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冠词

We use a and an to talk about a singular countable noun.
我们用 a 和 an 来指单数可数名词。

e.g.
a flowerpot, a train, a parrot, a plate
an umbrella, an earthquake, an old lady, an igloo

Notes
***   We use "an" for words that begin with 
         vowels ('a', 'e', 'i', 'o', 'u')

The is used:
** when we speak of the same thing again:
     之前提过的同一个物件：

     e.g. 
     He gave her a bouquet of roses. The roses were red.

** when we are clear about the person or thing that we are  
      talking about:
      确定的人或东西：

      e.g.
      My mother bought some fruits from the market.

** when there is only one such thing:
     独一无二的东西：

     e.g.      The sun rises in the east.

** in front of the superlative form of adjectives:
     形容词最高级之前：

     e.g.      It's the happiest day in my life!



Articles are not used:

** before an uncountable noun when we are talking about  
     something in general.
     一般性的不可数名词之前：

     e.g.     I like (-) pizza.

** before the name of a game.
     游戏或运动项目的名称之前：

     e.g.     The boys play (-) football in the evening.

** before the name of a meal.
     三餐的名称之前：

     e.g.     I had porridge for (-) breakfast.

** before proper nouns.
     专有名词之前：

     e.g.     (-) Singapore is to the north of (-) Malaysia.

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