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Hi, everybody,
welcome to www.engvid.com, I'm Adam.
In today's video, I want to talk
to you about the zero article.
Now, some of you might
not be familiar with this word.
The zero article is basically the situations
in which we don't use any article.
"A", "an", "the",
these are definite and indefinite articles.
Zero article means no article.
So, I'm going to give you nine situations
or nine rules where you should not use an
article.
And like it is with English in many ways,
there are also exceptions.
So, the rule is pretty general, but there
are specific exceptions or situations where
the rule does not apply,
and I will point these out as well.
So, we're going to start
with a few very basic ones.
To be honest with you, the only way to understand
- not understand, to remember these is just
to memorize them
and practice them.
Just know the rules and just keep
remembering them whenever you're writing.
When I get to the last two or three rules,
it gets a little bit trickier, but for the
beginning it's just very straightforward,
just remember, okay?
So,
we're going to start with country names.
All country names
do not take an article.
So, Canada, or England, or Brazil, or Iran,
or China, or Vietnam, etc., no article.
But there are exceptions,
and I wrote this for short.
I'll just write it out for you
if you want to make sure.
An exception is the one or two
times where the rule does not apply.
So, any country that has the word "republic",
"federation", or "united" in the name of the
country takes "the".
So, for example, Korea, there's two
ways to refer to the country, South Korea.
One is just Korea, or South Korea, or the
more technical, formal name is "the Republic
of Korea", Russia,
or "the Russian Federation".
So, as soon as you see these words
in the name of the country, add "the".
If the country is plural, add "the", so "the
Philippines", "the Virgin Islands", "the Seychelles",
etc.
"The Bahamas".
As soon as there's an "s" as a plural, add
"the", and of course there's "the Vatican",
which is technically its own country, it's
special, there's only one, so we put "the".
Otherwise, no article.
Now, that's country name, now we're talking
about the people who live in these countries,
so nationalities,
when we're making a general reference.
So, if you go to the UN, like in that side
of the building, that's where the Americans
are sitting, the Russians sit on the
other side, they separate from each other.
So, when you're talking about people, and
you're describing people, then you use "the".
Otherwise, in a general reference,
nationalities, you don't use "the", no article.
But again, there's an exception.
If the nationality is the same word as the
language that they speak, then you use "the".
Then you use the definite article,
right?
So, "the French speak French".
"The French" means the French people
speak French, the French language.
Canadians, however,
speak English.
So, Canadians and English,
two different words, no article.
Same word for nationality and language,
the nationality gets an article.
But that leads us to rule number three,
languages.
Languages don't get an article.
No exceptions.
All languages, English, French, Russian, Persian,
Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, whatever, no article.
Four, sports.
So, all sports don't get an article, but - and
this is not really an exception, but it can
often be confused - sporting events do get
an article, because there's only one of them.
There are definite events, so "the Olympics",
"the US Open", "the", whatever other events
there are.
Again, some of them are not.
It's a Wimbledon tennis match, I'm not sure
if there's an actual formal name for it or
if it's just Wimbledon tennis match, but most
sporting events get "the", because they're
very specific and
only one of them.
So, these are very easy, you just have to
remember the rules, and most importantly,
remember the exceptions.
That's where people
get a little bit confused.
Let's look at some more.
Okay, so now we have a few more rules, and
again, these are the ones that you're just
going to memorize and try to remember, and
keep in mind that most of these rules are
especially important in writing.
Of course, they're important in speaking as
well, but if you make mistakes, people will
still generally understand
what you're saying.
In writing, it can make a big difference to
the flow, to the feel of the writing, so try
to remember these and
apply them whenever you can.
So, next, number five,
we're looking at academic subjects.
Now, individual subjects don't take an article,
but when you group them into a category, then
the category will take an article,
it will take "the".
So, for example, philosophy is just a subject,
it doesn't take an article, but philosophy
is part of the humanities.
The humanities, like philosophy,
English, all these things that go together.
The sciences, the arts.
Whenever you have a grouping,
add "the".
Individual subjects, no article.
Number six, so now we have a few
geographical or geographic features.
These you have to be - they're a little bit
hard to remember because you're not going
to use these things, you're not going to refer
to geographic regions very often, but you
should still remember when to
use an article and when not to.
