一、英文中的冠词1.英文中冠词共两类：定冠词“the”和不定冠词“a”/“an”，共三个。
2.不定冠词的用法：1）用a还是an取决于后面单词的读音而非拼写。
a用于辅音开头的单词前，an 用于元音（a/e/i/o/u）开头的单词前。
如：a girl, an orange, a university, an SOS, a useful book, an honest man, a one-hour trip, an hour等。
2）不定冠词a/an与数词one同源，可理解为汉语的“一”，但不强调数目概念。
不定冠词表示泛指，只能用于单数可数名词之前，泛指某一类人或物中的“任何一个”。
如：His father is an English teacher./ James married a doctor./He worked as a taxi-driver./I met an old friend of mine on my way here.注意：以下情况要用one 而不用a/an：A.句子后面有another或other(s)相呼应时，如：They went from one shop to another./One girl wanted to go out,but the others wanted to stay at home.B.在一些习惯用语或搭配中，如one day, one morning, one afternoon, one evening, one night （表过去或将来），only one, just one等。
如：One day I’ll take you to meet my family./He went out with Arthur to the University of California one Thursday afternoon./We’ve got plenty of sausages, but only one egg./There’s just one thing to be done.C. 用在具体数字前。
如：How many are there? - Exactly one hundred and three.3）与时间或度量衡等名词连用，表示“每一”。
如：Take the medicine three times a day.如果特别强调“每一个”，可用per代替a/an。
如：$ 10 a/per person。
4）用在称呼（Mr., Mrs., Miss等）或具体人名前，含有“我不认识的某某人”的意思。
如：A Mr. Wang phoned and left a message for you.A Jimmy is waiting for you downstairs.3.定冠词的用法1）定冠词the与指示代词this, that, these, those同源，但指示概念较弱。
定冠词表示特指，用于被短语或从句所限定的特指名词之前。
如：Tom sat down on the chair nearest the door./The woman whom you met at the meeting is my sister’s colleague.2）用于因再次提及而成为特指的名词前。
如：I bought a radio and a CD player, but the CD player did not work.3）在谈话双方都知道所指是什么时。
如：Can you turn off the light, please?4）用于单数可数名词前，表示整个类属（一类人或物）。
如：The tiger is in danger of dying out./We should care the disabled.5）用在序数词和形容词最高级之前。
如：Our flat is on the second floor of the building./Could you tell me the shortest way to the railway station?（表示日期时，书写序数词前可不写the，如：I’ll see you on May 26th.（口语中要读成：May the 26th.）6）用于表示时间顺序的名词前。
如：the beginning, the middle, the end, the first/last, the next,the following day, the present, the past, the future。
7）用于same前，如：We are of the same age.8）用于指独一无二的自然现象，或表示方位的名词前。
如：Which is farther from the Earth, the Sun or the Moon?/Japan lies to the east of China and in the east of Asia.（注意：space作“太空”“空间”讲时，不用冠词the，如：The universe exists in space.）9）用于乐器名称前，如：Can you play the piano?10）用于复数形式的姓氏前，表示某家人或夫妇二人。
如：The Browns are watching TV. 11）与某些性质的形容词或分词连用，泛指一类人或事物，如：the blind, the poor, the old等；the new, the good, the unexpected等。
（注意：A. 用作主语时，如指一类人，谓语用复数；如指一类事物，是抽象概念，谓语用单数。
如：The poor are often generous to each other./The unexpected has happened.B. 定冠词与一些表示国籍的形容词连用，特别是以字母-ch, -sh, -ese结尾的形容词，泛指某国人的整体。
如：The English often drink beers in pubs./The Chinese invented printing.）12）由普通名词和另外一些词共同构成的许多专有名词前，常用定冠词the。
如：the United Kingdom, the White House, the Royal Palace, the Great Wall, the State Council等。
13）在许多习惯用语中须用定冠词，如：in the morning/afternoon/evening/night/daytime/summertime; go to the cinema/theatre/concert/opera 等。
14）用在某些习惯表达的介词短语中，指身体或衣着的一部分。
如：I led the child by the hand./The policeman grasped the thief by the sleeve./He’s got a pain in the chest.注意：hit , beat, strike, pat, touch, push, seize, grasp,kick等动作击到某人身体某一部位时，表示身体某部位的名词前要用定冠词，不用物主代词。
涉及身体表面较硬或较突出的部位时，通常用介词on；涉及身体表面较软或较空的部位时，通常用介词in。
如下以beat为例：beat sb. on the head/cheek/chin/nose/ear/shoulder/elbow/back;beat sb. in the face/chest/side/eye/mouth/ribs/stomach.但在口语中，动词后可以直接跟身体的部位名词。
试比较：I patted him on the back.（书面语）I patted his back.（口语）。
4.不使用冠词的情况1）复数可数名词表示泛指或一般概念时，前面不用冠词。
如：The streets are clean and shadowed with trees./Local museums are closed on Mondays.2）物质名词和抽象名词前通常不用冠词。
如：Blood is thicker than water./Glass can be recycled from broken bottles./Life has changed a lot in the last 20 years.但是，当这类名词具体化时，可以和冠词连用。
如：There was a heavy rain last night./We have a deep love for our motherland.3）在表示日常饮食的名词前不用冠词。
如：Have you had breakfast?/Will you stay for tea with us?但是，前面如有形容词或其他限定语来表示类别，要用不定冠词。
如：We had a very nice lunch that day./I was invited to a dinner given to welcome Mr. Brown.如果是特指或指具体的饮食，可用定冠词。
如：The breakfast was well cooked.4）球类运动、棋类游戏等名词前不用冠词。
如：Let’s go and watch them play football./How about having a game of chess?5）“名词+数词”结构前不用冠词。
如：Our train leaves from Platform 5.6）大多数道路、街道、广场、公园等名称前不用冠词。
如：Oxford University, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Victoria Station, Edinburgh Castle, Waterloo Bridge等。
（这些词需要自己在阅读和实践中慢慢积累的。
）7）称呼语及表示家庭成员的名词（常大写）前不用冠词。
如：Stay where you are, girl!/Tom asked, “Why is Father out of work?”注意：A.在正式场合，社交称呼常用Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr./Professor等+姓氏（或姓名）。
其中Ms.用于称呼那些不知是否已婚的女性。
如：Can I speak to Mr. Lewis, please?B.sir和madam 一般不与姓氏连用，可单独用作称呼语。