Articles

             

 Introduction. 

• The words a, an, and, the, are called articles . 

• These articles are normally used before nouns. 

• A and An are called indefinite articles while the is known as Definite articles. 

Eg. 

* A book

* A table

* A pen

* A tree

* A house 

* An umbrella

* An orange 

* An Apple

The above words refer to any of its kind Such articles are called undefinte articles these indefinite articles stand before only singular from of nouns . 

AN is used only before words with a vowel as thair first letter a, e, I, o, u 

Eg. 

* He is an honest man. 

* I am Late by an hour. 

• The words honest and hour do not have a vowel as the first letter of the world . But these words begins with a vowel sound. 

Eg. 

* The book - books

* The house - Houses 

* The table - tables 

* The tree - trees 

* The fruit - fruits 

• Theses articles refer to particular noun. So the is called as a differente articles . Further the can be added before singular and plural froms of the nouns. 

• To say ,  the definite articles is used before singular countable nouns, plural countable nouns and also before uncountable nouns. 

Eg. 

* The milk . 

Here THE is used as an article before uncountable nouns . 

           

  Some other examples. 

1. A dozen oranges. 

2. A battalion of soldiers . 

General rule is that 'A' is used before singular nouns that are unspecified. But dozen and battalian do not reveal  singular aspect of the nouns. These are exceptions. 

  Since morning i am a bit worried , 

1. The sun rises in the East and sets in the West , 

2. The nights are shorter in the summer while they are longer in the winter. 

Here the articles are used to refer to nutural phenomenon. 

   

     Indefinite article. 

An article is a world used to modify a noun which is a parson , place , object or idea . 

Articles. 

1. Indefinite article ( unspecified) 

A, An

2. Definite article ( specified) 

The 

Indefinite article: ( a/an) 

Generally  A or An is used before singular countable  noun. 

Ex.  A book, A table, A apple

Usages of indefinite articles : 

1. If a world starts with " Consonant sound " We can use " A" Before that. 

Ex. I need a dictionary. 

Here the world " Dictionary " Has the consonant sound "D" So we can use 'A' before the common  noun dictionary. 

2. Some words start with  vowels (a, e, I, o, u,) but it gives consonant sound, than 'A' is to be used there . 

Ex. A university, A union, A unit, A useful, A European, A One rupee, A once famous player, A one sided argument ,

3. If a word starts with vowels or vowels sound " An" Is to be placed before that word. 

Ex. An idiot, An accident . 

4. A word starts with consonant but it gives vowel sounds, then we have to use 'An'

Ex. An hour , An hotel, An Historical, An heroic, An Hair 

5. If singular noun comes as ' complement ' in a sentence , then we can use 'A' or 'An. 

Ex. She is an actress. 

She will be a dancer next year. 

6. To mention a particular group of people by a particular person use ' A' or An '

Ex. A pupil should obey his teacher (Meaning of all students) 

A dog is faithful to his master . ( Meaning of all dogs) 

A lion is a dangerous animal. ( Meaning of all lions) 

7. Use 'A' or 'An' before the name of professions . 

Ex. He is a teacher 

I am an engineer 

8. Use 'A' or 'An' after some prepositions like (At, of)

Ex. Two tables at a time. 

Birds of a feather fly together. 

9. We have to use 'An' in abbreviation beginning with the letters F, H, L, M, N, R, S, &, X

Ex. An 'M.P' An M, L, A, An F.R.C.S.An S.S.L.C

Note. 

√ she Is An M.P

√ She is a member of parliament. 

× She is an member of parliament 

10. If a sentence has key words like ' one'  Any' every'Certain' then use 'A' or 'An' 

Ex. He own a car and two taxies (One car) 

A girl has come to see you ( Certain) 

11. 'A' is to be used before F. E. W. And 'little' 

Ex. I have a few rupees

He received a little money from his friend. 

12. 'A' or 'An' comes after the verb " To be called "

Ex. It is called a remote

It is called an umbrella

13. To denote certain quantity /number/Speed,  'A' or 'An' can be used 

Ex. He has a lot of experience (Number) 

I want a dozen mangoes ( quantity) 

The yercaud express runs 150kms an hour ( Speed) 

14. In a exclamatory sentence 'A' or 'An' can be used before  singular countable noun. 

Ex. What a lovely dress. 

