Usages of the Zero Article 

A. before Material Nouns  eg.

Wood consists largely of carbon. (genus)    

Would you like cake? (uncertain quantity) 

B. before  Abstract Nouns  eg. 

She’s fond of music since she was a child. (a general concept) 

C. before Proper Nouns  eg. 

Washington, Peru, Palestine, Israel 

D. before plural countable nouns 

① generic reference  eg. 

Those young men are teachers, not students.    

Axes are sharp-edged tools for chopping wood. 

② reference of uncertain quantity eg. 

Don’t stand in the doorway. 

There are reporters waiting to come in.      

The streets were clean and shaded with trees.       

She put carrots in the stew.       

She put the carrots in the stew. 

E. Before singular countable nouns 

① before addresses, eg. 

family member, nurse, cook, teacher, etc eg. 

Aunt is taking sister out for a walk.      

Cook has made noodles for the occasion.      

Teacher was pleased with our work. 

② before a post, rank, etc. eg. 

They elected John chairman of the committee.       

Who is (the) captain of your team?       

This is Prof. Cook, head of the history department.       

They appointed him minister to a foreign country. 

③ before “breakfast, lunch, supper, etc.” eg. 

Dinner will be served at eight o’clock.      

A snack in the afternoon bridges the gap between lunch and supper.  

* "Thanks for the evening, the supper, the walk. They were all nice.  

* She managed to scare up a lunch for the unexpected guests. 

④ before “school, church, prison,  bed……” 

At the thought of being sent to prison, he shook with fear.  

The retiring warden delivered the keys of the prison to his successor.  

At last, undressing himself with a gloomy resolution, he got into bed. 

Although the bed was smashed to pieces, the man was miraculously unhurt. 

⑤ In “play basketball, football, baseball…”    

I like playing basketball, and I also enjoy the team spirit of basketball.     

Playing football is one of the ways of letting off youthful steam.     

The first picture shows a basketball soaring  through the air toward the hoop.  

⑥ In some structures: 

He was a Conservative but he turned Socialist. 

Tiverton went Liberal at the by-election. 

Teacher as Oscar is, he’s not a grammarian. 

Child as he is, he couldn’t have done such a thing. 

I was fool enough to accept his offer.  

Are you man enough for this dangerous job? 

The teacher came in, book in hand.  

He was sitting in the chair, pipe in mouth.  

Spring has come round again.  

I last saw Blakes in (the) spring.  

Birds fly north in (the) summer and south in (the) winter.