Articles

A,an and the are called Articles.

‘A’ and ‘An’:

A is used with

        1. words beginning with a consonantal sound.

• a toy, a house, a human being, a historical event, etc.

• a yard, a yellow paper, a young man, a year etc. (beginning with ‘y’)

2. words beginning with certain vowels which have a consonantal sound.

 

Y-sound :  a union,  a university,  a useful task,  a unique person, a European etc.      

              W-sound:  a one-eyed man,  a one rupee note etc, a one-way

 An is used with 

1. Words beginning with a vowel sound 

             

                 an underwear, an owl, an area, an intelligent boy, 

              

                 an RTC  bus, an MP ,  an STD /booth etc.

        2.  Words beginning with a  with silent ‘h’

            

                 an honest man, an hour, an honourable man

             

Use of the Indefinite Article :

1.  In the sense of one.( A and An are weakened forms.

•  I have bought a dozen apples.

•  He has seen a one-eyed man on the road.

•  I’d like an orange and two apples please. 

      

2. In the sense of any nor single.

• She did not pay a rupee for it.

• There is not a student in the class who will not come for the celebration.

3. In the sense of ever

• He saves Rs. 10,000/- a year.

4. To represent a whole class

• A dog is a faithful animal to his master. (all dogs)

5. To make a proper noun a common noun

• He is a Sachin here. 

6. With the names of days of the week when not referring to any particular day.

• I was born on a Friday.

7. With singular nouns after the words ‘what’ and ‘such’.

• What a performance!

• Such a great shot!

• She has such a powerful voice.

Use of the Definite Article:

       It is used 

1. to speak of the things when they are the only one of their kind

Eg. the Sun, the Moon. the Sea etc. 

2. to speak of a particular person or thing. (To particularise the person or thing)

 Eg. The man, who came to my home yesterday, came again.

3. to speak of a Singular Noun to represent the  whole class

The camel is the ship of the desert. ( all camels)

4. before names of rivers, seas, groups of islands, mountain ranges, etc.

Eg. The Ganges, the Mississippi, the Amazon, the Pacific Ocean, the Dead Sea, the Himalayas, the Andamans 

5. before the names of certain holy books

Eg. The Ramayana, The Bible, The Koran

( Note: ‘the’ is dropped when the author’s name is prefixed like: Valmiki’s Ramayana)

6. before Proper Noun used as Common Noun

              

            Eg. Bombay is the Manchester of India.

7. before Superlative Adjectives

Eg.  Dhoni is the best captain of the Indian Cricket Team.

8. Before an Adjective to make it a Noun in the Plural

 

The rich are expected to help the poor.

9. as an Adverb in such  sentences like:

The more you work, the more you learn

Omission of Articles:

Cases where Articles should not be used:

1. before the names of countries, persons, months and specific places.
Examples : Japan, Salem, Gandhiji, Anna Salai, March, Friday, Christmas

2. before the names of metals.
Examples : Iron and coal are found in England. Gold is very costly.

3. before the names of languages.
Examples : Hindi is a difficult language

4. before the abstract nouns. (Poverty, Wisdom, Absence, Strength, etc.)

Examples : Truth prevails.
                    Knowledge is power. 

                    Honesty is the best policy.   

                    Cleanliness is next to Godliness. 

5.  before the common noun when used in its widest sense .
Examples : Cats like mice.
                    Boys play games
                    Apples are cheap in Kashmir

 6. before the names of games.
Examples : I play Tennis.

7. before the names of relatives.
Examples : Father, aunt, mother, sister, etc.

8. before names of continents and countries.
Examples : Asia, Norway, Sri Lanka,

Note : We use the, before the names of countries or States which include words like republic, union, kingdom, states
Examples : The United Kingdom, The United States of America

9. before buildings such as school, hospital, court, church, prison, market, etc., when they are used in the primary purpose

Examples : 1. The injured man was taken to hospital. 
                        The Minister visited the hospital.

                    2. The murderer was sent to prison.
                        The walls of the prison must be very high.

10. before the names of foods and festivals.
Examples : Breakfast is at eight O’clock.
                    He takes sugar with his tea.
                    We celebrate Holy in the month of March.

11. before titles used in apposition to a Proper Noun or as the Complement of a Subject

Example: Solomon, son of David, was the wisest of monarchs.

12. before seasons

      Eg, Winter, Summer, Spring,etc.