Перед каждым нарицательным существительным должен стоять артикль.

Артикль не употребляется, если перед существительным стоит:

– притяжательное местоимение my, your, his, her, its, our, their, mine, yours, hers, ours, theirs

My (нет артикля) bicycle is very good. – Мой велосипед очень хороший.

– указательное местоимение this, these, that, those, it, such, the same

That (нет артикля) man is her father. – Тот мужчина – ее отец.

– другое существительное в притяжательном падеже

Her dog’s (нет артикля) name is Bob. – Имя ее собаки – Боб.

– количественное числительное

They have two (нет артикля) cars. – У них две машины.

– отрицание no (не not!)

I have no (нет артикля) friend. – У меня нет друга.

I am not a teacher. – Я не учитель.

Упоминая предмет впервые, мы употребляем перед ним неопределенный артикль a (an), который может употребляться только с исчисляемыми существительными, стоящими в единственном числе. Перед неисчисляемыми существительными или существительными во множественном числе неопределенный артикль опускается.

Артикль a ставится перед существительными, начинающимися с гласного звука, артикль an ставится перед существительными, начинающимися с согласного звука.

Ниже приведены неисчисляемые существительные, поделенные на несколько смысловых групп:

еда: meat, salt, bread, chocolate, soup;

жидкости: tea, coffee, lemonade, petrol, oil, shampoo;

материалы и вещества: gold, wood, sand, paper, coal;

абстрактные понятия: happiness, love, friendship, beauty;

предметы изучения и языки: chemistry, literature, Spanish;

болезни: flu, mumps, measles;

другое: money, furniture, weather.

Упоминая этот же предмет вторично, мы ставим перед ним определенный артикль the, который употребляется с исчисляемыми и неисчисляемыми существительными в единственном и множественном числе.

This is a computer. The computer is new. (computer – исчисляемое существительное в единственном числе)

This is (нет артикля) meat. The meat is lean. (meat – неисчисляемое существительное)

These are (нет артикля) magazines. The magazines are interesting. (magazines – исчисляемое существительное во множественном числе)

Упражнения

Запомните:

This is a/an … , That is a/an … , It is a/an …

I have a/an … , He has a/an … , I see a/an …

I am a/an … , He is a/an … , She is a/an …

a lot of

В восклицательных фразах, начинающихся со слова what, далее следует неопределенный артикль a/an и отсутствует вспомогательный глагол to be.

What a good boy!

What a long story!

What a day!

What a smart girl!

What a lovely view!

What a pity!

What a surprise!

Если после глаголов to have, to cook, to make, to prepare, следуют слова breakfast/lunch/tea/dinner/supper, то артикль не употребляется.

Упражнение 1

Вставьте артикль, где необходимо.

1. This is … pen. That is … pencil. 2. When is your … birthday? – My … birthday is (on) … 1st May. 3. He hasn’t got … car. But he’s got … computer. … computer is new. 4. This is … book. It is my … book. 5. Do you remember your mother’s … birthday? Yes, I do. 6. His … friends have got … cat and … dog. … dog never bites … cat. 7. Is this your … pencil? – No, it isn’t my … pencil, it is my sister’s … pencil. 8. His … uncle is generous and her … aunt is very kind. 9. This is … tree. … tree is green. 10. I have … sister. My … sister is … engineer. My sister’s … husband is … doctor. They have got two … children. 11. That … man is very clever. His … book is recognized by a lot of people. 12. I can see three … boys. … boys are playing. 13. This is … girl. This … girl is their … daughter. Their daughter’s … name is Ann. 14. They know our … address. 15. I have … bicycle. … bicycle is black. My … friend has no … bicycle.

Упражнение 2

Вставьте артикль, где необходимо.

1. That is … boy. That … boy is her … brother. Her brother’s … name is Nick. 2. Their … son speaks English very well. 3. Our … room is large. 4. This is our … flat. 5. My cousin’s … dog is small. Its … hair is curly. 6. We wrote … dictation yesterday. … dictation was long. 7. We have got … car. Our … car is not very expensive but reliable. 8. Is this … watch? – No, it isn’t … watch, it’s … pen. 9. She has two … daughters and one … son. Her … son is … pupil. 10. I have no … pet. 11. This … pen is good, and that … pen is bad. 12. Last year I gave my … mother … bracelet for her … birthday. She liked … bracelet. 13. My granny has got … headache. She has no … idea what to do. 14. I can see … pencil on your … table, but I can see no … paper. 15. My … brother’s … friend has no … dog.

Упражнение 3

Вставьте артикль, где необходимо.

