Articles mạo từ : Cách sử dụng “a”, “an” và the:

PERIOD 55-56-57: ARTICLES

A. THEORY 
Trong tiếng Anh, Mạo từ (article) được chia làm 2 loại: Mạo từ xác định (definite article) “The” và
Mạo từ không xác định (Indefinite artcile) gồm “a, an”.
 I. MẠO TỪ XÁC ĐỊNH “THE”
1. Các trường hợp dùng mạo từ “The”
 
1. Khi vật thể hay nhóm vật thể là duy nhất hoặc
- The sun , the world, the earth
được xem là duy nhất
- I see a dog. The dog is chasing a cat. The
2. Trước một danh từ nếu danh từ này vừa được
cat is chasing a mouse.
để cập trước đó
- The teacher that I met yesterday is my sister in
3. Trước một danh từ nếu danh từ này được xác
law
bằng 1 cụm từ hoặc 1 mệnh đề
- The girl in blue
- Please pass the jar of honey.
4. Đặt trước một danh từ chỉ một đồ vật riêng
- My father is cooking in the kitchen room.
biệt mà người nói và người nghe đều hiểu
5. Trước so sánh nhất (đứng trước first, second,
-You are the best in my life.
only..) khi các từ này được dùng như tính từ
- He is the tallest person in the world.
hoặc đại từ.
The whale is in danger of becoming extinct.
6. The + danh từ số ít: tượng trưng  cho một

The fast-food is more and more prevalent
nhóm thú vật hoặc đồ vật
around the world.
7. Đặt “the” trước một tính từ để chỉ một nhóm
The old , the poor, the rich
người nhất định
+The United States , The United Kingdom , the
Union of Arabic Emirates (the U.A.E ), the
former Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (the
U.S.S.R), The Philippines, The Maldives (Cộng
Hòa Maldives) ,The Netherlands (Hà Lan)
+ The Alps (Dãy An pơ), the Andes, the Everest,
The Himalayas
8. The được dùng trước những danh từ riêng chỉ
+ The Mississippi river , the Nile, the Thames,
biển, sông, quần đảo, dãy núi, tên gọi số nhiều
the Amazon, The Fairy Stream (Suối Tiên)
của các nước, sa mạc, miền
+ The Black Sea, The Atlantic Ocean , The
Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Arctic
Ocean
+ The Sahara

9. Đứng trước tên quốc gia có thể chế chính trị
như:

+ the Eiffel, the Statue of Liberty, the Twin
Towers
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam (the S.R.V)
the People Republic of China (the P.R.C)

the People Democratic of Laos (the P.D.L)
the People Democratic of North Korea (the
P.D.K)


the Republic of South Korea (the S.K)
the Republic of France (the S.K)
the Kingdom of Thailand
the Kingdom of Belgium
the Kingdom of Sweden
the Kingdom of Netherland
The North of Vietnam (Bắc Việt Nam, The West
10. The + of + danh từ
of Germany (Tây Đức) (Nhưng Northern
Vietnam, Western Germany
The Smiths (Gia đình Smith (gồm vợ và các
11. The + họ (ở dạng số nhiều) có nghĩa là Gia
con)
đình
The Browns (Gia đình Brown)
13. Dùng “the” nếu ta nhắc đến một địa điểm
nào đó nhưng khơng được sử dụng với đúng
chức năng.
They went to the school to see their children.
(Họ đến trường để thăm con cái họ.)
home, bed, church, court, jail, prison,
home, bed, church, court, jail, prison, hospital,
school, class, college, university
14. Mạo từ xác định “the” dùng trước tên của
My mother bought me a piano because I like

các loại nhạc cụ, nhưng phải đứng sau động
playing the piano.
từ “play"
15. Mạo từ xác định "the" dùng trước các
buổi trong ngày

In the morning (buổi sáng), in the afternoon
(buổi trưa), in the evening (buổi tối)

16. Mạo từ xác định “the" dùng trước tên của
The New York Times (tờ báo New York Times)
các tờ báo
The UN = The United Nations (Tổ chức Liên
Hợp Quốc)
17. Mạo từ xác định "the" dùng trước tên của The WHO = The World Health Organization
các tổ chức
(Tổ chức Y tế Thế giới)
The Red Cross (Hội Chữ thập Đỏ)
 
2. Các trường hợp KHÔNG dùng mạo từ “The”
1. Trước tên quốc gia, châu lục, tên núi, hồ, đường
phố
Europe, France, Wall Street, Sword Lake
(Ngoại trừ những nước theo chế độ Liên bang –
gồm nhiều bang (state)
2. Khi danh từ không đếm được hoặc danh từ số I like dogs.


nhiều dùng theo nghĩa chung chung, không chỉ
riêng trường hợp nào

Oranges are good for health.