And again,
it's just memorization.
So, single mountains that
are named don't take an article.
So, for example, Mount Fuji,
Mount Everest, Mount Kilimanjaro.
Because you have the mount, the mount acts
as the identifier, as the definite modifier
to the name.
So, Mount Fuji.
But when you have mountain ranges, when you
have a group of mountains, then - and you
name the group, again, it's the same as the
subjects, the categories, then you add "the".
So, "the Rockies", "the Swiss Alps",
"the Himalayan Range", etc.
Next, we have lakes and bays.
A bay is like a lake, except one
end is open to the sea or the ocean.
A lake is within land,
surrounded by land.
So,
lakes and bays don't take an article.
So, Lake Baikal in Russia,
or the Hudson Bay in Canada, no article.
Again, if you're going to put a group, like
in North America, like between Canada and
the US,
there are "the Great Lakes".
There are five lakes, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie,
Lake Huron, etc., "the Great Lakes" as the
group.
Individuals, not.
But seas, oceans,
gulfs, and rivers, "the".
The Mississippi, the Mediterranean Sea, the
Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, okay?
The Mississippi River,
the Nile River, etc.
Other features, like canyons, valleys, or
fjords, all these things, because there's
only one of them, if it's named, then you add
"the", because you're specifying one only.
But again, it's not that often you're going
to be talking about the Grand Canyon, so you
should be able to remember.
Next, number seven, proper names, and this
is where it gets - it starts to get a little
bit confusing.
Seven, and then eight and nine are a little
bit more confusing, so I'll slow it down.
When you're talking about persons, so an individual
person who you're - whom you're referring
to by name does
not take an article.
You don't say "the Bob",
"the Wendy".
You just say their names, right?
Companies, you don't say "the Apple", you
just say "Apple Corp", or "IBM", or "Amazon",
or whatever company
you're talking about.
Schools.
Now, schools generally do not take an
article, but we have an exception here.
Schools that have "of"
in their name take "the".
So, for example,
Harvard University, no "the".
The University of Toronto,
with "the".
So, any school name that has "of",
the College of Medicine, right?
Anything that has an "of" in it, even if it's
a small one, "the London School of Economics",
then you're going to add "the".
No "of", no "the".
Again, just remember that.
There's no - I can't really tell
you why that is, it's a little strange.
And then another exception, museums - oh sorry,
so we also had organizations, proper names,
but museums, galleries, churches, or basically
anything that's like a little bit touristy,
and there's only one "of",
then you add "the".
So, "the Metropolitan Museum", "the
Uffizi Gallery", "the Sacré-Cœur", right?
So, these are very specific places, there's
only one of them, and that's why we're adding
"the", to make them individuals.
So, again, memorize, practice,
look for in your reading and writing.
Let's look at number eight and nine,
and they'll be a little bit trickier.
Okay, so we have two more rules to get through,
and these ones can be a little bit tricky
sometimes,
and I'll show you why.
So, when we have other modifiers, sometimes
these modifiers act as the pointer, right?
So, what does "the" do?
"The" signifies that something
is a definite noun, right?
Other modifiers can do the same job,
especially these three.
They're not the only ones, but these are the
most common ones that you can use instead
of the article.
So, possessive pronouns, "my",
"your", "his", "her", "their", etc.
So, these, when I say "my book", the "my"
makes it definitely, it's mine, it's not yours,
it's not his,
it's not someone else's, right?
So, that word "my" makes the book definite,
so I don't need "the" to make it definite,
right?
That's why you don't
mix the two together.
And this is a bit of a problem that
some people have, they will mix the two.
So, for example, "Someone returned
the my book that I lost last week."
So, obviously, you should recognize that I
can say, "Someone returned the book that I
lost last week", because I'm identifying the
book, so it's a definite book, or, "Someone
returned my book
that I lost last week."
Okay?
Now, technically, when I have "my book",
the "my" identifies the book.
So, this becomes non-identifying, and I would
switch it to "which", if I want to give that
extra information, right?
Because otherwise, you have two things
identifying the book, and it's unnecessary.
If you use "the", keep "that".
If you use "my",
switch to "which".
So, that's a little bit tricky.
That's why people get confused, because they're
not sure what is doing the function of identifying,
what is doing the function of making something
definite, so you have to be a little bit careful
about that.
