Articles in English
Definite: The (Particular person or thing)
Indefinite: a or an (people or thing in general)
- The adjectives A or An and ‘the’ are called articles. They are mostly used as determiners.
Types of Articles:
There are two types of articles: Definite and indefinite
- Articles A and an are called indefinite and article the is called definite.
- A or an is called the indefinite article as it indicates the people or things in general sense.
Examples:
A teacher (any teacher), An umbrella (any umbrella)
‘The’ is called definite article because it points out a particular thing or person.
Examples:
- I saw 'a man' lying on the road. (Anyone, does not matter who)
- A policeman came and took 'the man' to hospital. (Now the same man who is referred to in the previous example.)
Where to use 'a' or 'an'?
The choice between 'a' or 'an' is determined by sound. The article 'a' is used before a
countable noun that begins with a consonant sound, whereas the article 'an' is used before a countable noun that starts with a vowel sound.
For example, an orange, an apple, an ink-pot, an ass, an enemy, an umbrella, an hour, an honest man, an heir, an M.A. etc.
(Note: You can easily notice that the words 'hour', 'honest' and 'heir' begin with a vowel sound, as the initial letter 'h' is silent.)
Examples:
- a donkey, a monkey, a ruler, a woman, a yard, a hole, a university, a union, a European, a ewe, a useful person, a unicorn, a B.A. etc. Because the words such as university, union, European, ewe, useful, unicorn, etc. begin with a consonant sound, i.e., /j/ 'य' we use the article 'a' before all these words.
- Likewise, we say: a one-rupee note, a one-eyed person, a one-man show, etc.
(Note: You can notice that in the above phrases 'one' begins with a consonant sound, i.e., /w/. Therefore, we should always use the article 'a' before one.)
The use of 'The'
Ø'The' + superlative: the tallest, the most beautiful, the most impressive, etc.
Ø 'The' + newspaper: the Kathmandu Post, the times, the Sankhuwasabha Post, etc.
Ø 'The' + scientific innovations: the computer, the telephone
Ø 'The' + single objects: the universe, the earth, the stars, the moon, etc.
Ø 'The' + Religious books: the Ramayan, the Vedas, the Gita, etc.
Ø 'The' + Names of ships: the Mary Celeste, the Titanic, the Queen Mary, etc.
Ø 'The' + Geographical names: the USA, the UK, etc.
Ø 'The' + Names of deserts: the Sahara, the Gobi, the Sahel, the Thar, etc.
Ø 'the' + Names of canals: the Suez canals, the Panama canals, the Gandak Canals
Ø 'The'+ Historic events: the Martyr's Day, the Democracy Day, etc.
Ø 'The' + names of rivers: the Karnali, the Ganges, the Nile, etc.
Ø 'The' + names of seas: the Caribbean Sea, the Dead Sea, the red sea, etc.
Ø 'The' + oceans and Island: The Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the isle of Man, etc.
Ø 'The' + mountain ranges: the Himalayas, the Alpes, the Rockies, etc.
Ø 'The' + plural names of families: the Ranas, the Rais, the Tamangs, etc.
Ø 'The' + musical instruments: the piano, the violin, the flute, the guitar, etc.
Ø 'The' + directions: the east, the west, the south, etc.
Ø 'The' + ordinal numbers: the first, the second, the third, the tenth, etc.
Ø 'the' + period of ten years: the twenties, the thirties, the fifties, etc.
No Articles: Some cases
a. Proper nouns: Names of particular persons or places, e.g., Ram, Khandbari, etc.
b. Abstract nouns: honesty, humanity, etc.
c. Plural nouns if they are not definite: 'Cows are animals' but 'the cows in the shed are mine'.
d. Names of languages, games, subjects, days, months, diseases, colours, generally:
She speaks Hindi.
Hari plays football.
My friends are good at Mathes.
He was born in January.
e. Some of the expressions they do not take articles:
on foot, in place of, on top of, at work, at home, at heart, by sea, on holiday, at night, at first sight, in town, in public, on duty, on strike, by air, on fire, in class, by surprise, dinner, nature, God, etc.
Exercise
- Amrita is ………useful member in our club. (a, an, the)
- This is ……...place which I like to visit most. (a, an, the)
- He plays ……. guitar well. (a, an, the)
- Nile is ……...longest river in the world (a, an, the)
- It is ….one rupee note. (a, an, the)
- That is ………...book I like most. (a, an, the)
- She is ……………...MBBS doctor (a, an, the)
- Mr. Joshi is ……. honorable person. (a, an, the)
- We played ……football yesterday. (a, an, the, no article)
- New Zealand is …...island. (a, an, the)
· There is …...ewe beside him, (a, an, the)
· John is from ……village. (a, an, the)
· Peter is from……USA. (a, an, the)
· I like……computer. (a, an, the)
· Who invented……telephone? (a, an, the)
· She went to……...school as usual. (a, an, the, no article)
· They went to………temple to observe its architecture. (a, an, the, no article)
· …………milk in the bottle is fresh. (A, An, The)
· Don't hate…………. poor. (a, an, the)
· ……………. honesty is the best policy. (a, an, the, no article)
· Ram is ……. Christian. (a, an, the, no article)
· Who is …. second person to climb the mountain? (a, an, the, no article)
· The hotel is situated by ……...sea. (a, an, the, no article)
· It is very hard to gain ……...popularity. (a, an, the, no article)
· I waited for ………. hour. (a, an, the, no article)
