1. 不定冠词主要表示泛指和与one 同源,含"一"的意思。a 用在以辅音音素开头的名词前,an 用在以元音音素开头的名词前,如:
a university a man a book
an umbrella an egg an honest child
2. 定冠词 the 主要表示特指的人或物及第二次提到的人或物,或世界上独一无二的东西,如:
the sun the moon the world the earth
和形容词连用,代表一类人,如:
the blind the dead the poor the rich
he wounded the young the unemployed
3. 在下列情况下不用冠词:
a. 特殊的专有名词前,如:
John Smith
b. 物质名词表示类别时,如:
Gold is a precious metal.
c. 抽象名词表示泛指时, 如:
Knowledge is power.
d. 在季节、月份、日期、节日前,如:
February
e. 在餐名、运动、游戏等名词前,如:
Sports is good for health.
f. 在school, hospital, church, prison等词前,当这些词着重表示功用而不是这些建筑物或物体本身时,如:
She went to school at seven.
(但 She went to the school to see
her teacher.)
g. 在表示"种类"的短语,如:
a kind (sort) of tree,
two kinds (sorts) of books.
h. 带有表示顺序的基数词前,如:
Lesson One (但 the First Lesson).
i. 表示独一的职位,头衔等的名词前,如:
He was elected president of the
society.
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