Same with
demonstrative pronouns.
"This", "that", "these",
"those", "it", "they", etc.
So, "Pass me that, the cup".
So, "Pass me that cup", or "Pass me the cup",
as long as the person listening understands
which cup you're referring
to when you say "the".
So, in this case, again,
I don't need "the", no article.
I don't need "the", no article, but make sure
that the other modifier you're using identifies
or makes the noun definite.
And again,
quantifiers are other modifiers.
There are a few other modifiers.
The key is not which modifier you're using,
the key is the function of the modifier, to
identify,
to make something definite.
So, that's another rule.
This one is not so much about memorization,
this one is about recognizing the situation
of the sentence, so you have
to be a little bit more careful.
The other rules I gave you
were just remember them.
This one, understand it,
a little different.
And the same with number nine.
When you make a general reference to uncountable
and abstract nouns, you're not going to use
an article, so some examples.
People need to
drink water regularly.
Water is an uncountable noun, so you can't
make it definite, but the water in the glass
is warm.
So, here I'm talking about a specific quantity
of water, so I can make it definite, because
I am also the water
that is in the glass.
I'm identifying this particular quantity,
not water in general.
So, in general,
uncountable, no "the".
Specific, quantified, "the".
Oh, that's a little bit clear.
Now, when you have abstract nouns,
abstract nouns are basically an idea.
You can't actually hold onto it,
you can't touch it, you can't see it, etc.
Love is beautiful.
Love is generally an idea, a feeling, so there's
no "the", but a mother's love is beautiful.
"A", indefinite, because we're not talking -
we're not sure which mother, but we're talking
about a specific type of love, but again,
different mothers, different loves, that's
the idea.
The love a mother gives her child cannot be
matched by anything else, so that specific
love that a mother gives to a child, any mother,
any child, then it's a bit more definite,
then I would use "the".
But general reference,
abstract, no "the".
Hope it's a little bit clear.
Now, somebody asked very specifically about
certain nouns that they think are specific,
but in fact are
kind of abstract.
So, for example,
"take office" or "run for office".
The word "office" is not a room
with a desk and a computer.
Office is a position, it's a political
position, it's an abstract position.
You can't actually see it or
touch it or do anything with it.
An office, like a physical office, has walls,
a door, a ceiling and a floor, it's a real
thing.
"Run for office" or "take office" in terms
of politics, just an abstract idea, okay?
And "president", now, he ran for president,
president here is not a person, president
here, again,
is an abstract idea.
He ran for the presidency of the country,
right?
So, he ran for president,
just a bit shorter.
This is a position,
this is an idea.
What is a president, actually?
It's just a person who everybody
agrees is the president once he's elected.
So, the idea of the presidency, and then once
the person has the title, then notice it's
a capital P, then this is an official job
title, and then it's something specific that
you can actually put a "the" for,
something more definite.
So, the question is not, like, it's not a
trick trying to say when to take the article
out or when to add the article.
The key is to understand the
function of the word, president, office.
These are actually abstract ideas, and when
we're referring to them in general, then we're
not going to use an article.
When we're referring to something more specific,
concrete, definite, we're going to add the
article "the",
the definite article "the".
Okay, so that's it, nine rules.
I know it's a lot of information,
but again, remember, some of it, memorize.
These two in particular, make sure you actually
understand what is going on and be able to
recognize when another modifier is working
for you instead of the article, and when you
have abstract and
uncountable nouns.
Once you understand that, it's much easier
to recognize what's going on in your reading,
hopefully much easier to apply this to your
writing, to make sure you don't lose style
points, I guess, and grammar points
if you're taking IELTS or TOEFL, etc.
So, if you have any questions about any of
this, please go to www.engvid.com and ask
in the comments section.
I'll do my best to help you
understand this a little bit more clearly.
There's also a quiz that you should take to
try to practice your understanding of when
not to use an article,
especially definite article.
And that's it.
I hope you liked the video.
If you did, give me a like, don't forget to
subscribe to my channel and ring the bell
for notifications
of future videos.
And come back for more grammar tips,
vocab, other stuff, etc.
See you again soon.
Bye.
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About this lesson
Learn 9 essential rules for when not to use an article (a, an, the) in English.