Articles

Articles

Articles are member of a group of words called determiners that are used before nouns. There are two different types of articles that we use in writing and conversation to point out a noun: definite and indefinite articles.

 Definite Article

 The definite article the is used-

1.     When we talk about a particular person or thing; as,

a.     The magazine you want is out of print.               

b.     He saw the doctor of medicine.

2.     When a singular noun is meant to represent a whole class; as,

a.     The cow is a useful animal.  

b.     The horse is a noble animal.  

c. The rose is the sweetest of all flowers.

3.     Before some proper names; as,

a.     Oceans and seas, e.g. the Pacific, the Black Sea    

b.  Rivers, e.g. the Ganga, the Nile

c.  Deserts, e.g. the Sahara               

d. Group of islands, e.g. the West Indies

b.     Mountain ranges, e.g. the Himalayas

4.     Before the names of certain books; as


The Vedas, the Puranas, the Iliad, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata

5.     Before names of things unique of their kind: as,

The sun, the sky, the ocean, the earth, the sea

6.     With superlatives; as,

a.     This is the best book of English grammar.

b.     India is one of the most industrial countries in Asia.

7.     With ordinals; as,

a.     He was the first man to arrive.

b.     The ninth chapter of the book is very interesting.

8.     Before the musical instruments; as,

a.     He plays the table.

b.     Mohan will play the violin.

c.      Hari played the harmonium.

9.     Before the inventions; as,

a.     Who invented the radio?

b.     The television is a gift of science.

c.      I hate the telephone.

10. Before the name of body parts; as,

a.     He was wounded in the leg.

b.     They hit him on the head.

c.      She caught him buy the arm.

11.   Before religious community; as,

The Hindus, the Muslims, the Christians

12.   Before physical positions; as,

a.     The top, the bottom.

13.    Before an adjective when the noun is understood; as,

a.     The poor are always with us.

 

Indefinite Articles

Indefinite articles are the words a and an.

Use of A/an (the indefinite articles)

The form a is used before a word beginning with a consonant, or a vowel with a consonant sound:

          A man, a hat, a university, a European, a one-rupee note, a one-eyed man…….

The form an is used before words beginning with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) or words beginning with vowel sound:

          An apple, an island, an umbrella, an hour, an onion…..

Look at these words:

A year           A union          A uniform           A unit      A yellow pen

A U.S. ally    A U.K. Plane  A university professor   A one way ticket

A European country     A one rupee note

 Some more uses of a/an:

1.     Before a singular noun which is countable:

a.     They live in a flat.

b.     He bought an ice- cream

2.     Before a singular countable noun which is used as an example of a class of things:

a.     A car must be insured.

b.     A child needs love and care.

3.     In certain expressions of quantity and numbers:

a.     He has a dozen pens

b.     I have a hundred rupees.

4.     Before name of the profession; as,

a.     He is a teacher.

b.     She is a nurse.

c.      I am an engineer.

5.     If a singular countable noun comes after with or without; as,

a.     He came with a bag.

b.     She ran without an umbrella.

 Zero Articles

 The zero articles are the absence of an article.

1.     Before names of the languages; as,

He knows English, Hindi, French, German, Russian, and Chinese.

2.     Before names of the games; as,

They play football, hockey, and cricket.

3.     Before proper nouns (Name of persons, Name of cities, countries, ….); as,

Tom lives in London

India is a big country in Asia.

4.     Before uncountable nouns; as,

Money is honey.

We like tea with sugar

5.     Before names of relations, like mother, father, uncle; as,

Father has returned.

Aunt wants you to see her

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