Articles - Uses of article a, an & the.

Articles

A, an & the are usually called as articles.

There are two types of articles.

                                                                    Definite Article - the

                       Articles                       Indefinite Articles – a & an

v Uses of the indefinite article ‘a’-

1.     With singular common nouns beginning with consonant sounds-

e.g. – a pen, a boy, a cow, a man,

          2. With singular common nouns starting with vowels having consonant        

               sounds.

              e.g. – a university,  unit, a european, a unicorn.

v Uses of the indefinite article ‘an’-

1.     With singular common nouns beginning with vowel sounds-

e.g. an umbrella, an egg, an eye, an elephant, an idiot.

          2. With singular common nouns starting with consonant having vowel    

               sounds.

                e.g. an hour, an honest man, an M.A.

v If the adjective is ued before the singular comman noun, the articles are used according to the pronunciation of the adjectives.

e.g.    a man          -        an honest man

          a meeting     -        an important meting

          a village       -        an adivasi village

          an animal    -        a useful animal

          an elephant  -        a big elephant

v Uses of the definite article ‘the’-

1.     To denote a particular person or thing –

e.g. – The chain you gave me is lost.

         We shall go to the movie.

2.     To denotecone which is already mentioned

e.g – I went to a shop. The shop is of my friend.

        I have a dog. The dog is obedient.

3.     To denote the unique things –

       e.g.The earth, the sun, the moon, the world.

4.     With superlatives –

e.g.- He is the best student in our class.

        This is the most beautiful picture.

5.     If the the noun representing a whole class

e.g. – 1. We should help the poor.

         2. The dog is a faithful animal.

            6. Before the names of rivers, sea, gulfs, groups of islands, mountains

                ranges etc.

              e.g. – the Ganga, the Red Sea, the Persian gulf, the Himalayas,

                        the sahyadri

          7. Before the names of certain books which are famous worldwide

                e.g. – the Mahabharata, The Ramayana, The Kuran, The Bible.

          8. Before the names of musical instruments-

               e.g. – the Piano, the flute, the violin

          9. Before the name of newspaper –

                e.g. – The Times of India, The Sakal, The Hindu.

          10. Before the names of the nations which are in plural form

                e.g. – ths USA, the Netharlands, the United Kingdoms.

          11. Before the names of political party –

                e.g. – the congress, the BJP, the Shivsena.

12. Before the ordinal numbers-

               e.g. the second, the third.

          13. Before the names of Railways, ships and air services –

               e.g. – the Deccan Queen, The Sinhgad Express, The Rajendra,

                         the Air India.

14. Before the names of Banks, Government Dept.

     e.g. – The Bank of India, The Ministry of Education.

15. Before the names of monuments, forts

      e.g. – The Taj Mahal, the Pratapgad.  

16. Before the names of posts –

          e.g. – The Chief Minister, the Principal