Articolele A An și The

A. Forma – in engleza articolele au doua forme: nehotarat A sau AN si hotarat THE. Articolele sunt invariabile si nu au gen.

1. A se foloseste in fata cuvinteleor cu sunet consonantic, chiar daca prima litera e o vocala. AN se foloseste in fata cuvintelor care incep cu vocalasau h mut. Ambele se pot folosi numai cu substantive numarabile (countable) la singular:

a dog a computer

a woman a university (sunet consonantic)

a house an hour (h mut)

a building a European (sunet consonantic)

an orange an actor

an idea an organization

2. THE se foloseste in fata oricarui substantiv numarabil (countable) sau nenumarabil (uncountable), atat la singular cat si la plural:

the dog the dogs

the computer the computers

the atmosphere the universities

the house the oil

the eggs the infomation

B. Utilizare – A sau AN.

1. inaintea unui substantiv pentru a ne referi la ceva sau cineva pentru prima data:

I’ve received a postcard from a friend of mine in the US.

After months of searching, my brother found a job.

The Jacksons live in a bungalow.

2. pentru a exprima ce este ceva sau cineva, inclusiv slujbe sau profesii:

My neighbour is a sociologist and his wife is an architect.

Jenny doesn’t eat meat; she’s a vegetarian.

There is a man at the door who says he is a detective.

That was a kind thing to say.

3. dupa verbul be sau alte verbele copulative, cand dupa ele urmeaza locutiuni prepozitionala sau propozitii relative care ofera mai multa informatie despre cineva sau ceva:

I read an interesting article about pollution in yesterday’s paper.

Jack’s son is a talented artist.

He studied law at University and became a judge.

I bought a painting that reminded me of my childhood home.

John Smith wrote an interesting article on Education in the ‘Times’ yesterday.

4. cu unele expresii numerice insemnand “unu” sau su expresii ale pretului, vitezei, raportului si cantitatii:

A hundred guests were invited.

Petrol costs £ 1.50 a litre in England.

He’s crazy driving at 190 kilometres an hour.

You must take this medicine four times a day if you want to get better.

There was a great deal of noise coming form the house next door.

5. cu substantive numarabile la singular pentru a da definitii, a face afirmatii generale, exclamatii sau cand ne exprimam dorinte:

A thesaurus is a dictionary of synonyms.

A house built of stone is stronger than a house built of wood.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. (proverb)

Wow! What a pretty girl walked by just now.

I’d like a nice cool glass of beer.