Where Articles should not be Used

There are various cases where we should not use articles. To ensure grammatical correctness, we should pay attention to few important rules on where to avoid articles. Articles shouldn’t be used

Before Proper nouns

  • He lives in Berlin.
  • They saw Robert at party.
  • We went to the airport with Daniel.
  • Ronaldo is one of the world’s best players.
  • Leonardo Di Vinci was a famous painter.

Before plural nouns

  • Emma and Harriet are friends.
  • Rabbits are fluffy animals.
  • Tortoises are animals with highest life expectancy.
  • He sells pens.
  • We are making clay pots.

Before material nouns

  • Water is liquid.
  • Platinum is metal.
  • Silver is cheap metal unlike gold.
  • Children love drinking milkshake.
  • Gold Jewelry is expensive.

Before the name of festivals

  • Christians celebrate Christmas.
  • Islam followers fast during Ramadan.
  • Children love Halloween because they get to wear different types of costumes.
  • My grandmother cooked turkey in Easter.
  • Who doesn’t love to see Santa during Christmas?

Before the name of days/months/seasons

  • Who doesn’t like spring season?
  • I have to go to shopping on Sunday.
  • August is his favorite month.
  • It’s cold in autumn.
  • We have holiday this Wednesday.

Before religious, health and educational institutions

  • Rachael goes to Church every day.
  • My daughter has gone to school.
  • The police have gone to hospital to inquire about the suspicious death of a teenage girl.
  • My dream to study at Stanford University remained unfulfilled in this life.
  • He was praying at Mosque.

With news headlines/titles in the notices/formal announcements in magazines

  • USA wins the World cup (we should never use The in the beginning).
  • Christmas celebrations going throughout the country.
  • Gold price soars up.
  • Ebola spreading like a bush fire.
  • Terrorist hijack an air plane.

Before clothing, indefinite uncountable noun, names of relatives

  • Mother just arrived from the church.
  • Gold is a valuable metal.
  • I like to drink apple juice.
  • Did u meet father?
  • She is wearing shorts.

Furthermore, we should not use articles before

Name of mountain/lakes

  • Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Everest…

Name of language

  • English, French, Latin, Chinese, Japanese, American, Spanish, Russian…

Name of games

  • Swimming, Basketball, Volleyball, Polo, Tennis, Football, Golf, Cricket…

Name of streets

  • Harlem street, Z street…

Name of countries

  • USA, Russia, UK, Germany, Brazil, Greece, Italy, France, Japan, India…

Name of continents

  • Europe, Australia, North America, Asia, Africa, South America, Antarctica

Name of color

  • White, Blue, Yellow, Brown, Green, Purple, Orange, Red, Black..

Name of days

  • Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Name of months

  • January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Finally, we should not use articles with the following given words and expressions

  • By + transport, possessive/apostrophe, kind of/sort of/type of
  • In time, per hour, at night, at noon, all morning, all day, on holiday
  • At work, at school, at home, at college, at university, on board
  • At risk, under control, on fire, in fact, in place of