1. I have … friend. His … name is Mike. My … friend is very good. 2. Give me … chair, please. 3. This … pencil is broken. Give me that … pencil, please. 4. It’s … cat. Its … tail is long and bushy. It’s Mike’s … cat. 5. They have … dog and two … cats. 6. She has … ball. … ball is … big. 7. It’s … lion. … lion is angry. 8. I have … spoon in my … soup plate, but I have no … soup in it. 9. I got … letter from my … friend yesterday. … letter was interesting. 10. My … friend says he is going to be … millionaire one … day. 11. When they were in Geneva, they stayed at … hotel. Sometimes they had dinner at … hotel and sometimes in … restaurant. 12. Would you like … orange? 13. I’ve got … idea. 14. Mr. Smith is … artist. Mrs. Smith is … poetess. She is not … singer. 15. What … surprise! Our … parents gave us … DVD player for Christmas

Запомните:

Фразы утром, днем (с 12 до 18 часов), вечером употребляются с предлогом in и определенным артиклем.

in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening

Фраза ночью употребляется с предлогом at без артикля.

at night

Фразы в школе, дома, на работе употребляются с предлогом at без артикля.

at school, at home, at work

Фраза смотреть телевизор употребляется без предлога и без артикля.

to watch TV

Упражнение 4

Вставьте артикль, где необходимо.

1. This is … pen. … pen is red. 2. I have two … sisters. My … sisters are … students. 3. These are pencils. … pencils are black. 4. We are at … home. 5. This is … soup. … soup is so tasty. 6. My … brother is not at … home, he is at … school. 7. In the morning I eat … sandwich and drink … tea. 8. My … mother is at … work. She is … doctor. 9. She gave me … coffee and … cake. … coffee was hot. … cake was very tasty. 10. I am not … doctor. 11. Do you like … ice cream? 12. He has no … sister. 13. I see … book in your … hand. Is … book interesting? 14. He is not … pilot. 15. Do you need … camera?

Упражнение 5

Вставьте артикль, где необходимо.

1. I have thirty-two … teeth. 2. He never eats … meat, he always eats … vegetables, … cereals, … seeds, … fruit, and … nuts. He is … vegetarian. 3. He has … child. 4. This is … pineapple. … pineapple is delicious. 5. She has two … children. Her children are at … school. 6. Elaine, … apples are good for you! 7. Is your father at … home? – No, he is at … work. 8. My … cousin is upset. He’s got … sore throat. 9. Where is your … brother? – He is at … home. 10. This is … cottage cheese. … cottage cheese is fresh. 11. Where is your … mother? – She is at … home. 12. She bought … meat, … butter and … potatoes yesterday. She also bought … cake. … cake was … delicious. We ate … cake and drank … tea. 13. This is my … chair. 14. This is my … table. On … table I have … books, two … pencils, … pen and … paper. 15. This is … bag. … bag is brown. It is my sister’s … bag. And this is my … bag. It is … yellow.

Запомните:

Если перед существительным употребляется прилагательное, то оно стоит между неопределенным артиклем и существительным.

This is a car. This is a new book.

Даже упоминая предмет впервые, мы, тем не менее, употребляем перед ним определенный артикль:

а) если упоминаемый предмет является единственным в мире:

The sky is blue.

б) если этот предмет является определенным по ситуации:

Put the pen on the shelf.

Упражнение 6

Вставьте артикль, где необходимо.

1. We have … large … family. 2. What’s … weather like today? – … weather is fine. 3. This is … good … book. Take … book from … table. Put this … book in … bookcase. 4. My granny of-ten tells us … long … interesting … stories. 5. … sun is yellow. 6. … weather is fine today. … sky is blue. … sun is shining brightly in … blue … sky. 7. My … father is … engineer. He works in … factory. … factory is large. 8. … sky is grey today. 9. This is … boy. … boy is at … school. He is … pupil. This … boy is my … brother’s … friend. He has … cat, but he has no … dog. He likes his … cat. He gives … cat … milk every day. 10. My … mother is … doctor. She works at … large … hospital. She is at … work now. 11. … Earth is … planet. 12. Yesterday I received … letter from my … friend. … letter was important.

Упражнение 7

Вставьте артикль, где необходимо.

1. My … aunt is … teacher. She works at … school. … school is good. My … aunt is not at … school now. She is at … home. She is drinking … tea and eating … jam. … jam is sweet. I am at … home, too. I am drinking … tea and eating … sandwich. … sandwich is tasty. 2. We had … English lesson yesterday. … teacher asked me many … questions. … questions were difficult. 3. We live in … big house. I like … house very much. 4. My sister is at … school. She is … pupil. 5. Where is your … brother? – He is at … home. He is in his … room. He is sitting at … table. He is doing his … homework. … homework is difficult. 6. Are you … worker? – No, I am … student. 7. My cousin has … big … black … cat. My cousin’s … cat has two … kittens. … cat likes … milk. … kittens like … milk, too. 8. Our … cat is sitting on … sofa. 9. I like your … beautiful … flower. Give me … flower, please. 10. I am … engineer. 11. It is very dark in … room. Turn on … light, please. 12. My … mother is at … home. She is reading … marvellous … story.

