Adrian’s Magic Article System

                          Attention!!! Does not work for places or times

3 categories

1)  Unique: THE

Naturally unique: The sun, the internet, the Dean, the Pope, the centre

Four Ways a thing becomes unique:

o   Ordinal numbers: the first, the fifth, etc.

o   Superlatives: the best, the fastest, the most stupid

o   The last, the only, the next, the right, the wrong, the main, the whole

o   Defined with OF or a relative pronoun (vztažné zájmeno)


OF: The price of petrol, the result of a test, the meaning of this passage

Relative Pronoun: The dog that/which bit me, the place where the masseur attacked me, the time when
we were scared.


2)   One of many in the world: A/AN


This category includes containers and expressions of quantity:

o    A tube of toothpaste

o    A box of chocolates

o    A flock of sheep

o    A majority of Czechs

o    A lot of students

o    A series of films

o    A bunch of bananas

o    An insane amount of work


ATTENTION!!! The second time you mention a thing, it is already specific/unique, so use THE.


3)   Uncountable things: NO ARTICLE

o   Emotions (happiness, love, hatred)

o   Things in particles (rice, sugar, sand, dust)

o   Liquids (water, coffee)

o   Gases (oxygen, helium)

o   -isms (communism, realism)

o   Most nouns formed from verbs

    Swim           à   swimming

    Collaborate à   collaboration

    Extinguish  à   extinction


ATTENTION!!! The second time you mention an uncountable thing, it is already specific/unique, so
use THE J .
Also if you are defining it with OF or a relative pronoun.


For Plurals:

First time mentioned: NO ARTICLE

Second time/ defined with OF or a RELATIVE PRONOUN: use THE