Men fear death.
3. Trước danh từ trừu tượng, trừ khi danh từ đó chỉ
The death of his father made him completely
một trường hợp cá biệt
hopeless.
My friend, khơng phải “my the friend”
4. Ta khơng dùng “the” sau tính từ sở hữu hoặc
The man’s wife không phải “the wife of the
sau danh từ ở dạng sở hữu cách
man”
They invited some close friends to
dinner. (Họ đã mời vài người bạn thân đến ăn
tối.)
Nhưng: The wedding dinner was amazing
5. Không dùng “the” trước tên gọi các bữa ăn hay
(Bữa tiệc cưới thật tuyệt vời.)
tước hiệu, mơn học
Ta nói: President Obama (Tổng thống Obama,
Chancellor Angela Merkel (Thủ tướng Angela
Merkel..)
Come by car/ by bus (Đến bằng xe ô tô, bằng
xe buýt)
In spring/ in Autumn (trong mùa xuân,mùa
6. Không dùng “the” trong các trường hợp nhắc thu), from beginning to end (từ đầu tới cuối),
đến danh từ với nghĩa chung chung khác như chơi from left to right (từ trái qua phải)
thể thao, các mùa trong năm hay phương tiện đi lại To play golf/chess/cards (chơi golf, đánh cờ,
đánh bài)

Go to bed/hospital/church/work/prison (đi ngủ/
đi nằm viện/ đi nhà thờ/ đi làm/ đi tù)

 
II. MẠO TỪ KHÔNG XÁC ĐỊNH “a/an”
1. Cách dùng mạo từ không xác định “ a/an”:

We need a refrigerator. (Chúng tôi cần một cái
1. Dùng Mạo từ bất định trước danh từ số ít đếm
tủ lạnh.)
được
He drank a cup of coffee. (Anh ấy đã uống một
cốc cà phê.)
2. Trước một danh từ làm bổ túc từ - thành phần phụ He was a famous person (Anh ấy đã từng là
complement
người nổi tiếng.)
 A lot, a couple (một đôi/cặp), a third (một phần
ba)
A dozen (một tá), a hundred (một trăm, a
quarter (một phần tư) a lot of/ a great deal of
a large number of = a wide variety of = a great
3. Dùng trong các thành ngữ chỉ lượng nhất định
many of (nhiều) - dùng trước danh từ đếm được
+ a piece of: một miếng
+ a bunch of (một bó, một nải)
+ a cup/glass of (một tách/ một cốc)
4. Half: Ta dùng “a half” nếu half được heo sau một 2 kilos: Two and half kilos/ two kilos and a half


số ngun

Nhưng kilo: Half a kilo ( khơng có “a” trước
half)

 
2. Trường hợp KHÔNG sử dụng mạo từ bất định “a/an”:
 
1. Trước danh từ số nhiều
Ta nói apples, khơng dùng an apples
A/ an khơng có hình thức số nhiều
What you need is confidence (Cái anh cần là sự
2. Không dùng trước danh từ khơng đếm được
tự tin.)
Ta nói: I have lunch at 12 o’clock. (Tôi ăn trưa
3. Không dùng trước tên gọi các bữa ăn trừ khi có
lúc 12h.)
tính từ đứng trước các tên gọi đó
Nhưng: He has a delicious dinner. (Anh ấy có
một bữa tối thật ngon miệng)
 
3. Cách sử dụng “a” và “an”:
a game (một trò chơi, a boat (một chiếc tàu thủy)
- a uniform (một bộ đồng phục)
- a university (một trường đại học)
- an hour (một giờ)
- an honest man (một người đàn ông thật thà)
1.“a” đứng trước một phụ âm hoặc một
nguyên âm có âm là phụ âm

- a one-eyed man (một người đàn ông mắt chột)

- a one-way road (đường một chiều)
- a useful way (một cách hữu ích)
- a union (một liên minh, một đồng minh)
- a unit (một đơn vị)
- a European (một người châu Âu)
- an honorable man (một người đáng kính)

2. “an trước một danh từ bắt đầu bằng:
+ 4 nguyên âm A, E, I, O.
+ 2 bán nguyên âm U, Y. (uncle, unnatural,
umbrella)
+ Những danh từ bắt đầu bằng "h" câm
(an heir/ hour/ herbal (Adj: thảo mộc)/
honor)
+ Những từ mở đầu bằng một chữ viết tắt (an
S.O.S/ an M.P)