Упражнение 8

Вставьте артикль, где необходимо.

1. My … son is … pupil. 2. Nick went into … bathroom, turned on … water and washed his … hands. 3. My … father is not at … home. He is at … work. He is not … lawyer. He is … doctor. He is … good … doctor. He works at … hospital. … hospital is large. 4. He is … good … pupil. 5. Ann turned on … television to watch … evening news. 6. That is… book. … book is thick. That … book isn’t thin. This is … interesting thick book. 7. This is … house. 8. She doesn’t often watch … TV. 9. Those are … books. … books are new and old. Those are … new and old books. Those … books are interesting. 10. This is my … laptop. 11. You can’t see … moon in … sky tonight. 12. You have some … pencils, but I have no … pencil. Give me … pencil, please. 13. It’s … small … animal that has … long … ears, … short … tail, and … soft … hair.

Запомните:

Если предложение начинается с вопросительного слова Where, то перед подлежащим следует определенный артикль.

Where is the … ?

Если предложение начинается с оборота There is, то перед подлежащим следует неопределенный артикль.

There is a … .

Упражнение 9

Вставьте артикль, где необходимо.

1. There is … big tree in … garden. 2.There is … wonderful small computer in … front of … books there. 3. I see … bottle of … pineapple … juice on … kitchen table. 4. There is … bank near here. – Where is … bank? 5. Where is … soup? – … soup is in … big saucepan on … gas cooker. 6. Her … son has … great … sense of … humor. 7. There is … new supermarket in … centre of our … town. 8. Where are … cutlets? – … cutlets are in … refrigerator on … little plate. 9. There was … disco at … club last Sunday but he didn’t go. 10. There is … hotel over there. … hotel isn’t cheap. 11. There is no … bread on … table. Where is … bread? 12. Is there … bus stop near … building? 13. Where is … cat? – … cat is on … sofa.

Упражнение 10

Вставьте артикль, где необходимо.

1. There is … little brown coffee table in our … room in … front of … sofa. 2. We have … big dog. … dog is very clever. 3. Where is … book? – … book is on … shelf. 4. Where is … table in your … room? 5. My friend has … very good computer. 6. Where are … flowers? – … flowers are in … beautiful vase. 7. There is … thick carpet on … floor in my mother’s … room. 8. This … boy is big. He is … student. 9. Where is … vase? – … vase is on … little table near … window. 10. Is your brother at … home? – No, he is at … work. He works in … big factory. He is … engineer. 11. There is … large piano in … hall. 12. Open … window, please. … weather is fine today. I can see … sun in … sky. I can see … nice little bird. … bird is sitting in … big tree. … tree is green. 13. My sister has many … books. … books are in … big bookcase. She has really … good … taste in … books.

Упражнение 11

Вставьте артикль, где необходимо.

1. This is … tree and that is not … tree. It’s … bush. 2. There is … little white cloud in … sky. 3. … weather is fine today. Let’s go and play in … yard. There are many … children in … yard. They are playing with … ball. 4. I am … boy. I am … pupil. I study at … school. 5. What … beautiful … day! 6. My sister is at … work. She is … secretary. She works for … new company. 7. We have … large room. There is … big sofa in … room and … little lamp on … wall over … sofa. I like to sit on … sofa and read … good book. 8. This is … very difficult question. I don’t know … answer to it. 9. This is … computer. … computer isn’t old. This … computer is new. This is … good new computer. 10. Do you see … little girl with … big ball in her … hands? She is … pupil of our … school. 11. These are … computers. … computers are new. These aren’t … old computers. These are … new computers. These … computers are good. 12. There was … beautiful flower in this … vase yesterday. Where is … flower now? 13. Last year we were in Geneva. It is … exciting city to visit, but … very expensive place to live.

Запомните:

Фразы в середине, в углу употребляются с предлогом in и определенным артиклем.

in the middle, in the corner

Фразы справа, слева употребляется с предлогом to и определенным артиклем.

to the right, to the left

Если после конструкции there is (there are) стоит неисчисляемое существительное или существительное во множественном числе, то вместо опущенного неопределенного артикля часто (не обязательно) употребляется слово some.

Упражнение 12

Вставьте артикль, где необходимо.