What a wonder movie. 

 

   Definite articles. 

Usages of the : 

1. We can use article 'The' before oceans, rivers, newspaper, hills, Gilf, peaks, states, banks, forests etc........... 

Ex. The Indian ocean, The Ganges , the Times of India . 

2. Before the unique objects, 'The' is to be used . 

Ex. The sun ,  The moon, The earth, 

3. The should be used before the adjective in superlative degree. 

Ex. Shakespeare is the greatest of English dramatists. 

4. We can use 'The' before parts of human body. 

Ex. The Head, The ear, The cheek, 

5. In a paragraph, to mention a person or an object again, use 'Tha' before that word. 

Ex. He gave me a knife and a spoon .  The knife was not sharp. 

6. To mention particular person or object or place use 'The' before that word. 

Ex. The pen you want is out of stock . 

This is the purse which i lost yesterday. 

7. When a singular noun is used to represent a whole class , use 'Tha' before that noun. 

Ex. The parrot is a clever bird. ( All parrots) 

The fox is cunning animal. ( All foxes) 

Note :

'The' should not be used before man or woman , when it comes as noun . 

× The man is mortal. 

√ Man is mortal. 

8. To Mention ' The date of month' and to mention ' ordinal numeral adjective' use 'Tha' before that word. 

Ex. The 7th march, The 30th December

9. To mention the holy books, use 'The' before that word. 

Ex. The Bible, The Bhagavad - Gita, the quran

Note :

If you use the author's name in front of the book, do not use 'The' before that . 

× The valmiki's Ramayana 

√ valmiki's Ramayana

10. In some cases ,  we use the same word to mention the language as well as the people of the country, in such cases , use 'The' before people but not before language. 

Ex. China (Country) - Chinese (Language) ______The Chinese (People) 

England (Country) - English (Language) _______The English (People) 

Note :

Before people of a natian, 'The' should not be used . 

√ Americans  are rich. 

× The Americans are rich. 

11. If two actions change in the same ratio, to compare the actions use 'The' in the Sentences. 

Ex. The more you learn, the more knowledge you gather. 

The sooner you go , the sooner you will be back. 

   Omission of article . 

1. Before the plural noun, the indefinite articles should not be used. 

Ex. Ex:

√ He is a lawyer (Singular noun) 

√ They are lawyers ( plural noun) 

× They are a lawyers. 

√ I am an Indian ( singular noun) 

× we are an Indians ( plural noun) 

2. Articles should not be used before the " Uncountable nouns. 

Ex. Ex:

√ He needs advice. 

× He needs an advice . 

×I need a water 

√ I need some water 

Note :

We can use a piece of, a bit of ,  a sheet of, a slice of etc, before the uncountable. 

Ex. Ex: I want a piece of cake . 

I want a sheet of paper . 

3. Articles should not be used before 'breakfast'Dinner' supper' when it comes normally . 

Ex. We have breakfast at 9AM.

I was invited to dinner. 

4. No articles before the names of country , city street, month, day, festival, 

Ex. The Japan (×) japan(√) 

The Christmas (×) Christmas (√) 

5. Generally No articles come before the things & the metals. But to mention the particular metal, use 'Tha' before metal. 

Ex. Gold is very castly ( General) 

The gold that I bought is not genuine . (Particular) 

6. Before languages avoid articles. 

Ex. Hindi is a difficult language. (√) 

The hindi is a difficult language. (×) 

7. Articles never come before abstract noun. 

Ex. Cleanliness is next to Godliness.

Note :  

Abstract nouns -Truth knowledge,  love Honesty ,Poverty , wisdom strangth AdSense.

 8. Avoid articles before games . 

Ex. I play tennis 

They play cricket . 

9. When common noun comes in plural , articles should not be used. 

Ex. Cats like mice . 

Girls play games 

10. No articles come before the relationship . 

Ex. Brother has gone out. 

Father wants you to see him. 

11. Don't use any articles before the names of countries or continents , but use ' The before the names of countries or states of America. 

Ex. The United states of America. 

The united kingdom. 

12. Don't use articles when the words (school Hospital , court , church, prisons, Market) come for tis purpose . 

Ex.The children go to school . 

The murder was sent to prison .