ARTICLES: Use of Omission

Omission

Situations
1. after prepositions in some common expressions

Example

• to/in/into/ out of hospital/prison/bed
• by car/bicycle/bus/plane/train
• to/at/from work
• out of town

Situations
2. in some time phrases

Example

• in 1990 (year), in summer (season),
• since April (month),
• at Christmas (festival)
• on Monday (day of week), at night

Situations
3. before the names of continents and countries

Example
Have you been to China?


Situations
4. before names of cities, towns and villages

Example

• The police have monitored the number of drink-related accidents since the introduction of a ban on drinking and driving in Hong Kong.
• Pollution in Shatin is being closely monitored by EPD.
• The Police Headquarters is in Wanchai.

Situations
5. before the names of streets, districts, parks and bridges

Example

• The Lunar New Year Festival will be held in Victoria Park.
• The post office in Hennessy Road is a listed building.

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ARTICLES: Use of a or an and The

ARTICLES

If you are unsure whether to use a, an or the, consider the following:

Use of a or an

Usage
1. before a singular countable noun

Example:

She is a member of our Finance Committee.

2. when a person/thing is mentioned for the first time

Example:

An in-house seminar will be held next Tuesday. Three representatives from the Human Resources Association will speak at the seminar.

3. in exclamations
Example:

What a memorable event it was!

4. before words which begin with a vowel sound
Example:

an interesting idea
an overloaded truck
an honest officer

Use of the


Usage
1. before nouns of which there is only one
Example:

The police force in HK is one of the most efficient forces in the world.

2. when a person/thing is mentioned for the second/third time and so on
Example:

A proposal was discussed in the annual general meeting. Three members voted against the proposal.

3. before superlative, adjectives, adverbs and ordinal numbers
Example:

Mr Chan is the most experienced clerical officer in our unit.

4. before some adjectives used as nouns
Example:

This policy aimed to help the mentally-handicapped / the unemployed / the blind.

5. before plural place names or names which include the words Republic, Kingdom or States
Example:

the New Territories
the United Kingdom
the Philippines

6. before names of ships
Example:

the Queen Mary

7. in some time phrases in the year the war began
Example:

in the morning
in the afternoon
in the middle of the night

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Common and Proper Nouns

1. Type of Noun : Common Nouns

Definition & Usage :
These are the names of persons, places or things of the same type or class

The usually begin with small letters

Example: man, picture, vegetable , toy, instrument.


2. Type of Noun : Proper Nouns

Definition & Usage:
These are the names of particular persons, places or things

The usually begin with capital letters

Example: Shawn , Michael, London, Mercedes Benz, Sunday
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