ARTICLES
· Article
are placed before noun.
· It is a
type of determiners.
· It acts
as adjective.
· It
indicates whether the noun refers to something specific or general/non-specific.
Kinds
of Articles
1. Indefinite Articles (A and An)
The
indefinite articles, ‘A’ and ‘An’ are used before singular countable nouns while
talking about a person, place, animal, or thing in a general or non-specific
sense.
I saw a
bird in the garden.
My mother bought an
umbrella for rainy season.
I am a teacher.
Sonu Nigam is a
good singer.
Article ‘A’ is
used before noun beginning with a consonant sound.
a
boy
a
pen
a
school
a
table
a
year
a European tourist (yu-ropean)
a useful animal (yu-seful)
a one-rupee note (won)
Note: Last four words in the above list begin with vowel
(U, E, O) but when spoken, begin with consonant sound hence Article ‘A’ should
be used before them.
Article ‘An’ is
used before noun beginning with a vowel sound.
e.g.
an
apple
an
orange
an
elephant
an hour
an heir
an FIR
an MBA
an NCC
officer
Note: Article ‘An’ is also used before words
beginning with a silent ‘h’ after which there is vowel sound. Abbreviations and
initials beginning with vowel sound take ‘an’ before them.
2.
Definite Article (The)
Definite
article ‘the’ is used before noun when it refers to a particular specific person,
place, animal, or any other thing.
Examples
The book kept
on this table is mine.
The girl
who won the race is my friend.
The sun
rises in the east.
Yesterday,
I saw an elephant. The animal was chained.
1. Before a noun
that has already been mentioned.
I don’t know about
the robbery (mentioned earlier)
I saw a dog. The dog was barking loudly.
2. To
specify a noun being talked about / to highlight or single out a noun
This is the book I was looking for.
Determiners fall
in the category of adjective.
He always sits on the last bench.
I was the first person to reach the auditorium.
3.
Before a singular noun meant to represent the whole class
The cow is a
useful animal.
The rose is the
sweetest of all flowers.
4. Before superlative adjectives
The
tallest building
The best
student
the most
beautiful flower
5. With
comparatives emphasising quantity/number
e.g.
The more we
get, the more we want.
The more, the merrier.
6. Before unique nouns of their kind
The sun, The moon, The earth, The sky
The Ganga, The Yamuna, The Arabian
Sea, The Indian Ocean, The Sahara Desert, The Himalayas, The Persian Gulf, The
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, The Bhagavad Gita, The Quran, The Bible, The
Ramayan
8. Before
names of countries which are a group of countries/lands or a Union
The United States
The United Kingdom
The Netherlands
9. With adjective to make it plural noun
We should help the poor and the needy.
There is wide gap between the rich
and the poor.
Articles
are generally not used before:
1.
Proper Nouns/names given to people, other creatures and things.
Rahul is my
friend.
Chikoo is the
name of my pet.
Mt. Everest is the
highest peak.
God is
one.
2. Names of Languages - English, Hindi, Spanish, French, Sanskrit,
Marathi, etc.
3. Names of Subjects – Mathematics,
History, Science, Physics, Economics, etc.
4. Names
of Games & Sports – Cricket, Badminton,
Football, Tennis, Chess, etc.
5. Names of cities
/ countries – India, France,
Sydney, New York, Mumbai, etc.
6. Material and
abstract noun – gold, silver,
iron, honesty, air, beauty, etc.
Note: Avoid using too many 'the' in one sentence.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE ARTICLE
|
A /
An (Indefinite) |
The
(Definite) |
|
Non-specific |
Specific |
|
Mentioned
for the first time |
Already
known or mentioned |
|
Any
one person or thing |
A
particular person or thing |
I saw a cat. (Any cat) / The cat was
sleeping. (The same cat)
Yesterday I went on a picnic with my
friends / I won’t ever forget the day.
|
Incorrect |
Correct |
|
a honest man |
an honest man |
|
an university |
a university |
|
a hour |
an hour |
|
I believe in the
God. |
I believe in God. |
|
I had a
breakfast. |
I had breakfast. |
EXERCISE
1
Fill in the blanks with appropriate
article.
1. She
is _____ engineer.
2. I
saw _____ elephant in the zoo.
3. _____
sun rises in the east.
4. He
bought _____ umbrella. _____ umbrella is blue.
5. We
crossed _____ Ganga.
6. She
is _____ best singer of her time.
7. I
waited for you for about _____ hour.
8. He
wants to climb _____ Mt. Everest.
9. My cousin
lives in _____ United States of America.
10.
Today, I saw _____ one eyed man.
Exercise 2.
Identify and correct
the errors.
1. She is a honest
woman.
2. An university
is nearby.
3. I had a
breakfast at 8 a.m.
4. He plays a guitar
very well.
5. The Mount
Everest is the highest peak.
Exercise 1.
1. an
2. an
3. the
4. an, the
5. the
6. the
7. an
8. article not required
9. the
10. a
1. She is an honest woman.
2. The university is nearby.
3. I had breakfast at 8 a.m.
4. He plays the guitar very well.
5. Mount Everest is the highest peak.
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