(单词翻译:单击)
Hello! I'm Emma from mmmEnglish
你好!我是来自mmmEnglish的Emma。
and in this lesson we're working on your English grammar, specifically on how to use articles.
这节课我们要学习英语语法，特别是冠词的用法。
Now I know this is a lesson that you need to watch.
现在我知道这是你需要关注的一课。
There are three English articles, “a”, “an” and “the”.
有三个英语冠词：a、an、the。
It is possible to have no article and using one or the other changes the meaning of your English sentences.
不用冠词或者改变介词可能改变句意。
but more on that later!
稍后再详细介绍!
Articles are a challenging part of speaking English
在说英语的过程中，介词是很有挑战性的一部分，
but they're a really important part.
但也是很重要的一部分。
They give information about the noun that they come before.
它们给出了名词的信息。
Using articles incorrectly can make your sentences confusing or sound strange.
错误地使用冠词会使你的句子令人困惑或听起来很奇怪。
And mistakes with articles are quite obvious to native speakers.
文章中的错误对以英语为母语的人来说是很明显的。
They probably won't correct you,but they'll notice them –
他们可能不会纠正你，但他们会注意到——
even though you'll probably be understood if you make mistakes with articles.
即使你在冠词方面犯了错，别人也能理解你。
Using the incorrect article is one of the most common errors that English learners make.
使用错误的文章是英语学习者最常犯的错误之一。
If you've ever emailed me or messaged me on Facebook, I've probably seen it in your writing too.
如果你曾经给我发过邮件或在Facebook上给我发过信息，我可能也在你的书写中看到过。
These mistakes happen all the time without you even realising it!
这些错误总是在你意识不到的时候发生!
but there is a reason why these kind of mistakes are so common!
但这类错误如此普遍是有原因的!
There are lots of different rules about how to use articles and lots of exceptions too!
关于如何使用冠词有很多不同的规则，也有很多例外！
So to make articles a little easier for you, I've broken this lesson down into three main rules that you need to know about using English articles.
因此，为了让冠词对你来说更容易一些，我把这节课分成了三条你需要知道的使用英语文章的主要规则。
Now, I'm not going to teach you every rule about English articles.
现在，我不会教你英语冠词的所有规则。
I don't want to scare you away so much that you never come back!
我不想吓得你再也不回来了！
I'm going to teach you some principles that will help you to use articles better.
我要教你一些原则，帮助你更好地使用冠词。
Remember, that articles are used with English nouns.
记住冠词是与英语名词连用的。
So, nouns play an important part in your decision to use an article.
所以，名词在你决定使用冠词时起着重要的作用。
The type of noun is important.
名词的类型很重要。
There are two types of articles in English, definite and indefinite.
英语中有两种冠词，定冠词和不定冠词。
And it's probably easier for me to show you how they work.
对我来说，向你们展示它们是如何工作的可能更容易些。
This table will help to make it a little clearer.
这张表有助于使它更清楚一些。
Thinking about English nouns, we know that there are countable and uncountable nouns.
说到英语名词，我们知道有可数名词和不可数名词。
Countable nouns can be singular or plural.
可数名词可以是单数或复数。
So there's a lot to think about and it really affects how you use articles.
所以有很多东西需要考虑，它真的会影响你如何使用冠词。
If a noun is singular and countable, then you can use the indefinite article “a” or “an”.
如果一个名词是单数和可数的，那么你可以用不定冠词“a”或“an”。
The definite article, “the”, can be used with countable or uncountable nouns.
定冠词“the”既可以与可数名词连用，也可以与不可数名词连用。
When a noun is plural, so when there is more than one of that noun, the definite article, “the”, can be used.
当一个名词是复数时，当该名词不止一个时，可以使用定冠词“the”。
And though we can't use the indefinite singular articles “a” and “and”, we can use “some” when we're not being specific.
虽然我们不能使用不定单数冠词“a”和“And”，但我们可以在不明确的情况下使用“some”。
Now, this technically is not an article
严格来说，这不是一个冠词
but if you're using a plural noun and you're not being specific, “some” is the perfect choice.
但是如果你使用的是复数名词，而你又不具体，那么“some”是最佳选择。
So for the singular countable noun, strawberry, I can say “A strawberry”,
所以对于单数可数名词，草莓strawberry，我可以说“A strawberry”，
I can say “The strawberry” when I'm being specific.
当我说得很具体的时候，我可以说“The strawberry”。
If I'm using the plural form of that noun, strawberries,
如果我用的是那个名词的复数形式，strawberries，
then I can use “some” if I'm not being specific.
如果不具体指代，那么我可以用" some "。
“I would like some strawberries please” or I can use “the”, the definite article with my plural noun.
“请给我一些草莓”或者我可以用the、定冠词和复数名词连用。
“Could you pass me the strawberries?”
