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Articles (冠詞) - a / an / the / zero article

日本語に冠詞がないため、日本人にとって最も難しい文法の一つ。

The Basics

Article Usage
a/an 不特定の可算名詞（単数）= 「ある〜」「一つの〜」
the 特定のもの = 「その〜」「例の〜」
(none) 不可算名詞の一般論、複数形の一般論

A / An (不定冠詞)

Rule

注意: 音で決まる！スペルではない！

Usage of A/An

  1. 初めて話題にする時 — "I saw a dog in the park."
  2. 職業 — "She is a doctor." "He's an engineer."
  3. 一つの — "Can I have a glass of water?"
  4. 〜につき — "twice a week" "100 km an hour"
  5. What a + 名詞! — "What a beautiful day!"
  6. a kind of / a type of — "It's a kind of fish."

Examples

  1. I bought a new laptop yesterday. (初出)
  2. She's a nurse at Tokyo Hospital. (職業)
  3. I'd like a cup of coffee, please. (一つ)
  4. He earns $50,000 a year. (〜につき)
  5. What a surprise! (感嘆文)
  6. I need a pen. Do you have one? (不特定)
  7. There's a spider on the ceiling! (初めて言及)
  8. She ate an orange for breakfast. (母音の音)
  9. He's a very talented musician. (形容詞 + 名詞 でも a が先)
  10. I saw a really interesting movie. (初出)
  11. He works as an accountant. (職業)
  12. Is there a pharmacy near here? (不特定)

The (定冠詞)

Usage

  1. すでに話題に出たもの (second mention)
  2. I saw a dog. The dog was brown.
  3. 聞き手が特定できるもの (shared knowledge)
  4. Can you close the door? (この部屋のドア)
  5. The president gave a speech. (大統領と言えばわかる)
  6. 唯一のもの (unique things)
  7. the sun, the moon, the earth, the sky, the internet
  8. 最上級 + 序数
  9. the best, the first, the tallest, the most important
  10. 楽器
  11. play the piano, the guitar, the violin
  12. 特定の集団
  13. the rich, the elderly, the Japanese (日本人全体)
  14. 地理 — 一部
  15. the United States, the Netherlands, the Pacific Ocean
  16. the Alps, the Himalayas (山脈)
  17. the Nile, the Amazon (川)
  18. of + 名詞 で限定
  19. the University of Tokyo, the Bank of Japan
  20. which/that 節で限定
  21. the book that I bought yesterday

Examples

  1. I went to the store on the corner. (特定の店)
  2. The movie we saw last night was great. (特定 — 昨夜見た)
  3. He's the tallest person in our class. (最上級)
  4. She plays the cello beautifully. (楽器)
  5. The Amazon is the longest river in South America. (唯一)
  6. Can you pass me the salt? (テーブルにある塩)
  7. The first time I went abroad was in 2010. (序数)
  8. I love the smell of fresh coffee. (特定の匂い)
  9. The government announced new policies. (この国の政府)
  10. Where's the bathroom? (この場所のトイレ)
  11. The children are playing outside. (うちの子供たち、特定)
  12. The weather is nice today. (今日の天気)

Zero Article (冠詞なし)

Usage

  1. 不可算名詞の一般論
  2. ∅ Water is essential for life. (水一般)
  3. ∅ Music makes me happy. (音楽一般)
  4. 複数形の一般論
  5. ∅ Dogs are loyal animals. (犬一般)
  6. ∅ Computers have changed our lives. (コンピュータ一般)
  7. 食事
  8. have ∅ breakfast / lunch / dinner
  9. ただし特定の食事: "The dinner we had last night was delicious."
  10. スポーツ
  11. play ∅ tennis / soccer / basketball
  12. 言語
  13. speak ∅ English / Japanese
  14. 国名（ほとんど）
  15. ∅ Japan, ∅ France, ∅ Canada
  16. 例外: the United States, the United Kingdom, the Philippines
  17. 都市、大陸、山（単体）、湖
  18. ∅ Tokyo, ∅ Asia, ∅ Mt. Fuji, ∅ Lake Biwa
  19. 交通手段 (by + ∅)
  20. by ∅ bus, by ∅ train, by ∅ car
  21. go to + 目的
  22. go to ∅ school (学ぶために), go to ∅ church (礼拝に), go to ∅ bed (寝るために), go to ∅ work
  23. vs. go to the school (その建物に行く)
  24. 曜日、月、季節（通常）
    • on ∅ Monday, in ∅ June, in ∅ summer (ただし in the summer もOK)

