Zero Article

For Intermediate learners

Some nouns and noun phrases are used with no articles preceding them. In this article, we will learn about them.

What Is Zero Article?

Zero article refers to a situation when we do not use 'a, an, the' (an article) before a noun or noun phrase.

Sometimes, we do not use any articles because it is not necessary to use them. For Example:

I play football every day.

I called him at midnight.

The following is a list of groups of nouns that normally do not require an article:

We usually do not need to use articles before the names of sports and games. Here are some examples:

✓ He plays tennis.

✗ He plays ~~the~~ tennis.

Before the names of the meals we eat throughout the day, we do not use articles. Here are examples:

✓ I had dinner at nine.

✗ I had ~~the~~ dinner at nine.

Before the names of languages, we cannot use articles. Here are examples:

✓ He speaks French.

✗ He speaks ~~the~~ French.

We usually do not use articles with first names or last names of people. For example:

✓ I saw Amanda last night.

✗ I saw an Amanda last night.

With the name of days and months, we do not need to use articles. For example:

✓ He was born in July.

✗ He was born in ~~the~~ July.

With abstract nouns, we do not use articles. Check out the examples:

✓ We all look for happiness.

✗ We all look for a happiness.

Sometimes there is no need to use any articles so we use zero article. Here are the most common occasions in which we do not use articles.

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