Articles specify grammatical definiteness of the noun to
indicate the type of reference being made by the noun.
A, An, The are articles.
A is used before words beginning
with a consonant sound
Eg: I met a man, He is a student,
She studied in a university.
An is used before words beginning
with a vowel sound.
Eg: It is an ox, Celyon is an
island, They waited for an hour.
Uses of A/An
It is used before a common singular
noun
Eg: I bought a mango, She bought an
apple
It is used in the sense of one
Eg: a boy, a girl, a man, a woman, a
European, a university.
It is used before a person or thing
representing a class
Eg: A tiger is a cruel animal, An
elephant is a huge animal.
It is used to express rate, measure
etc.
Eg: How much money does she earn a
month, The scooter runs at fifty kilometers an hour, The train runs twice a month,
she took half a cup, He waited for half an hour.
It is used before the names of
professions.
Eg: She is a doctor, He is an
accountant.
It is used to express the same.
Eg: Two at a time, Birds of a
feather.
It is used in phrases expressing
number or quantity.
Eg: He bought a dozen organges, He
spent a lot of money on fancy items.
It is used in exclamations.
Eg: What a warm day!, What a pity!
It is used before the names of
persons to indicate unfamiliarity
Eg: A Mr. Smith came, There is a Mr.
John at the gate.
It is used before a proper noun to
describe another person or thins.
Eg: He is a Danial in his judgement.
Uses of the The:
To speak of a person or thing
already referred to
Eg: I saw a man. The man was
carrying a box. The book you have given me is interesting.
Before superlatives
Eg: Calcutta is the biggest city in
India.
When a singular noun represents a
whole class.
Eg: The dog is a faithful animal.
The rose is a sweet flower.
Before things of which there is only one.
Eg: The Sun, The moon, The earth,
They sky.
Before the names of rivers, seas,
oceans and gulfs.
Eg: The Ganges, The Indus, The
Arabian sea, The Red sea, The Indian ocean, The Pacific
ocean, The Persian
gulf.
Before the names of canals and
lakes.
Eg: The Suez canal, The Buckingham
canal.
Before the names of deserts, island
groups, mountain ranges and countries which are unions of smaller states.
Eg: The Thar Desert, The Sahara
Desert, The Andamans, The West, Indies, The Himalayas,
The Alps, The United
Kingdom, The U.S.A.
Before the names of government
departments, organizations, famous buildings, trains, ships and aeroples.
Eg: The Ministry of Defence, The
Ministry of Finance, The World Health Organisation, The United Nations
Organisation, The Queen Elizabeth II is a famous ship.
Before the names of religious books.
Eg: The Bhagawadgita, The
Mahabharatha, The Bible, The Qur’an.
Before an adjective to make it a
plural noun.
Eg: The rich must help the poor
Before adverbs and adjectives in the
comparative degree.
Eg: The money you spend the less you
save, The higher you climb the colder it gets.
Before the names of families.
Eg: We invited the John to lunch,
The Smiths left for London.
Omission of the Article
- Before a common noun used in the wider sense
- Before proper nouns
- Before material nouns
- Before abstract nouns
- Before titles used in apposition to a proper noun
- Before relations.
- Before names of seasons
- Before names of diseases
- Before names of subjects of study
- Before places visited for primary purpose
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