B. PRACTICE

an egg (một quả trứng), an ant (một con kiến)
an hour (một giờ đồng hồ)
an SOS (Một tín hiệu cấp cứu), an X-ray (một tia X), an
M.A (một cử nhân)


Fill in the blanks with a, an, the or

(zero article)

Exercise 1:

1. My sister often goes to ________ church by ________ bus.
2. Mel's mother is in ________ hospital, so we went to visit her last night.
3. Rita is studying ________ English and ________ Maths this semester.
4. Do you know________ man who is waiting for the bus over there?
5. Please give me ________ cup of ________ coffee with ________ cream and ________ sugar.
6. ________ big books which are on ________ table are for my history class.
7. My ________ car is four years old, and it still runs well.
8. There are only ________ few seats for tonight's musical.
9. ________ chair that you are sitting in is broken.
10. The Civil War was fought in ________ United States between 1861 and 1865.
11. We went by ________ train to the west of England.
12. ________ people who live in ________ Scotland are called the Scots.
13. This house is very nice. Has it got ________ garden?
14. There isn't ________ airport near where I live. ________ nearest airport is 70 miles away.
15. Did you have ________ nice holiday? Yes, It was ________ best holiday I've ever had.
16. Mai always plays ________ piano whenever she has free time.
17. My daughter was born on ________ fifth of January.
18. Yesterday I went to ________ school by ________ bus because my bike had been broken down.
19. It takes me ________ hour to finish my work.
20. She used to have ________ cat and ________ dog but ________ dog died.
Exercise 2:
1. English is spoken all over ________ world.
2. ________ deaf are unable to hear anything.
3. I like studying ________ Maths best.
4. People all over the world like ________ football.
5. ________ tea is produced in Thai Nguyen.
6. I wish today were on ________ Sunday.
7. I often have ________ breakfast at 6:00 pm and ________ lunch at 11:00 pm.
8. She gave me ________ apple and gave Lan 2 ________ apples.
9. ________ Smiths are going to Halong Bay next summer.

10. If I won the lottery, first I would buy ________ piece of land in the country.
11. This morning I bought a newspaper and ________ magazine. ________ newspaper is in my bag
but I. don't know where I put ________ magazine.
12. ________ Wayle is ________ small river that cuts across ________ park near my house.


13. Maria comes from ________ United States. She is ________ American girl.
14. The boy said: " ________ Moon is bigger than ________ Earth."
15. I bought ________ car last week. ________ car is over there.
16. I need ________ few apples but ________ lot of sugar.
17. Where is ________ nearest shop? There is one at ________ end of this street.
18. There are 2 cars parked outside: ________ blue one and ________ grey one. ________ blue one
belongs to my neighbours and I don't know who ________ owner of ________ grey one is.
19 My friends live in ________ old house in ________ small village. There is ________ beautiful
garden behind ________ house. I would like to have ________ garden like that.
20. What did you eat for ________ breakfast this morning?
Exercise 3:
1. John and Mary went to ________ school yesterday and then studied in ________ library before
returning home.
2. On our trip to ________ Spain, we crossed ________ Atlantic Ocean.
3. Rita plays ________ violin and her sister plays ________ guitar.
4. ________ farmers who are working hard on their land almost get nothing for their lifetime.
5. David played ________ basketball and ________ baseball at ________ Boy's club this year.
6. The political science class is taking ________ trip to ________ France in ________ Spring.
7. Last night there was ________ bird singing outside my house.
8. She would like to enjoy ________ Sun rising, so she often gets up early.
9. He is ________ honest person.
10. My father went to ________ sea when he was 14.
11. When do you hope to go to ________ university?
12. He is ________ one-eyed man.

13. There is ________ useful method of learning English.
14. I've got ________ uncle.
15. Your shoes are under ________ bed.
16. There is a strike at ________ hospital.
17. There is ________ onion left in the fridge.
18. There is a splendid (long lay) view of ________ Lake Geneva from his hotel.
19. She is ________ nurse, so her work is to take care of ________ sick.
20. Summer is ________ warmest season but ________ summer of 1971 was unusually cool.

Exercise 4:
1. ________ blind are ________ people who can't see anything.


