The zero article, the with unique and general things, and quantifiers like several, plenty of and a number of. · about 14 minutes
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What is it? You already know a, an and the. At this level you learn the finer points: when to use no article at all (the zero article), how the works with unique and general things, and how quantifiers such as several, plenty of, a number of and fewer/less are used correctly.
Why does it matter? Articles and quantifiers are small words with big effects: "The students passed" (a specific group) differs from "Students passed" (in general), and "a number of problems" is plural while "the number of problems" is singular.
Where do we use it? Essays, news reports and formal writing: "The United Nations", "She studies physics", "A number of students were absent".
In this lesson you will:
