Os artigos definidos e indefinidos da língua portuguesa (o, a, os, as, um, uma, uns, umas), na língua inglesa são representados por apenas três artigos: a, an e the e são sempre usados diante de um substantivo. Artigos DefinidosOs artigos definidos (definite articles, em inglês) são usados sempre que nos referimos a algo específico ou que já foi mencionado em um discurso anterior. Na língua inglesa, existe apenas um artigo definido, o the, que além de ser usado diante de substantivos no singular, é o único que pode ser usado diante de substantivos no plural. Em português, ele é traduzido por o, a, os e as.
Pressupõe-se que o receptor da mensagem já saiba de que carro se está falando. Fica implícito que já falaram anteriormente desse carro.
Fica implícita nessa frase a ideia de que quem recebe esta mensagem, sabe de que cartões-postais se está falando. Para além disso, o fato de a palavra postcards (cartões-postais) estar no plural, apenas permite o uso do artigo definido the.
A cor (blue) especifica o substantivo (backpack), ou seja, não se trata de uma mochila qualquer, e sim da mochila azul. Aqui também fica implícita a ideia de que já se falou dessa mochila anteriormente e por esta razão, o receptor da mensagem sabe de que mochila se fala.
Neste caso, está explícita a ideia de que o substantivo (orange juice) já foi mencionado anteriormente, e por esta razão, já se sabe qual suco de laranja está gelado: o suco de laranja que a Sue está bebendo, e não um suco qualquer.
A frase se refere a um grupo específico de meninas, do qual provavelmente já se falou anteriormente, que está brincando e, além disso, o fato de a palavra girls estar no plural, apenas permite o uso do artigo definido the. Outros usosO artigo definido the também deve ser usado quando se refere a: Substantivos únicos na sua espécie
Nomes geográficos
Adjetivos no plural que assumem função de substantivo
Nomes compostos de países que já integram o the no seu nome
Nomes de família
Instrumentos musicais
Ritmos musicais e danças
Numerais ordinais
O artigo definido the não deve ser usado quando a ideia principal da frase se refere a: Nomes de pessoas
Nomes de lugares
Línguas
Esportes
Disciplinas
Pronomes possessivos
Substantivos no plural usados com sentido geral
Dias da semana
Cores
Cargos acompanhados de um nome próprio
Expressões de tempo com last e next.
Artigos IndefinidosOs artigos indefinidos (indefinite articles, em inglês) são usados quando nos referimos a algo em geral, não especificado. Na língua inglesa existem dois artigos indefinidos, a e an, e eles apenas podem ser usados diante de substantivos no singular. Em português, são traduzidos por um e uma. O artigo indefinido a é usado diante de substantivos cuja grafia inicie por uma consoante ou por um som de consoante. As palavras cuja vogal inicial tem, em inglês, som de consoante, geralmente iniciam por “u”, “ew” e “eu” e tem o som da consoante y, ou iniciam por “one” e tem o som da consoante w.
O artigo indefinido an é usado diante de substantivos cuja grafia inicie por uma vogal ou por um som de vogal. As palavras cuja consoante inicial tem, em inglês, som de vogal, geralmente iniciam por “h” mudo, ou seja, não pronunciado.
Os artigos indefinidos a e an também devem ser usados quando a ideia principal da frase se refere a: Profissões
Substantivos contáveis
Quando não usarOs artigos indefinidos a e an não devem ser usados quando a ideia principal da frase se refere a: Substantivos incontáveisNeste caso, usa-se a palavra some:
VídeoAssista o vídeo abaixo e saiba mais sobre o uso dos artigos definidos e indefinidos em inglês. ExercíciosFaça os exercícios de artigos definidos e indefinidos em inglês com gabarito. 1. (UNIFOR CE/2006) Coughing Kitties Maryann Mott Feline asthma [TO BE] a new disease. It was first described in scientific literature more than 90 years ago, says veterinarian Philip Padrid of the Family Pet Animal Hospital in Chicago. Nicki Reed, a veterinarian at the University of Edinburgh’s Hospital for Small Animals, says that when a coughing cat is brought to the clinic, she must first establish if [ARTICLE] cause is [ARTICLE] infection, asthma, or something more sinister, like a lung mass. To do this, Reed usually performs an x-ray, takes a lung fluid sample, and conducts a bronchcoscopy _ an examination that uses a flexible microscope inserted into the cat’s airway. Most of the time, asthma is a mild disease, Reed says. But in some cases cat’s lungs collapse or their ribs fracture due to difficulty in breathing. “I think if we can identify asthmatic cats quite early and get treatments on board to suppress their cough, then hopefully we can avoid them coming to such extremes,” she said. (Adapted from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/1025_051025_cat_asthma.html) In she must first establish if [ARTICLE] cause is [ARTICLE] infection…, the correct forms of the articles are, respectively, a) the _ an. b) the _ the. c) a _ the. d) a _ an. e) a _ a. Alternativa correta: a) the _ an. 2. (UFMA/2006) DISCOVERING NEW YORK This month TRAVEL magazine will take you to _____ unforgettable journey through _____ most charming and posh places of _____ city claimed to be _____ capital of _____world, New