七、各类名词前冠词的用法专有名词前冠词的用法专有名词一般来说不需要加冠词，因为它本身就是特指的，尽管前面有形容词修饰也不加冠词：人名：Bush，Shakespeare, Prince Edward, Little Tom, Big Hugh地名：London, Oxford, Southwest Asia, Ancient Egypt但有些特殊情况：在某些地里名词前要加定冠词:a.江、河、海洋：the Yangtze River, the Thames River, the East China Sea, the Red Sea,the Baltic, the Suez (Canal), the Pacific (Ocean), the Rhineb.山脉群岛：the Himalayas, the Alps, the Rocky Mountains, the Philippines, 菲律宾群岛the West Indies 西印度群岛，the Balkan Peninsula, the Bahamas但：Mount Blanc 布朗峰Christian Island 圣诞岛前不加the。
c.海峡海湾：the English Channel 英伦海峡the Taiwan Straits 台湾海峡the Bay of Biscay 比斯开湾the Persian Gulf 波斯湾湖名前一半不加冠词：Lake Ontario 安大略湖Lake Baikal 贝加尔湖Dongting Lake但又个别湖名前也有加the 的，如：the Lake of Geneva the Great Salt Lake另外在下面这些地里名称前都加the ：the Netherlands 荷兰the Vatican 梵蒂冈the Balkans 巴尔干半岛各国the Middle East 中东the Hague , 海牙the Ukraine 乌克兰the Caucasus 高加索the Crimea 克里米亚半岛the Sudan 苏丹the Sahara 撒哈拉大沙漠由普通名词构成的专有名词有很多加定冠词：a.某些国名及政治组织的名称：the People’s Republic of China, the United States, the United Kingdomthe United Nations, the General Assembly, the Security Council,the People’s congress, the house of Commons, the Republican Party(但Congress, Parliament 前不加冠词)b.某些机构、学校及建筑等的名称：the British Museum, the Victoria Chest Hospital, the New Century Oil Companythe Bronx Zoo, the Midland Bank, the University of Utah,the Royal Academy of Music, the Odeon Cinema, the Pentagonthe Hilton (Hotel), the Phoenix (Theatre), the Titanicc.某些报刊杂志的名称：the New York Times the Chicago Tribume the Washington Postthe Labour Monthly the Daily News the Observerthe Economist the Times(但Life, News Week, Harper’s 前不加the。
)下面这类名词前通常不加冠词：a.大多数街名：Sunset Boulevardb.广场名：Berkeley Squarec.车站、机场、公园、桥梁名：Central Stationd.大学名：Yale Universitye.节日名：National Dayf.多数杂志名：Times人名前一般不加冠词，但在一些特殊情况下也可以加冠词，如：a.指某一个特定的人时刻加the:The John you’re looking for is watching TV.b.可加a(n) 表示“某一个”：A Miss Johnson called you yeaterday.c.在人名前可以加the + adj, 表示赞颂等情绪，或说明一时的特点：The police Mr. Williams closed the door after him.“Tell Bess to hurry up,” said the eager George.d.人名前还可加a(n) 表示一些特别的意思：A sad-faced Charles came in the meeting room.He had a Raphael in his room.其它专有名词有时也可以加冠词，如：The car was a Benz, not a Buick.What a strange New York he heard!抽象名词前冠词的用法抽象名词前一般不加冠词：Practice makes perfect.Failure is the mother of success.His research made slow progress.即使有描绘性定语时也都不加冠词：This invitation gave her particular joy.You have given me fresh hope.I’m discussing ordinary human behavior.当一个抽象名词不是用于一般概念，而是表示特定的内容，特别是当它有一限制性定语修饰时，常常需要加定冠词：Physics is the science of matter and energy.The invention of a space rocket took many years.Her children were the joy of her life.这里的关键是看这里的词是泛指还是特指，泛指不加冠词，特指加定冠词the。
泛指特指I love music. He was intoxicated by the music.It flooded his mind with beauty. We enjoyed the beauty of nature.Necessity is the mother of invention. I regret the necessity of these measures.我很遗憾有必要采取这些措施。
抽象名词在下面情况下可能需要加不定冠词：a.表示“一种”，“一场”等：She showed a certain elegance.Ancient Egypt had an advanced culture.He felt a great tenderness for Ruth.It was a just war.b.表示某动作的一例、一次、一番等：He made a careful check of the accounts.Her smile was a reflection of her happiness.Do you care for a smoke?c.表示引起某种情绪的事或人：It’s a difficulty to visit the manager.Seeing him so active was a great encouragement.He was a disappointment to his family.d.表示某一品质的具体行动、人或东西：He did me a great favor.A forced kindness deserves no thanks.In some places, pure water is a luxury.定冠词的运用虽然有一定的规律可循，但每个词特点不同，因此有不少例外。
遇到不清楚的情况时最好查一部较好的词典，看在什么情况下作不可数名词，以及加什么冠词。
物质名词前冠词的用法物质名词一般不加冠词：Man can’t live without water.We expect rain before evening.The desk is made of wood.Hydrogen is lighter than Oxygen.即使前面有描绘性定语，也不必加冠词：Better let in some fresh air.Is the bust made of pure gold. 那座半身像是纯金铸的吗？May I have tomato juice?当物质名词不是用于一般意义，而是表示该物质的一部分，特别是有限制性定语时，前面有时加定冠词the:Walking in the snow with my boyfriend is romantic.Let’s wipe off the dust on the floor.Is the water in the well fit to drink?有些物质名词前可加不定冠词，表示“一种”、“一阵”、“一份”等：The bakery makes a very fine cake.This morning there was a terrible storm.A large beer for me.冠词的一些其他用法除了上面谈的情况，冠词还有一些其他用法值得注意：当一个名词用作表语、同位语等表示当时或现在的职位时，前面常不加冠词（有时加定冠词）：They elected him (the) President of the U.S.He is chairman of the Students’ Union.They appointed him minister to a foreign country.This is Professor Lorin, head of the French department.这里说的职位都指负责人这类职位，如果是一般工作人员则须加冠词：He is a famous doctor of the hospital.不过，尽管是普通员工，现在也有不加冠词的趋势：I took the job of foreign editor in a newspaper office last year.Soon he returned to his old job as car repairman.另外在turn 后的名词前通常不加冠词：After four years’ professional education she turned teacher.在title 和rank 后由of 引起的短语中，名词前也常不加冠词：I prefer the title of director.He was promoted to the rank of colonel.有些个体名词可转而具有抽象意义，这时前面也都不加冠词：The thief was sent to prison for a year.比较：The girl went to the prison to see her father.Is there room for me in the car?比较：I must share the room with her.What time does church begin? 什么时候开始做礼拜？The trees were all in flower. 树都开花了。