“你能把草莓递给我吗?”
The difference between the definite and the indefinite articles is the difference between talking about a specific pen, a unique pen, or any pen at all - it doesn't matter!
定冠词和不定冠词之间的区别就像谈论一支特定的笔，一支独特的笔，或者任何一支笔一样——不难!
Like I said, we're going to focus on three main rules today.
就像我说的，我们今天主要讲三条规则。
Learn these rules and you will choose the correct article most of the time.
学习这些规则，大多数情况你都能选对冠词。
The first rule explains when we use “the”, the definite article and when we use “a” or “an”, the indefinite article.
第一条规则解释了我们何时使用定冠词The，何时使用不定冠词a或an。
The second rule deals with unique nouns, which usually require the definite article.
第二条规则涉及特指名词，通常需要定冠词。
And the third rule explains why we sometimes leave articles out.
第三条规则解释了为什么我们有时会省略冠词。
If you do need an article, when should you use an indefinite article and when should you use the definite article?
如果你需要冠词，什么时候应该用不定冠词，什么时候应该用定冠词?
Great question!
好问题!
Let's talk about rule number one.
我们来谈谈第一条规则。
Indefinite articles, “a” and “an” are used when you first introduce someone to a noun.
不定冠词“a”和“an”在你第一次把某人介绍给名词时使用。
It doesn't matter if you're speaking or writing.
无论你是在说还是在写。
When you first introduce a countable noun, you need to use “a” or “an”, then you can use the definite article, after you have introduced the noun.
当你第一次介绍一个可数名词时，你需要使用“a”或“an”，然后你可以在介绍名词后使用定冠词。
I want to demonstrate this for you with a very simple story.
我想用一个非常简单的故事来为大家演示一下。
I saw a person yesterday.
我昨天看见一个人。
The person was sitting under a tree.
那个人正坐在树下。
The tree was very tall.
这棵树很高。
The person stood up when they saw a cat.
那个人看见猫时站了起来。
The cat jumped on a wall to try and catch a bird
那只猫跳上一堵墙，想抓住一只鸟
but the bird flew off the wall.
但是那只鸟从墙上飞走了。
In this example, the nouns person, tree, wall, cat and bird, all take the indefinite article
在这个例子中，名词person、tree、wall、cat和bird都带有不定冠词
but only when they're first introduced.
但只有在名词第一次被介绍的时候。
After that, we use the definite article every time.
之后，我们每次都用定冠词。
This rule is about ensuring that the reader or the listener knows which specific noun you're talking about.
这个规则是为了确保读者或听众知道你在谈论哪个特定的名词。
As soon as you've made this clear to the person, you can use the definite article every time you use it.
一旦你把这一点讲清楚了，你就可以在每次使用定冠词的时候使用它了。
Now we know which bird, of all of the possible birds in the world that it could be,
现在我们知道了世界上所有可能的鸟，
we know which specific bird you're talking about.
我们知道了你说的是哪种鸟。
So, we can use the definite article.
所以，我们可以用定冠词。
The second rule.
第二条规则。
When a noun is unique, use the definite article.
当名词是唯一的，使用定冠词。
When something is unique, there is only one of that thing.
当某物是独一无二的，它就只有一个。
That's when we use the definite article.
这就是我们用定冠词的时候。
The definite article is “the”.
定冠词是The。
“The sun”, “The president”, “The Queen of England” and “The capital city” are all examples of this.
“The sun”, “The president”, “The Queen of England” 和 “The capital city”都是这类例子。
There is only one of these nouns.
这类名词只有一个。
They're unique.
他们是独一无二的。
This is especially true for nouns that are well-known by most people.
对于大多数人熟知的名词来说尤其如此。
but it's even true when the listener might not know the noun.
但是，当听众可能不知道这个名词时，这也是正确的。
“Who's he?”
“他是谁？”
“He's the president of the United States.
“他是美国总统。
He's the CEO.
他是首席执行官。
He's the mayor.”
他是市长。”
Compare it to “Who's she?”
同样的有“她是谁?”
“She's a member of parliament.
“她是国会议员。
She's an accountant.
她是一个会计。
She's an engineer.”
她是一个工程师。”
There is more than one of these nouns, so that noun is not unique.
这些名词不止一个，所以那个名词不是唯一的。
Now, I'm going to keep giving some more examples to rule number two.
现在，我将继续给出更多的例子来说明第二条规则。
And remember, for rule two, we're thinking about nouns that are unique.
记住，对于规则二，我们考虑的是特有名词。
There's only one of these nouns.
这些名词只有一个。
but this uniqueness, it doesn't need to be really obvious, it can come through the context.
但是这种独特性，并不需要很明显，它可以通过上下文来体现。
So for example, “A truck crashed into a tree.