2. ________ deaf are ________ people who can't hear anything.
3. My hometown is on the bank of ________ Hong river.
4. Tung's father bought him ________ bicycle that he had wanted for his birthday.
5. My mother goes to church in ________ morning.
6. I eat ________ banana every day.
7. Harry is a sailor. He spends most of his life at ________ sea.
8. There are billions of stars in ________ space.
9. He tried to park his ________ car but the space wasn't large enough.
10. We had ________ dinner in a restaurant.
11. We had ________ meal in a restaurant.
12. ________ rose is my favourite color.
13. When was ________ computer invented?
14. My daughter plays ________ piano very well.
15. Mary loves ________ flowers.
16. Jill went to ________ hospital to see her friend.
17. Mrs. Lan went to ________ school to meet her son's daughter.
18. Carol went to ________ prison to meet her brother.

19. Sandra works at a big hospital. She's ________ nurse.
20. She works six days ________ week.
Exercise 5:
1. ________ Sun is a star.
2. What did you have for________ breakfast this morning?
3. London is ________ capital of England.
4. When was ________ telephone invented?
5. We visited ________ Canada and ________ United States two years ago.
6. We haven't been to ________ cinema for years.
7. Do you need ________ umbrella?
8. ________ injured man was taken to ________ hospital.
9. She went out without ________ money.
10. Toshi speaks ________ Japanese at home.
11. A man and a woman were standing outside my house ________ man looked English but I think
________ woman was foreign.
12. The Soviet Union was ________ first country to send a man into ________ space.
13. Did you watch "Titanic" on ________ television or at ________ cinema?
14. After ________ lunch, we went for a walk by ________ sea.
15. Peru is ________ country in South America. ________ capital is Lima.


16. It was a beautiful day. ________ sun shone brightly in ________ sky.
17. It is said that Robin Hood robbed ________ rich and gave the money to ________ poor.
18. Life is not so easy for ________ unemployed.
19. Many people were killed in the accident. The bodies of ________ dead were taken away.
20. The butler (người quản gia) was ________ last person I suspected.
Choose the correct answer:
1. We are looking for _______ place to spend ________ night.
            A. the/the                   B. a/the           C. a/a              D. the/a
2. Please turn off ________ lights when you leave ________ room.

            A. the/the                   B. a/a              C. the/a           D. a/the
3. We are looking for people with ________experience.
            A. the                          B. a                 C. an               D. x
4. Would you pass me ________ salt, please?
            A. a                             B. the              C. an               D. x
5. Can you show me ________way to ________station?
            A. the/the                   B. a/a              C. the/a           D. a/the
6. She has read ________interesting book.
            A. a                             B. an               C. the              D. x
7. You’ll get ________shock if you touch ________ live wire with that screwdriver.
            A. an/the                    B. x/the          C. a/a              D. an/the
8. Mr. Smith is ________ old customer and ________ honest man.
            A. An/the                   B. the/an        C. an/an          D. the/the
9. ________ youngest boy has just started going to ________ school.
            A. a/x                          B. x/the          C. an/x            D. the/x
10. Do you go to ________ prison to visit him?
            A. the                          B. a                 C. x                 D. an
11. ________eldest boy is at ________ college.
            A. a/the                      B. the/x          C. x/ a             D. an/x
12. Are you going away next week? No, ________ week after next.
            A. an                           B. a                 C. the              D. x
13. Would you like to hear ________ story about ________ English scientist?
            A. an/the                    B. the/the       C. a/the           D. a/ an
14. There’ll always be a conflict between ________ old and ________ young.
            A. the/the                   B. an/a            C. an/the        D. the/a
15. There was ________ collision at ________ corner.
            A. the/a                      B. an/the        C. a/the           D. the/the
16. My mother thinks that this is ________ expensive shop.
            A. the                          B. an               C. a                 D. x
17. Like many women, she loves ________ parties and ________gifts.

            A. the/ a                     B. a/the           C. a/a              D. x/x
18. She works seven days ________ week.
            A. a                             B. the              C. an               D. x
19. My mother goes to work in ________ morning.
            A. a                             B. x                 C. the              D. an
20. I am on night duty. When you go to ________ bed, I go to ________ work.


