it was a bit confusing when after watching your video, I found another video about a/an articles, and there were telling that “beer” comes as a beer, “wine” comes as a wine...
as you were explaining about the article “the”, I thought maybe there difference when you saying about non countable noun as indefinite noun?! Please make a video about a/an indefinite article:)
Yes, a trip to Uzbekistan would be wonderful. 😊 And that's a great question. The word "beer" can be challenging because it's used as both a count and non-count noun. For the most part, it's a non-count noun just like the word "wine." For example: I like to drink beer. / I like to drink wine. (no article before these non-count nouns). However, "beer" is also used as a count noun and the quantifier is omitted. Often these non-count nouns would have a quantifier. (a glass of wine/a bowl of rice/a piece of paper). In all honesty, you wouldn't say "a wine," and use it as a count noun without a quantifier. But you can do this with beer. In this case, someone might as for "a beer. " "What would you like to drink? -- "I'll have a beer." In this example, the person would be referring to a glass of beer/bottle of beer/can of beer, and the quantifier is understood which is why it's omitted. Hope this helps! 👍
I am studying English right now.
Hello,Mr.Wes.I am Ulpan.I like to drink apple juice.The river in Kazahstan is the Ishym river.
Hi Ulpan. Thanks for commenting & checking out the lesson. 👍
thank you Sr :D
You're very welcome. Thanks so much for commenting.😃 I hope you enjoyed the lesson. For more super awesome live-lessons, check these out: 👍
5 Phrasal Verbs with GET: ruclips.net/video/koMJWojuEr8/видео.html
How to Become a Faster Reader: ruclips.net/video/SPWFQOOybiU/видео.html
Tricky Preposition: ruclips.net/video/Kfni3VsYGvI/видео.html
5 Tips to Improve English Fluency: ruclips.net/video/zKyJeHWp3qs/видео.html
i'll thak you :D
No problem! Have a great day. 😊 👍
Hello Mr. I want to know what the 2 sentences are I go to school with my friend . And another one . I go to the school with my friend .and We go to Hospistal today .and We go to the Hospistal today . So can you tell me about the and no the ,thank you 🙂❤️👍
Sir,while teaching I said lunch was at 1a.m.my students did not agree with me.They said I should not use 1 a.m.But,I know I was right.I do not remember where I read that.Please help with this.am I wrong or right in saying so?.I request your guidance.P Siva Rao,India.
Thanks so much for your comment. In this case, 1 o'clock a.m. refers to nighttime (an hour after midnight). People may typically eat lunch around 1 p.m. 😃👍
Hi Sylvie here the Garonne is the river of Bordeaux !
Thanks for commenting & sharing with us Sylvie. We'd love to visit Bordeaux some day. 😊
Hello!
Look at the cats over there.
Doctors say drinking soda is inhealthy.
Washington Boulvard is named after George Washington.
The Danube River flows into the Black Sea.
You Tube is good for learning English.
Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world.
Pepperoni pizza is the best!
Hurray! I got it😁Thanks a lot,Wes! HAVE A GREAT DAY WHENEVER YOU READ THIS😁
Thanks so much for commenting & sharing with us. Hope you have a great day as well. 👍
When it comes to nouns and using the definite/indefinite articles, English is way easier (or at least less confusing) than German.
You're right about that. I remember trying to learn the different articles in German a long time ago. Difficult stuff. Thanks for your comment Vicki. 👍
Is it grammatically right to use an article(The) before Zero,eg.who invented the zero
I guess yes since there’s a rule which says we should use articles with inventions
the danube river flows into the black sea
Sabana Grande Is a famous street in my country.
if it was "Doctor" in the singular? Would this continue without the article?