Examples

  1. ∅ Life is short. (人生一般)
  2. I love ∅ chocolate. (チョコレート一般)
  3. ∅ Teachers play an important role. (先生一般)
  4. She goes to ∅ work by ∅ bus. (通勤、交通手段)
  5. I had ∅ lunch with a friend. (昼食)
  6. He speaks ∅ Spanish fluently. (言語)
  7. ∅ Tokyo is the capital of ∅ Japan. (都市、国)
  8. Let's play ∅ chess. (ゲーム)
  9. I'm going to ∅ bed. Good night. (寝るという目的)
  10. ∅ Honesty is the best policy. (抽象概念)

Tricky Cases — 超重要

Hospital / School / Church / Prison — 目的 vs 建物

目的（冠詞なし） 建物（the つける）
go to school (通学) go to the school (建物に行く)
go to hospital (入院) go to the hospital (見舞いに)
go to church (礼拝に) go to the church (建物に)
go to prison (服役) go to the prison (面会に)
be in bed (寝ている) sit on the bed (ベッドに座る)

アメリカ英語 vs イギリス英語

The + 形容詞 = 「〜な人々」

固有名詞 + the のルール

THE あり THE なし
the United States Japan, France
the Pacific Ocean Lake Biwa
the Alps (山脈) Mt. Fuji (単体の山)
the Sahara Desert Central Park
the Times (新聞) Harvard University
the Hilton (ホテル) Starbucks
the Amazon (川) Broadway

Common Mistakes by Japanese Speakers

  1. ✗ I like the music. (一般論なのに the) → ✓ I like ∅ music.
  2. ✗ She is doctor. → ✓ She is a doctor. (職業にはa/anが必要)
  3. ✗ I go to the school every day. → ✓ I go to ∅ school every day. (通学目的)
  4. ✗ The life is beautiful. → ✓ ∅ Life is beautiful. (一般論)
  5. ✗ I bought car. → ✓ I bought a car. (可算名詞単数には冠詞が必要)
  6. ✗ Can you play piano? → ✓ Can you play the piano? (楽器には the)
  7. ✗ I went to a Tokyo. → ✓ I went to ∅ Tokyo. (固有名詞に a は不要)
  8. ✗ He is a tallest. → ✓ He is the tallest. (最上級には the)
  9. ✗ I eat the breakfast at 7. → ✓ I eat ∅ breakfast at 7. (食事は通常冠詞なし)
  10. ✗ She has the blue eyes. → ✓ She has ∅ blue eyes. (身体的特徴)

Practice Exercises

Fill in with a, an, the, or ∅ (nothing):

  1. ___ sun rises in ___ east. → The, the
  2. She is ___ honest person. → an
  3. I need ___ information about ___ flights to ___ London. → ∅, ∅, ∅
  4. ___ book you lent me was excellent. → The
  5. He plays ___ guitar in ___ band. → the, a
  6. I love ___ Italian food. → ∅
  7. Can you give me ___ ride to ___ airport? → a, the
  8. ___ Mount Everest is ___ highest mountain in ___ world. → ∅, the, the
  9. She is ___ best student in ___ class. → the, the
  10. I had ___ terrible headache yesterday. → a
  11. ___ children should drink ___ milk. → ∅, ∅ (一般論)
  12. Please turn off ___ lights before you leave. → the (この部屋の電気)
  13. He wants to be ___ engineer. → an
  14. ___ United Kingdom is in ___ Europe. → The, ∅
  15. I go to ___ gym three times ___ week. → the, a
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