Article the/zero article

ZERO ARTICLE

Numbers

Zero Article - We DO NOT use ‘the’ when we have a noun + number: 

Artículo cero - NO utilizamos 'the' cuando tenemos un nombre + número:

©       Room 56, Platform 4, size 41, page 22, aisle 5

©        We’ve booked you into Room 32, it’s at the front of the hotel with a lovely view.

©       Please turn to page 5 in your textbooks.

©       Do you have these shoes in size 39?

Times of the day, Days, Months & Years

We DO NOT use ‘the’ when referring to times of the day, particular days, years, seasons or months: 

NO utilizamos 'the' cuando nos referimos a los tiempos del día, días, años, estaciones o meses:

dawn, dusk, daybreak, midday, 9.30pm, 5.45am, Monday, Wednesday, January, October, 1487, 2014

• When we stay at the farm we have to get up at dawn.
• In January, daybreak is at about 6.30am.
• 1989 was a very important year in world history.
• Note: We DO use ‘the’ when giving a particular date: the 25th of January, the 25th of December 1962.

Activities

We DO NOT use ‘the’ when a noun refers to an activity:
NO utilizamos 'the' cuando un sustantivo se refiere a una actividad:

Activity	Object
I go to bed at 10 o'clock.	I need to make the bed.
She went to school over there.	The school was too small.
It’s great when families eat dinnertogether.	The dinner had many exotic ingredients.
I eat muesli for breakfast.	The breakfast was delicious.
They are on their way to church.	The church is very old.
She is in class.	The class is learning history at the moment.

ARTICLE THE

It's used when the speaker talks about a specific object that both the person speaking and the listener know.

Se utiliza cuando el hablante habla de un objeto específico que tanto la persona que habla como el oyente saben.

• The car over there is fast.
• The president of the United States is giving a speech tonight.

When we speak of something or someone for the first time we use a or an, the next time we repeat that object we use the definite article the.

• I live in a house. The house is quite old and has four bedrooms.
• I ate in a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant was very good.

Only One

We use ‘the’ when there is only one of something: 

Usamos 'the' cuando sólo hay algo de algo: 

he web/internet, the sun, the moon, the earth, the Queen of England, the Pope, the capital of France, the longest river, the tallest boy in the class etc

•  You can find that out on the internet.
• The sun, moon and earth are all in the solar system.
• The Pope is the head of the catholic church.
• Which is the highest mountain in Africa?

Only One in that Place

We use ‘the’ when there is only one of those things in that place and the surroundings:

Usamos 'the' cuando sólo hay una de esas cosas en ese lugar y el entorno:

• Is it okay if I use the bath?(there is only one bath in the house)
• We live in a small town, next to the church.(there is only one church in the town)
• You can ask the man who’s selling popcorn.(there’s only one man selling popcorn)

All Things

We use ‘the’ when indicating that it effects all types of that thing.

Usamos 'el' cuando indicamos que efectúa todos los tipos de esa cosa.

• The blue whale is the largest animal alive today.
• The giraffe is significantly lighter than the hippopotamus.
• The liver regulates chemical levels in the blood.