Articles & Determiners

Using a, an, the, this, that, these, those

はじめに

冠詞と限定詞は小さな言葉ですが、超重要。名詞の前に置かれて、具体的なものか一般的なものか、単数か複数か、近いか遠いかを示してくれます。

日本語には冠詞がないので、英語学習者にとって最大の壁のひとつ。「a」「an」「the」のルールは最初は意味不明に感じるかもしれませんが、練習すれば直感的に選べるようになります。日本語の「この」「その」「あの」に似た指示詞（this, that, these, those）は、空間と時間の中で物を指し示すのに使います。

ルールはあるけれど例外も多い——でも基本パターンを押さえれば怖くありません。この章で感覚をつかみましょう。

テーマ

この章の英文法一覧（22）

• a / an Introduces singular countable nouns that are not specific
• the Refers to specific nouns already known to speaker and listener
• this / that / these / those Demonstratives that point to specific things based on distance
• Countable vs Uncountable Nouns Nouns that can or cannot be counted
• Possessive Pronouns mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs
• much / many / a lot of Quantifiers for large amounts
• Articles with Places When to use articles with locations and buildings
• Articles with Meals & Times No article with meal names and certain time expressions
• a/an with Jobs Using indefinite articles when stating professions
• a/an with Singular Countables Using articles with singular countable nouns
• Possessive Adjectives Words showing ownership: my, your, his, her, its, our, their
• some / any Indicating unspecified quantities
• a lot of / lots of Expressing large quantities
• a few / a little Small but sufficient quantities
• 'the' for Known/Shared Information Using 'the' when both speaker and listener know what is meant
• No Article (General Statements) Omitting articles for general/abstract concepts
• Countable Nouns Nouns that can be counted and have plural forms
• Uncountable Nouns Nouns that cannot be counted individually
• this/that (Near vs Far) Pointing to things by distance
• both, either, neither Words for talking about two things
• each and every Referring to all members individually
• (a) few / (a) little Small quantities with different meanings