例如，“一辆卡车撞到了一棵树上。
The driver was not injured.”
司机没有受伤。”
Once we introduce the car, we know, by association,
一旦我们介绍了汽车，我们知道，通过联想，
that there could only be one driver because there was only one car or one truck mentioned.
因为只有一辆车或一辆卡车，所以只能有一个司机。
So the driver is unique in the story.
所以在这个故事里司机是独一无二的。
There's only one driver that we could possibly be talking about.
我们只能谈论一个司机。
Keep thinking about this idea of a unique noun as we continue.
在我们继续的过程中，请继续思考这个独特名词的概念。
When you're using superlative adjectives,
当你使用最高级形容词时，
“the best place”,
“最好的地方”、
“the worst thing”,
“最糟糕的事”、
“the fastest runner”,
“跑得最快的人”、
“the tallest mountain”,
“最高的山”、
“the most interesting person I've met”,
“我见过的最有趣的人”、
you need to use the definite article
你需要用定冠词
because there can only be one person, place or thing that can be the fastest or the most expensive.
因为只有一个人、一个地方或一件东西可以是最快的或最昂贵的。
Paul is taller than Steve and Greg
保罗比史蒂夫和格雷格高
but Tom is taller than Paul.
但是汤姆比保罗高。
And Adam is the tallest.
亚当是最高的。
There are many boys who are taller than Greg
有许多男孩比格雷格高
but only one person can be the tallest, that's Adam.
但是只有一个人可以是最高的，那就是亚当。
Also, use the definite article for named things.
同样，用定冠词来表示命名的事物。
By naming them, they become unique.
通过给它们命名，它们变得独一无二。
So for example, “The Himalayas”,
例如，“喜马拉雅山”，
“The Amazon River”,
“亚马逊河”
“The Indian Ocean”,
“印度洋”
“The United Nations”,
“联合国”
“The Eiffel Tower”,
“艾菲尔铁塔”
“The 8:06 bus”.
“8:06的公交”
All of these nouns are unique
所有这些名词都是唯一的
but there are some exceptions, like the names of people –
但也有一些例外，比如人名
we don't usually use an article.
我们通常不用冠词。
The names of lakes and islands don't usually use articles, Phi Phi Island or Lake Victoria,
湖泊和岛屿的名称通常不使用冠词，比如皮皮岛或维多利亚湖，
except when these nouns are plural, like The Great Lakes or The Galapagos Islands.
除非这些名词是复数，如五大湖或加拉帕戈斯群岛。
These exceptions are what make articles very frustrating in English
这些例外使得英语中的冠词很捉摸不透
but don't give up!
但不要放弃！
When you're ordering things, so when ordinal numbers like second, fifth, are used as adjectives.
当你在排序的时候，比如像second, fifth这样的序数用作形容词。
For example, “The second time” or “The third example” or “The fourth person to call”.
例如，“第二次”或“第三个例子”或“第四个打电话的人”。
So in other words once you place an order on an object, they hold a unique position in that order and so you can use the definite article.
换句话说，一旦你对一个物体下了命令，它们就会在那个顺序中占据一个独特的位置所以你可以用定冠词。
OK lastly, why do we use an article with a noun sometimes and at other times we don't use an article at all?
好的，最后，为什么我们有时用冠词加名词，有时不用冠词?
This is the third rule.
这是第三条规则。
When we're speaking about a noun in general,
当我们笼统地谈论一个名词时，
we're not being specific about which particular noun, we usually leave the article out.
我们并没有具体说明具体是哪个名词，我们通常会省略冠词。
And if it's countable, you need to use the plural form.
如果它是可数的，你需要使用复数形式。
Let's use a countable noun, this pen, as an example.
让我们用一个可数名词，这支笔，作为例子。
When we're talking about an actual pen or pens that really exist, we use an article, definite or indefinite.
当我们谈论一支真正存在的钢笔时，我们使用冠词，定冠词或不定冠词。
In the following examples we're speaking of specific or actual or real pens that exist.
在下面的例子中，我们说的是具体的或实际存在的笔。
“Can I borrow the pen?”
“我能借那支笔吗？”
That's a specific pen.
这是一支特殊的笔。
“The pen that's on your desk.”
“你桌子上的那支钢笔。
Singular and specific.
单一的和具体的。
“The pens are in your bag.”
“钢笔在你的书包里。”
That's a plural noun, right?
这是个复数名词，对吧?
And with the definite article.
加上定冠词。
but we can also make general statements about pens and when we do,
但是我们也可以对笔做一般性的描述，
we speak generally, this is when we can leave the article out.
我们一般是这样说的，这时我们可以把冠词省略掉。
For example, “I prefer to use black pens”,
例如，“我更喜欢用黑色的笔”，
“I never have pens when I need them”
例如，“我更喜欢用黑色的笔”，
“I bought pens for you to use”
“我买了笔给你用”
It is absolutely possible to use an article or leave it out
使用一篇文章或者不使用它是完全可能的
but the meaning will be different in each case.
