Zero article
Objective: The primary learning objective of this worksheet is to teach students the rules for using the "zero article", as well as to reinforce the correct usage of definite ("the") and indefinite ("a," "an") articles.
Content and Methods: The worksheet provides a comprehensive list of situations where the zero article is typically used (e.g., with plural nouns referring to general things, names of towns/streets, continents, days/months, meals, languages, institutions in a general context, materials, abstract nouns, expressions with "play + sport," titles, and body parts/personal objects). The methods include drag-and-drop exercises where students must place the correct article ("a," "an," "the," or "Ø" for zero article) into sentences, and multiple-choice questions requiring them to select the appropriate article for various contexts.
Competencies:
- English grammar knowledge (article usage: zero article, definite, indefinite)
- Understanding of specific contexts for article omission
- Application of article rules in sentence completion
- Differentiation between general and specific references in noun phrases
Target Audience and Level:
A2 - English
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Target group and level
English learners at A2 level
Subjects
Zero article
When to use zero article?
We generally use zero article for:
- plural nouns that refer to general people/things (but: for specific people/things we use an article),
- the names of towns, streets, squares, parks,
- the names of countries (except for the Netherlands and those containing Kingdom, Republic, State, Union),
- the names of continents and lakes,
- the names of days and months (except when specified),
- with adverbs of time such as next/last,
- meals,
- languages that a person knows,
- institutions such as school, university, hospital, prison (but not when we are talking about one particular school, university etc.),
- in certain expressions with bed, class, home, work,
- materials (e.g. paper, wood, water, milk, iron), but only when generalising (if we’re talking about one particular thing, we have to use an article),
- abstract nouns, i.e. things that you can’t touch, in a general context,
- expressions with play + sport (but not: play + musical instrument),
- titles and departments used with verbs like be, become, elect, appoint,
- parts of the body or personal objects; instead, we use possessive determiners (my, your, …).