冠词（Articles）及其用法
假设我们要翻译以下的中文句子：
他是聪明的孩子
He is a clever boy.
他是昨天来看我的孩子。
He is the boy who came to e me yesterday.
正确的句子是：
He saw a cat.
Swimming is a good exerci.
Java is a computer language.
The King of England died last night.
He is the professor who taught me English.
我们知道大多数的名词前面要加冠词，但究竟要加a，还是the呢？
1 a和the之不同用法
a和the最大的不同，在于a后面的名词不是指定的，而篮球的英语the后面的名词是有所指的。我们不妨看以下的两个句子，他们都是正确的，但意义却不同。
John is a boy.
John is the boy.
〝John is a boy.〞的意思是〝约翰是一个男孩〞，而〝John is the boy.〞的意思就完不同了，我们一定曾经提到过某一个男孩子，而约翰就是那个男孩子。可能的情形是：There is a boy who is very good in mathematics. John is the boy.
我们就以〝国王〞为例，如果我们泛指一般的国王，我们可以用复数，也可以用单数，但必须用a，以下是一些例子：
Kings are also human beings.
Even a怎么暗地里收拾一个人团员的权利 king will die sooner or later.
Have you ever met a king ?
I do not like to be a king.
He is an ordinary person, not 纪念日作文a king.
如果我们的国王是指某一个特定的国王，就必须用the，举一个例子；如果我们说〝国王万岁〞，我们当然是指我们的国王，因此〝国王万岁〞的翻译就是
Long live the King.
以下的例子都是正确
Here comes the King.
The King is a popular person in our country.
Even the King of England can not come in.
He is not a boy who would cheat others.
他不是那种会欺骗别人的男孩子。
He is not the boy who cheated in an examination yesterday.
他不是昨天在考试中舞弊的男孩。
He is a King.〝他是一个国王〞。
如果说He is the King.〝他是我们国家的国王〞。
Plea open a window.是指请开一扇窗子，随便哪一扇都可以。
Plea open the window.〝the window〞一定是指某一扇特定的窗子，也许这间房子里只有一扇窗，也可能他们谈话中曾经提到某一扇窗，〝the window〞就是指那一扇窗。
我们可以再举一个例，假如我们说，〝我们需要一场大雨〞，我们说
We need a heavy rain.
如果我们说，〝这场雨好大〞，我们说
The rain is really heavy.
有了这个基本观念以后，我们就很容易了解以下句子中，为什么要用the：
I am going to the train station.
The post office is quite near.
Where is the library?
根据这种原则，当我们提到地球，月亮这种独一无二的东西，就必须用the。
the earth
the sun
the moon
the univer
除此以外，the还有一个特殊的用途，我们可以在the评价英文的后面加一个形容词，使这两个字变成了一个名词，举例来说：
the rich＝富人
the poor＝穷人
the weak＝弱者
the deaf＝聋人
the blind＝盲人
请注意，以上的名词是复数：
The rich always get richer.
The poor are getting poorer.
The blind are often very nsitive to sounds.
以下是一些用a和the的例子，读者应设法了解句子中为何有时用a，有时用the。
He is a student.
He is the student who can swim very well.
I like to be a teacher.
He is the teacher who taught me English.
The president of the United States in an important person in the world.
I have a son and a daughter.
I have two sons. This is the son who will be a doctor.
应用软件有哪些I want to be a teacher who is loved by students.
He is not the person whom we talked about.
There is a boat in the river.
This is the boat which we can u.
The rain is going to stop tomorrow.
We need a good rain.
The weather is really bad.
Is there a train station near us?
Where is the station?
Do you know where the post office is?
There is a post office inside that building.
The library looks so good.
The rich should pay more taxes.
We should pay more attentions to the poor.
The blind can also study computer science now.
The earth is round.
The sun never ts in the British Empire.
Do you think we can reach the张丽莉老师 moon?
How large is the univer?
2 a和an的用法
在英文里，a有时必须用an代替，凡是一个字一开始的发音是元音的话，那么前面就不能用a，而必须用an。例子：
an apple
an answer
an egg
an eye
an island
an idea
an old lady
an odd ca
an umbrella
请注意，用an与否并不是完全和字母有关，而是和发音有关。举例来说，u虽然是一个元音字母，但是我们却说a unit，而不能用＊an unit，因为unit的一开始发音并非元音。
其它类似的例子有：
a uful car
a university
a uniform
a one-sided opinion
反过来说，有些字并不以元音开始，但是却必须用an，因为这些字的第一音节是元音发音，例子：
an honest person
an hour
3 冠词使用时的例外
在以上的两节，我们好像说冠词的使用是有一定规则的，其实不然，例外也不少。在很多情形之下，冠词是要省略的，更麻烦的是，连省略冠词的规则都有例外，应该省的却又不省了。
第一个有关冠词的特殊用法是这样的，假设我们要说〝男生通常不喜欢弹钢琴〞，我们不能说
好网Boy does not like to play the piano.
而要说
Boys do not like to play the piano.
这时，Boys的前面，是没有冠词的，理由很简单，我们不能加a，因为boys是复数，我们也不能加the，因为boys并没有指定哪一个男孩，也没有指定哪一种男孩。类似的例子有：
Girls are more diligent than boys.
When spring comes, flowers start to bloom.
Dogs are often clo to their masters.
Cats are often quite lazy.
Men eat more than women.
Professors are all very smart.
第二个规则有关所谓不可数名词，很多名词是可以数的如：
a cup, two cups
a boy, three boys
a teacher
a student
a boat
an airplane
a glass of water
a cup of tea
可是很多名词是不可数的，以下这些名词都是抽象的，因此不可数
time
love
hatred
pain
joy
sadness
kindness
wisdom
hope
patience
这些抽象名词的前面是不要加冠词的，例子如下：
Time flies.（时间过得很快）
We can not live without love.
Let there be no hatred.
We must be able to endure pain.
Loving others creates joy.
There is sadness in his voice.
Can you feel his kindness?
He has wisdom.
There is hope among us.
I am losing patience.
以上的例子，乃是泛指的事物，如果特定的抽象名词，仍要加冠词。例如：
This is the time to cry.
