BASIC ENGLISH GRAMMER ARTICLES (‘A’,’AN’ AND ‘THE’)

by

 ARTICLES (‘A’ , ‘AN’ AND ‘THE’)

WHAT IS AN ARTICLE?

‘A’, ‘AN’ AND ‘THE’ ARE DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES WHICH ARE USUALLY CALLED ARTICLES.
EXAMPLE – 1) A CAT, A MOUSE AND A DOG ARE FRIENDS.
                       2) AN APPLE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY.
                       3) HE ATE THE SWEET I GAVE HIM.
IN THE ABOVE SENTENCES, THE WORDS WRITTEN IN BOLD ARE ARTICLES.
THE ARTICLES ‘A’ AND ‘AN’ DO NOT REFER TO ANY PARTICULAR PERSON, PLACE, OR THING. THESE  HAVE BEEN USED WITH COMMON NOUNS IN THE SINGULAR FORM ONLY. HENCE, THEY ARE CALLED ‘ INDEFINITE ARTICLES’.
‘THE’ HAS BEEN USED WITH A PARTICULAR SWEET. HENCE ‘THE’ IS CALLED A ‘DEFINITE ARTICLE’.

‘A’

‘A’ IS USED BEFORE WORDS THAT BEGIN WITH A CONSONANT SOUND.
WE SAY – A WOMEN, A MOTOR CAR, A RADIO, A BICYCLE, A USEFUL THING, A UNICORN, A UNIVERSITY, A USELESS VESSEL, A UNION, A ONE-RUPEE NOTE, A EUROPEAN.

‘AN’

‘AN’ IS USED BEFORE WORDS THAT BEGIN WITH A VOWEL SOUND (A, E, I, O, U)
WE SAY – AN OLD MAN, AN INKPOT, AN OFFICE, AN UMPIRE, AN IDEA, AN HONEST MAN, AN HOUR, AN HEIR, AN MLA, AN HOD

‘THE’

WE USE ‘A’ OR ‘AN’ WHEN WE MEAN A PERSON OR A THING IN GENERAL. WE USE ‘THE’ WHEN WE MEAN A PARTICULAR PERSON OR THING.
  • HAVE A SEAT. (ANY SEAT)
  • HAVE A SEAT BY THE FIRESIDE. (AT A PARTICULAR PLACE)
  • A MAN IS WAITING OUTSIDE. (ANY MAN)
  • THE MAN YOU WANTED IS WAITING AT THE DOOR. (A PARTICULAR MAN)

WHERE WE CAN USE THE ARTICLE ‘THE’?

THE MEANS THE PARTICULAR PERSON OR THING WE ARE TALKING ABOUT. IT IS THEREFORE CALLED THE DEFINITE ARTICLE.
‘THE’ IS USED BEFORE THE NAMES OF
  • RIVERS, SEAS, OCEANS AND BAYS – THE AMAZON, THE ARABIAN SEA, THE INDIAN OCEAN, THE BAY OF BENGAL
  • MOUNTAIN RANGES, DESERTS, AND GULF – THE HIMALAYAS, THE SAHARA DESERT, THE GULF OF KHAMBHAT
  • GROUP OF ISLANDS – THE ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS
  • NATIONALITIES – THE DUTCH, THE FRENCH, THE ENGLISH
  • FAMOUS BUILDINGS – THE RED FORT, THE QUTUB MINAR
  • HOLY BOOKS – THE RAMAYANA, THE BIBLE
  • UNIQUE OBJECT – THE SKY, THE MOON, THE SUN
  • A MEMBER OF A CERTAIN GROUP OF PEOPLE – THE RED INDIANS, THE SOCIAL WORKERS
  • MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS –  THE GUITAR, THE HARMONIUM
  • PLURAL NAMES OF COUNTRIES –  THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THE PHILIPPINES
‘THE’ IS ALSO USED 
  • WITH SUPERLATIVES – THE STRONGEST, THE BRAVEST
  • WITH ORDINALS – THE SECOND, THE TENTH
  • WHEN WE REFER TO A PARTICULAR PERSON OR THING – THE GREY ELEPHANT IS INTELLIGENT.
  • WHEN A PERSON OR THING IS MENTIONED FOR THE SECOND TIME –  HE BUILDS A BUNGALOW. THE BUNGALOW HAS A BEAUTIFUL LAWN.
  • WHEN A SINGULAR NOUN IS USED FOR A WHOLE CLASS OR CATEGORY – (A) THE MANGO IS A SWEET FRUIT.

                                (B) THE MONKEY EATS BANANAS.

                                (C) THE DOG IS A FAITHFUL ANIMAL.

LET US DO SOME PRACTICE FOR THE ARTICLES
1) CHOOSE THE CORRECT WORD.
2) CHOOSE THE CORRECT ARTICLE TO FILL IN THE BLANKS.

3) FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH ‘A’ OR ‘AN’

THANK YOU

Leave a Comment