Articles with Class Nouns
She is ________ doctor, and her brother is ________ engineer at ________ factory in Detroit.
She is a doctor (predicative noun), and her brother is an engineer (predicative noun) at a factory (noun belonging to a certain class) in Detroit.
________ patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
Patience is bitter (general sense), but its fruit is sweet.
________ gold is ________ precious metal.
Gold (general sense) is a precious metal (descriptive attribute).
________ Everest is ________ highest mountain in the world.
Everest (mountain peak) is the highest mountain (adjective in the superlative degree) in the world.
After leaving ________ school, he went to ________ prison for ________ year.
After leaving school (noun loses its concrete meaning, denotes purpose), he went to prison (purpose) for a year (= one year).
I saw ________ man walking ________ dog down ________ street where I live.
I saw a man walking a dog (belonging to a certain class) down the street where I live (limiting attribute).
He spoke with ________ confidence, and ________ confidence in his voice convinced everyone.
He spoke with confidence (prepositional phrase), and the confidence in his voice (the situation makes the noun definite) convinced everyone.
The table is made of ________ wood, and ________ wood used was ________ oak.
The table is made of wood (general sense), and the wood used (limiting attribute) was oak (general sense).
We sailed across ________ Atlantic Ocean and visited ________ Canary Islands.
We sailed across the Atlantic Ocean (the name of the ocean) and visited the Canary Islands (groups of islands).
It was ________ fine day, early in ________ spring, and we were in ________ good humour.
It was a fine day (descriptive attribute), early in spring (general sense), and we were in good humour (prepositional phrase).
________ rich should help ________ poor, and ________ young should respect ________ old.
The rich should help the poor, and the young should respect the old. (substantivized adjectives)
________ love is ________ complicated thing, and ________ love they shared was rare.
Love (general sense) is a complicated thing (predicative nouns + descriptive attribute), and the love they shared (limiting attribute) was rare.
She bought ________ bread and ________ cheese at ________ market, but ________ bread was stale.
She bought bread and cheese (general) at the market (the situation makes the place definite), but the bread was stale (the situation makes it definite).
________ Mr. Smith I met yesterday is not ________ Mr. Smith who works in our office.
The Mr. Smith I met yesterday (limiting attribute) is not the Mr. Smith who works in our office (limiting attribute).
________ church we visited in ________ small village was built in the 17th century.
The church we visited (concrete building) in a small village (descriptive attribute) was built in the 17th century.
________ tiger is ________ endangered species, but ________ tigers in this reserve are protected.
The tiger (generic sense) is an endangered species (one of many/a descriptive attribute), but the tigers in this reserve (limiting attribute) are protected.
I can see __ beauty and __ peace of this home; I think I have never been more at __ rest in my life than at this moment.
I can see the beauty and the peace of this home (limiting of-phrase); I think I have never been more at rest (prepositional phrase) in my life than at this moment.
She served us ___ rare tea from the highlands of Ceylon.
She served us a rare tea (a praticular type/ variety) from the highlands of Ceylon.
________ Johnsons invited us to ________ dinner at ________ Ritz Hotel on ________ Fifth Avenue.
The Johnsons (the whole family) invited us to dinner (meal generally) at the Ritz Hotel (specific hotel) on Fifth Avenue (street).
It was __ lovely evening in __ spring time of __ year; and in. __ soft stillness of __ twilight, all nature was very calm and beautiful.
It was a lovely evening (descriptive attribute) in the spring time (limiting of-phrase) of the year (specific year); and in the soft stillness (limiting of-phrase) of the twilight (specific, the situation makes it definite), all nature was very calm and beautiful.
________ most difficult thing about ________ following problem is that ________ none of ________ solutions proposed by ________ experts seems to satisfy ________ demands of ________ people who need help most.
The most difficult thing (adjective in the superlative degree) about the following problem ("the" before following) is that none of the solutions (none of + the) proposed by the experts (the situation makes them definite) seems to satisfy the demands (limiting attribute (of-phrase)) of the people who need help (limiting attribute) most.
Mr. Pickwick stood in __ principal street of this illustrious town, and gazed with __ air of __ curiosity not unmixed with __ interest, on __ objects around him.
Mr. Pickwick stood in the principal street of this illustrious town (of-phrase/ "the" before "principal"), and gazed with an air of (shade of meaning/desriptive attribute) curiosity (general sense) not unmixed with interest (general sense), on the objects around him (the situation makes it definite).
He drank ________ water from ________ glass, but ________ water tasted of ________ chlorine.
He drank water (general sense) from a glass (belonging to a certain class), but the water ( specific, mentioned) tasted of chlorine (general).
________ Thames flows through ________ London, past ________ Houses of Parliament and ________ Tower of London.
The Thames (river) flows through London (city), past the Houses of Parliament (definite building) and the Tower of London (definite building).
She graduated from ________ Pedagogical Institute ________ year ago and now works at ________ school in a village near Leningrad, where she teaches ________ English to ________ children who have never met ________ foreigner.
She graduated from the Pedagogical Institute (specific, named institution) a year ago ( = one) and now works at a school (belonging to a certain class) in a village near Leningrad, where she teaches English (no "language" = no article) to the children who have never met (limiting attribute) a foreigner (belonging to a certain class).