            A. a/x                          B. a/the           C. the/x          D. x/x


Exercise 47: Choose the best answer among the A, B, C, or D provided to finish each of the
incomplete sentences below.
1. Anne says that she reads about half
hour a day, at least.
A.a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
2.Different people like specific types of books, and some people just
like________literature in general.
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
3. Have you ever read
"Oliver Twist",__________interesting
novel written by Charles Dickens?
A. the/ the
B. Ø/ an

C. Ø/ Ø
D. an/ the
4. I like
books better than
films.
A. Ø/ Ø
B. the/ the
C. Ø/ the
D. the/ Ø
5. How many players are there in
water polo team?
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
6.
swimming is considered to be _______good way of losing weight.
A. Ø/ a
B. The/ a
C. A/ the
D. The/ the
7. Water polo is played in
pool 1.8 meters deep.
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
8. The goalie tried to catch
ball, but he failed.
A. a

B. an
C. the
D. Ø
9. Internationally, 189 countries have signed
accord agreeing to
create Biodiversity Action Plans to protect endangered and other threatened species.
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
10.Known worldwide by its panda logo, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is dedicated to
protecting
world's wildlife and the rich biological diversity that we all need
to survive.
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
11.WWF is
leading privately supported international conservation
organization in the world, and has sponsored more than 2,000 projects in 116
countries.
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
12. Species become extinct or endangered for_________number of reasons, but
___________primary cause is the destruction of habitat by human activities.
A.Ø/ a
B. a/ the

C. the/ a
D. Ø/ Ø
13. Since
1600s, worldwide overexploitation of animals
for
food and other products has caused numerous species to become
extinct or endangered.
A. the/ a
B. the/ Ø
C. Ø/ the
D. the/ the
14. By 2015, it will be widely accepted that schools and pre-schools
have
extremely important role to play in _____future of our world.
A.an/
B. an/ the
C. the/ the
D. Ø/ Ø


15. On
Internet and with cable television we can select information
from
wide variety of sources.
A. the/ a
B. an/ the
C. the/ Ø
D. Ø/ the
16.There is one
thing we can be sure

energy will be
more challenging and more important in the future.
A. the/ Ø
B. the/ an
C. a/ the
D. Ø/ Ø
17__________Europe and Asia are coming to rely more and more on
nuclear
generation.
A. An/ a
B. Ø/ Ø
C. The/ the
D. The/ a
18. He usually travels to____________Philadelphia by
train.
A. Ø/ Ø
B. the/ a
C. the/ the
D. Ø/ a
19. You frequently see this kind of violence on
television.
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
20. How do we know what
universe is supposed to look like?
A. a
B. an
C. the

D. Ø
Exercise 48: Choose the best answer among the A, B, C, or D provided to finish each of the
incomplete sentences below.
1.
Sahara of______________Africa is the world's largest desert.
A.Ø/ the
B. The/ Ø
C. A/ an
D. The/ an
2. Deserts can be defined as areas that receive
average annual
precipitation of less than 250 mm.
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
3. The Simpson Desert is in
north of______________Lake Eyre.
A.Ø/ Ø
B. the/ the
C. a/ the
D. the/ Ø
4. Cold deserts can be covered in
snow or ice and frozen water is
unavailable to plant life.
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
5. sand covers only about 20 percent of Earth's deserts.

A. A
B. An
C. The
D. Ø
6. Deserts have
reputation for supporting very little life, but
in ________reality deserts often have high biodiversity.
A. a/ Ø
B. the/ the
C. a/ the
D. the/ a
7. Peter enjoys
science fictions,
type of book based
on imagined scientific discoveries in the future.
A.Ø/ Ø
B. the/ Ø
C. Ø/ a
D. the/ the
8. Different people never read a book in
same way.
A.a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
9. Companies now can exploit the opportunities presented by
integrated market of increasingly prosperous consumers in the region.


A. a

B. an
C. the
D. Ø 10.
Among
greatest challenges are the integration of market
diversity and the transitional economies of its member countries.
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
11.Integrating with
world's economy, we find ourselves facing
important opportunities and challenges.
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
12.To build on the field of political and security cooperation,
leaders have agreed to establish the Security Community.
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
13.
On July 28, 1995, Vietnam became
seventh member of
ASEAN.
A. a
B. an
C. the

D. Ø
14. This country has
population of over 50 million.
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
15. All countries remain ready to further cooperation with
United
Nations in the ongoing humanitarian efforts for the victims of catastrophe.
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
16.
UN leaders appreciate the support, cooperation and leadership that ASEAN
has shown in helping the victims of disasters.
A. A
B. An
C. The
D. Ø
17. The organization hosts cultural activities in
attempt to further
integrate the region.
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
18. In earlier times when the family depended on the hunter for food, woman's role,
because she was ________gatherer, was secondary.

A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
19. Education is recognized as
essential need for achieving
equality in most walks of life.
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø
20. It is estimated that about 640 women remain illiterate in
world, mostly in developing countries.
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. Ø