但是每一种情况下的意义都是不同的。
“I really like eating cake”
“我真的很喜欢吃蛋糕”
This is a general statement about cake - could be any cake
这是一个关于蛋糕的一般性陈述——可以是任何蛋糕
but compare it to “I really like the cake you made”.
但是和“我真的很喜欢你做的蛋糕”做下对比。
It's a statement about a specific cake, a cake that I've actually eaten.
这是一个关于特定蛋糕的陈述，一个我确实吃过的蛋糕。
When speaking generally about a countable noun, you need to use the plural form.
当你说一个可数名词的时候，你需要使用复数形式。
So for example, “I'm allergic to strawberries”.
所以比如“我对草莓过敏”。
So strawberries in general.
一般来说是strawberries。
“Australians like to eat eggs for breakfast”
“澳大利亚人早餐喜欢吃鸡蛋”
Just eggs in general, not specific eggs.
只是广义的鸡蛋，不是特定的鸡蛋。
If you're talking about something that is uncountable like information or knowledge or equipment,
如果你谈论的是不可数的东西，比如信息、知识或设备，
then just use the noun in its original form because obviously it doesn't have a plural form.
那就用这个名词的原形吧，因为它显然没有复数形式。
So for example, “The information is available at the counter”
例如，"信息可以在柜台上找到"
and that's specific information, something that we've already been talking about.
这是特定的信息，我们已经讨论过了。
“Information is available at the counter” is a very general statement.
“在柜台可以查到相关信息”是一个非常笼统的表述。
General information.
笼统的信息。
OK I know that that was a big lesson and a lot to take in.
好吧，我知道这是一个很大的教训，有很多东西需要理解。
You should probably watch it again to really let all of the information sink in.
你应该再看一遍，让所有的信息都能被理解。
I've made a cheat sheet and a worksheet that's going to help you to practise using what you learned in this lesson.
我做了一个小抄和一个练习表，这将帮助你练习使用你在这节课中学到的东西。
You can download it right here.
你可以在这里下载。
but before you do go there, let's just go over those three important rules again just to make sure you remember them.
但是在你开始之前，让我们再复习一下这三条重要的规则以确保你能记住它们。
The first rule explains when we use “the”, and when we use “a” or “an”, the definite and the indefinite articles.
第一条规则解释了什么时候用The，什么时候用a或者an，定冠词和不定冠词。
Remember the story about the person and the cat and the bird?
还记得那个关于人、猫和鸟的故事吗?
When you're introducing something that is probably unknown to the listener or the reader, you need to use “a” and “an” or “an”
当你介绍一些听众或读者可能不知道的东西时，你需要使用“a”和“an”或“an”，
Then any time after that, you can use “the”.
然后在任何时候，你都可以使用“the”。
The second rule deals with unique nouns which usually use the definite article.
第二条规则涉及通常使用定冠词的唯一名词。
Now I gave you lots of different examples about how nouns can be unique
关于名词是如何独一无二的现在我给你们举了很多不同的例子
and we also talked about how “the” should usually be used with ordinal numbers, when they're adjectives.
当序数词是形容词时，我们还讨论了" the "通常如何与序数连用。
The third rule explains why we sometimes leave articles out –
第三条规则解释了为什么我们有时会省略冠词
that's when we're talking generally about something.
这就是我们通常所说的。
Now remember, that these three rules are great
记住，这三条规则很重要
but they're general rules.
但它们是一般规则。
They work most of the time.
他们在大多数情况下都适用。
Unfortunately, there will always be some exceptions with articles,
不幸的是，文章总会有一些例外，
but don't lose hope!
但是不要失去希望!
These three rules are going to help you make better choices about using English articles,
这三条规则将帮助你在使用英语冠词时做出更好的选择，
so that you can really improve your English grammar.
这样你才能真正提高你的英语语法。
Don't forget to download the worksheet, up here!
别忘了下载工作表，在这里!
The mmmEnglish worksheets are great
mmmEnglish工作表很好
because I'll also send you a bonus audio guide of me explaining the answers for you.
因为我还会给你发一份我的音频指南，帮你解释答案。
So if you do get any of them wrong, you'll know exactly why.
所以如果你做错了其中任何一个，你就会知道确切的原因。
To keep practising English grammar, check out this lesson here.
要继续练习英语语法，请点击这里。
And to improve your pronunciation and your speaking skills, try my imitation lessons right here.
想要提高你的发音和说话技巧，试试我的模仿课吧。
I hope that you enjoyed this lesson and I will see you again next week for the next lesson.
希望你喜欢这节课，下周下节课再见。
Bye for now!
再见！
