Articles for things in general
Life is short, but the life of a soldier; tigers or the tiger; the rich, the French: articles when we generalise.
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English has three ways to talk about a whole kind of thing, and each needs a different article. The most common is a plural or uncountable noun with no article: Tigers are big cats. Life is short. At A2 you met this for things in general. This page adds abstract nouns (life, love, nature), the + singular noun for a whole kind (the tiger), and the + adjective for a group of people (the rich).
Form | Example | Use |
|---|---|---|
plural, no article | Tigers are in danger. | the most usual, any style |
the + singular | The tiger is in danger. | a whole kind, more formal |
a / an + singular | A tiger can swim. | any one of the kind |
the + adjective | The rich are getting richer. | a group of people |
Abstract nouns in general: no article
Abstract nouns like life, love, nature, time, history, society and happiness take no article when they have their general meaning.
- Life is too short to worry about everything.
- I love nature, so I go walking every weekend.
- Time is money.
- Society has changed a lot in the last twenty years.
- Incorrect: The life is beautiful.
- Correct: Life is beautiful.Life in general takes no article.
- Incorrect: I'm very interested in the nature.
- Correct: I'm very interested in nature.
The life of ...: a particular one
When the noun is made particular, often by of + a noun after it, use the.
- The life of a soldier is hard.
- She is writing a book about the history of Moscow.
- The nature of the problem is not clear yet.
(Here nature means "what kind of thing it is".)
- Incorrect: History of this building is very interesting.
- Correct: The history of this building is very interesting.One particular history, made particular by of this building.
With other words after the noun the choice is less fixed. Life in a big city is expensive is usual, without the, because it still means city life in general.
The + singular noun: a whole kind
The + a singular countable noun can stand for a whole kind: an animal, a plant, an invention, a musical instrument. It is common in science, history and other formal writing. In everyday speech, the plural with no article is more usual.
- The tiger is in danger of dying out.
- Who invented the telephone?
- The smartphone has changed the way we live.
- Incorrect: Tiger is in danger of dying out.
- Correct: The tiger is in danger of dying out. / Tigers are in danger of dying out.A singular countable noun needs an article.
A / an: any one of a kind
A or an + a singular noun means "any one example of this kind". It works for something that is true of each one, but not for something that is true only of the kind as a whole.
- A dog needs a lot of exercise.
(Any dog, each dog.)
- A good teacher listens to students.
- Incorrect: A tiger is in danger of dying out.
- Correct: The tiger is in danger of dying out.Dying out is about the whole kind, not about any one tiger.
The + adjective: groups of people
The + an adjective can mean a group of people: the rich, the poor, the young, the old, the elderly, the unemployed, the homeless, the injured. It takes a plural verb, and the adjective has no -s.
- The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer.
- The government should do more for the homeless.
- Incorrect: The young is usually good with technology.
- Correct: The young are usually good with technology.The + adjective means people, so the verb is plural.
- Incorrect: This charity helps the poors.
- Correct: This charity helps the poor. / This charity helps poor people.The adjective never takes -s.
To talk about one person, use a noun: a rich man, a homeless person.
Nationalities
Nationality words that end in -sh, -ch, -ese or -ss work the same way, with the and a plural verb: the British, the French, the Chinese, the Swiss. Others are ordinary plural nouns with -s, with or without the: Russians, the Americans, Italians.
- The Swiss have four national languages.
- Most Canadians speak English, French or both.