York City. The Island of Manhattan, one of the five districts of New York, is the richest, most urban and most filled with attractions. The largest green area of the Manhattan Island, with 340 hectares of woods, grass and lakes, Central Park is one of the great surprises in the city. Fifth Avenue, one of the most famous addresses in the world, marks the middle of the city, like Greenwich Meridian, in London, marks the middle of the Earth. Some of the most expensive and luxurious stores are located there, just like some of the best museums. A present from the French government to the United States in 1866, The Statue of Liberty is one of the most visited spots in New York. It is not located in Manhattan, but rather in Liberty Island, a small island between Wall Street and Staten Island. The missing articles in the first paragraph are respectively: a) a – the – a – the – a. b) the – a – a – the – the. c) a – an – the – a – the. d) an – the – a – the – a. e) an – the – a – the – the. Alternativa correta: e) an – the – a – the – the. 3. (URCA CE/2008) Survival of the cutest Thousands of creatures will qietly disappear if we only focus on the most fascinating species. The struggle to preserve the world’s biodiversity is being compromised by fatal flaws in the way conservations draw up their lists of endangered species. An australian botanist warms that the lists reflect the plants and animals that scientists are most interested in studying, rather than the most threatned species or those at risk of extinction. For instance, says Mark burgman of the University of Melbourne, lists compiled and used by organizations such as the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the Secretariat to the CITES agreement are heavily biased toward birds, mammals and flowering plants, to the detriment of less charismatic species such as insects and fungi. If no one tackles the problem, Burgman believes we will unwittingly focus our conservation efforts in the wrong places, and fail to stop the biggest mass extinction since dinosaurs. Rare species lists contain fewer threatened insects than birds, although we know of nearly a milion insect species and fewer than 10,000 birds. That’s because most insects are poorly studied, says Burgman. For most, all that we have is a specimen in a museum and a brief formal description, he says. Generally, little or nothing is known about their habitat and abundance, and no one may have looked for them since their discovery. ―We assume all’s well because we don’t have any evidence, and we don’t have evidence because we haven’t looked‖, Burgman says. Georgina Mace, director of science athe Zoological Society of London and chair of the Species Survival Comittee, thinks Burgman has identified real problems. Yet she says that groups like the IUCN are adressing them. Starting with amphibians, it has begun assessing the global health of whole groups of related animals, species by species. Putting a species on the Red List is like assessing people coming into a hospital emergency room, she says. It’s not a robust prediction of what will happen, but it’s a quick way to pick out the sickest. But Burgman says that the criteria for assessing whether a species will go extinct vary from country to country and from study to study. He has compared a range of studies and found that different methods produce very inconsisitent results. He says conservation scientists ―need to get our act together‖ and develop a uniform set of tools that everyone can test and agree upon. Even ―extinction‖ can be hard to define, he points out. A surprising number of species have been declared extinct, only to resurface later after people had given up looking for them. (Jeff Hecht in New Scientists, jan, 2002, p.5) VOCABULARY: Struggle – effort; fight Flaw – fault; error Draw up – compose; design Threatened – at risk, endangered Biased – inclined; to be disposed to a certain preference Tackle (v) – confront, attack Unwittingly – unintentionally Brief – short Pick out (v) – select, choose Range – variety Tool – instrument Resurface (v) – reappear Choose the correct answer to complete the sentence: Carol is _________ economist. She used to work in _________ investment department of Loyds bank. Now she works for ______ American bank in ________ United States. a) a – an – the – the b) an – a – an – Ø c) a – an – an – Ø d) an – the – an – the e) an – the – Ø – the Alternativa correta: d) an – the – an – the 4. (EEAR/2007) Choose the alternative in which the definite article is used correctly: a) The old man is arriving right now. b) The spring is the season of flowers. c) The Brazilians are very friendly. d) The New York is a very beautiful city. Alternativa correta: a) The old man is arriving right now. 5. (PUC-PR/1996) Fill in the blanks of the following sentence with the definite article: __________ Brazil is __________ most industrial country in __________ South America, while __________ United States holds __________ same position in _______ North America. a) the; *; *; *; the; the b) *; the; *; the; the; * c) *; the; the; *; the; * d) the; the; the; the; the; the e) *; the; the; the; the; * Alternativa correta: b) *; the; *; the; the; * Saiba mais: |