Articles

 In English there are three Articles: a, an, the.

There are two subdivisions:

• Definite Article:

the ( before a singular or plural noun )

• Indefinite Article:

a ( before a singular noun beginning with a consonant sound )

an ( before a singulare noun beginning with a vowel sound )

( I ) a

1. the common noun should be countable.
2. it should start with a consonant.
3. it should not have definite information.

         e.g. This is a bird.

               That is a dog. 

 

Tip: 

A common noun is a common name given to the same type of object due to the similarity of their properties.

(a)countable things: refers to items that can be counted by numbers and are either singluar or plural.

e.g books,chalks,trees,book,chalk,tree.

(b)In English language there are total 21 consonants.

b,c,d,f,g,h,j,k,l,m,n,p,q,r,s,t,v,w,x,y,z.

(c)The suffix a is also used before common noun that begins with a vowel but is pronounced like a consonant.

e.g. a university, a uniform, a union, a unit, a one rupees noyes etc.

(d)As a rule , if the common noun is used again and again as a rule in different sentence in the order, then the sub-nouns a are used before the first use of the noun and the nouns before the subsequent use of the noun.

e.g.This is a book. The book is written by Tagore. 

( II ) an

1. the common noun should be countable.
2. it should start with a vowel
3. it should not have definite information.

e.g. I saw an elephant wandering in the forest.

       It is an ink-pot. 

      That is an ant. 

Tip:

(a)There are five vowels: a, e, i, o, u

(b)If a common noun begins with h and is pronounced as a vowel, then they use an an suffix before the common noun.

   e.g.  Rekha will return within an hour.

Mohan is an honest boy. 

 (c)Consonants pronounced like a vowel use the suffix an before the common noun.

e.g. an M.A., an M.P., an S.P., an M.L.A., etc.

(III)the

1. The common noun should be singular or plural noun.
2. The common noun should be countable or uncountable.
3. It should be definite.

e.g. the table, the river, the children, the milk, the sky etc.

 

• Some specific rules for using the Article the: 

(1) the is used before the name of the only object in the world.

 e.g. the Gateway of India, the Taj Mahal, the Red fort etc.

 (2) the suffixes are used before the names of objects in the solar system.

e.g. the Sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the milkyway, the earth etc.

(3) the suffixes is used before the name of the sea.

e.g. the Arabian sea, the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean etc.

(4) The name of the mountanins are preceded by the suffix.

e.g. the Himalaya, the Sahyadri, the Vindya, the Satpuda etc.

(5) the suffixes are used before the name of the river.

e.g. the Ganga, the Koyana, the Godavari, the satlaj etc.

(6) the suffix is  used before the name of the direction.

e.g. the East, the West, the North, the South etc.

(7) the Suffix is used before the religious texts.

e.g. the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Bhagwas Geeta etc.

(8) In a superlative degree, the suffixes are used before the third form of the adjective

e.g. Ganesh is the best boy of all. 

(9) the suffixes are used before the ordinal adjectives.

e.g. the first, the second, the third etc.

(10) the suffix is used when referring to  left side / right side.

e.g. the left, the right.

(11)The singular representing the suffix uses the suffix before the common noun.

e.g. The dog is an honest animal. 

 

 

• some more examples solved fro practice:

Fill in the blanks with proper articles where necessary:

 

(1) He was called to visit ..... dying boy.

  Ans:He was called to visit a dying boy.  

 

(2)He was ..... elderly man.

Ans:He was an elderly man.

 

(3)My heart skipped ..... beat.

Ans:My heart skipped a beat.

(4)..... sun rises in the East.

Ans:The sun rises in the East.

(5)Long ago there was ..... blind musician.

Ans:Long ago there was a blind musician.

(6)My uncle is ..... union leader.

Ans:My uncle is an union leader.

(7)My guru was ..... perfectionist.

Ans:My guru was a perfectionist.

(8)..... first event was the 100 meter race.

Ans:The first event was the 100 meter race.

 

(9)And we designed it all into ..... Mac.

Ans:And we designed it all into the Mac.

 

(10)In almost every cave, there is ..... inner temple.

Ans:In almost every cave, there is an inner temple.