The Use of Articles with Personal Names

The names of people usually have no article: Anna Flintstone, Christian Dobbs, Mr Taylor, Dr Stone, Captain Farrell, Lord Chesterton, etc.

Referring to family members normally requires no article either: Father, Dad, Mother, Mum, Granny, Grandpa, Uncle, Aunt, etc.

1. THE is used:

1) to refer to a whole family or some of its members: the Davises, the Dicksons, etc. The Price sisters have opened a boutique.

2) with names of persons modified by a particularizing attribute: You are not the Andrew Manson I once married.

3) with names of persons modified by adjectives or participles: The astonished Tom couldn't say a word.

NOTE: a) No article is used when personal names are preceded by the adjectives old, young, poor, good, mad, kind. The adjectives can be capitalized and become part of the name: Young Forsyte, Poor Uncle Roger.

b) The is optional when the title is a complement: Nixon became (the) President of the USA. Blair became (the) Premier of the UK.

c) The is omitted when as is used or implied: Schroeder was elected Chancellor of Germany.

4) with names of persons used as common nouns: Mozart has been called the Raphael of music.

5) to emphasise uniqueness (with names of famous people): – I saw Richard Geare the other day. – Do you mean the Richard Geare, the Hollywood star?

6) in certain titles: the Reverend Peter Collins, the Prince of Wales ( but Prince Charles), the Duke of Westminster, the Duchess of York. Also: William the Conqueror, Ivan the Terrible, Alfred the Great.

NOTE: If a title is followed by a proper name no article is used: Queen Elizabeth II (the second), Prince Philippe, General Powell, Colonel Bridges.

2. A/AN is used:

1) when the speaker or writer is suggesting that the reader or listener does not know the person, something like " a certain" or " someone called...": A Mr Jones called while you were out (некий, какой-то).

2) with a well-known name associated with typical features: He is a Newton in his field.

3) to denote a representative of a family: " Florence will never be a Domby, " said Mrs Chick.

4) to refer to a product or work by someone: a Chaplin film, a Channell perfume, a Laura Ashley dress, a Steinway piano, a Hemingway novel, etc. Would you recognize a Titian? (a painting)

5) to refer to a copy or instance of something, especially a newspaper or magazine: Could you buy a Cosmopolitan for me on your way home?