冠词(article)是一种虚词,在句子中一般不重读,本身不能独立使用,只能放在名词之前,帮助说明名词所指的人或事物。冠词这个家族有点冷清,就三个家庭成员:不定冠词(indefinite article)a和an,定冠词(definite article)the。有时把不使用冠词叫零冠词。
定冠词用在名词单数或复数前,相当于this、that、these、those的含义。
the sun太阳 the moon月亮 the Internet因特网 the world世界
You are the very person I’m looking for. 你正是我要找的人。
The teacher came down with the flu. 老师因感冒病倒了。
I found a cat on my way to school. But when I walked towards the cat, it ran away. 我在上学路上看到一只小猫。当我想靠近这只猫的时候,它跑掉了。
Now people tend to depend on the cell phone. 现在人们一般都依赖手机。
play the violin弹奏小提琴 play the piano弹奏钢琴
对,你猜对了,中国乐器前不加the,比如play Erhu演奏二胡。
the poor穷人 the young年轻人 the new新事物
the wounded受伤的人
The young are the hope of a country. 年轻人是一个国家的希望。
the Great Wall长城 the United States美国
the People’s Republic of China中华人民共和国
What do you think of the car we saw yesterday? 你认为我们昨天看到的车怎样?
Pick up the crayons under your chair. 把椅子下面的蜡笔捡起来。
He is the tallest boy in our class. 他是班上最高的学生。
He runs (the) fastest in our class. 他在班上跑得最快。
在固定句型“the+形容词或副词比较级……,the+形容词或副词比较级……”中,即使是比较级,也要使用定冠词the。
The more you learn, the better you will be. 你学习得越多,你就会变得越好。
On October the second we went to the Great Wall. 十月二号我们去了长城。
Don’t make the same mistake again. 不要再犯同样的错误了。
The Stewards are travelling in China. 斯图尔特一家正在中国旅游。
in the east在东方 in the west在西方 in the front在前面
at the back在后面 on the right在右边 on the left在左边
at the top在顶部 at the bottom在底部
the Chinese Communist Party 中国共产党
the Democratic Party of the United States 美国民主党
I hit him in the face. 我打了他的脸。
He took me by the arm. 他抓住我的手臂。
the day before yesterday昨天 the other day前几天
at the same time同时 by the way顺便说一下
at the foot of在……脚下 in the middle of在……中间
不定冠词a和an都表示一个的意思,但是并不特别强调数量,只表示某个可数名词是不特定的。a用于辅音音标前,an用于元音音标前。比如:
a person一个人,a university一所大学,a European一个欧洲人,an apple一个苹果,an hour一小时,an honest man一个诚实的人。
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. 一天一个苹果,医生远离我。
A baby needs care. 婴儿需要关爱。
A tiger can be dangerous. 老虎可能很危险。
A lady wants to see you. 有位女士找你。
Would you like to go to a movie? 去看电影吗?
It’s a pleasure for me to dance with you. 很荣幸与您共舞。
It’s a shame to say so. 说这些真是丢人。
It’s a heavy rain. 这是场大雨。
A mushroom soap, please. 请给我来份蘑菇汤。
Never mind. You can try it a second time. 没关系,你可以再试一次。
I visit my grandparents once a week. 我一周去看一次我的爷爷奶奶。
He drives the car at 100 miles an hour. 他以每小时100英里的速度开车。
The boy wants to be a pilot. 这个男孩想当飞行员。
My English teacher is an American. 我的英语老师是美国人。
A Mr. Bush is waiting for you in the office. 一位布什先生正在办公室等你。
a lot of很多 a great many很多
a little一点儿 a quarter四分之一
for a while一会儿 have a try试一试
lend a hand帮忙 have a good time玩得高兴
have a fever发热 a dozen一打
有时候把不使用冠词叫作零冠词,这类用法的名词被戏称为“裸奔”,即名词前一点修饰限定的东西都没有,只有光溜溜一个词,或单或复,在句子里“裸奔”。
What do you usually do on Sunday? 周末你一般都做什么?
What’s your plan for Christmas? 圣诞你有什么计划?
I was born in January. 我出生在一月。
Spring is coming. 春天来了。
It’s time for breakfast. 该吃早饭了。
对比:I have a wonderful breakfast. 我吃了一顿很棒的早餐。
当三餐前有形容词修饰时,就不属于“裸奔”了,就得用冠词了。
Boys are playing basketball and girls are chatting. 男孩们在踢足球,女孩们在聊天。
Are you fond of playing golf? 你喜欢打高尔夫吗?
Let’s play chess. 我们下象棋吧。
China中国 Japan日本 Edison爱迪生 Europe欧洲
Women from all walks of life get together here to celebrate their festival.
来自各行各业的女人们聚集在这里庆祝她们的节日。
Most children like tomatoes. 大多数孩子都喜欢西红柿。
What would you like to drink, juice or coffee? 你想喝点什么,果汁还是咖啡?
The table is made of wood. 这桌子是木头做的。
I’m fond of classical music. 我喜欢古典音乐。
Time flies. 时光飞逝。
Come to my office after class. 下课后到我办公室来。
I found three books at the corner. 我在角落里找到三本书。
I like blue and she likes red. 我喜欢蓝色而她喜欢红色。
但是当颜色后面有名词时,则可以用冠词。
I like the blue skirt. 我喜欢这件蓝色的裙子。
I found a blue skirt in my room. 我在我房间找到一件蓝色的裙子。
We study Chinese, English, physics, chemistry, politics, and history.
我们学习汉语、英语、物理、化学、政治和历史。
Is it serious, doctor? 医生,严重吗?
As chairman of the group, I declare the meeting open.
作为集团主席,我宣布会议开始。
He was elected monitor of the class. 他被选为班长。
My father goes to work by bus every day. 我父亲每天坐公交去上班。
on foot步行 by train乘火车 by air乘飞机
Nobody likes this kind of smell. 没人喜欢这种味道。
face to face面对面 right and wrong是与非
husband and wife夫妻 rich and poor穷富
arm in arm肩并肩 hand in hand手拉手
side by side肩并肩
其他固定词组:
by accident偶然地 by chance偶然地 at hand在手边
lose face丢脸 make use of利用 out of date过时
in search of搜寻 catch fire着火 year after year一年又一年
take action采取行动 go to school去上学 go to bed上床睡觉
at noon在中午 at night在晚上 at midnight在半夜
at table在用餐 in hospital住院 at school在上学
对比:
at the table在餐桌旁 in the hospital在医院里
at the school在这所学校里
有时候可以,尤其是在数字前面。
There are nearly a/one thousand students at the railway station. 火车站有近千名学生。
It’s a/one hundred miles away from here. 那儿离这儿有一百英里远。
A/One third of the workers live in the center of the city. 有三分之一的工人住在市中心。
有时候不可以。因为a是范围概念,是模糊的不确定范围;one不仅是明确的数字概念,还可以是代词。
在一些习惯用语中,是不能互换的。比如前面讲到的使用不定冠词的固定表达都不能换。
in a hurry匆忙地 in a word总之 once upon a time从前
lend a hand帮忙 for a while一会儿 have a try试一试
make a living谋生 one day有一天 one by one一个接一个地
one用作代词时,也是不能互换的。以下两句的one都是代词,一个表示气球,一个表示one person,都不能用a代替。
You have so many balloons. Can you spare me one? 你有这么多气球,能分给我一个吗?
I’m trying to find one to send this letter for me. 我正在找人帮我发这封信。
在such/what/many+a+名词的结构中,不能互换:
She is such a lovely girl. 她是如此可爱的一个女孩。