Articles

Singular and Plural Nouns

Singular Plural 6. man men
1. room rooms woman women
boy boys child children
student students foot feet
tooth teeth
2. bus buses mouse mice
dish dishes louse lice
church churches datum data
box boxes medium media
potato potatoes
tomato tomatoes
7. fish fish
3. lady ladies
baby babies deer deer
party parties sheep sheep
dictionary dictionaries
8. person people
4. day days
monkey monkeys 9. ……………………. police
boy boys
10. ……………….. scissors
5. shelf shelves ……………….. glasses
leaf leaves ……………….. trousers
calf calves ……………….. jeans
half halves ……………….. shorts
wife wives ……………….. tights
knife knives ……………….. pyjamas
life lives

Countable Nouns and Uncountable Nouns

Countable Nouns Uncountable Nouns
Singular Plural Singular Plural
boy boys water ……………………
tree trees oil ……………………
bus buses air ……………………
country countries sugar ……………………
man men ink ……………………
child children soil ……………………
table tables sand ……………………
cat cats milk ……………………
 Uncountable Nouns (Singular)
Singular Plural
a glass of water two glasses of water
a piece of cake three pieces of cake
a bowl of rice four bowls of rice
a can of oil two cans of oil
a bottle of milk three bottles of milk
a cup of tea five cups of tea
a bar of soap two bars of soap
a game of cricket two games of cricket

Indefinite Articles ( a , an, some )

Countable Singular Countable Plural

Sinhala English Sinhala English

ñksfi ^la & a man ñksiaiq j.hl some people
.y ^la& a tree .ia j.hlaa some trees
n,af, ^la& a dog n,af,da j.hla some dogs
nia tl ^la& a bus nia álla some buses
rg ^la& a country rgj,a j.hla some countries
u, ^la& a flower u,a j.hla some flowers
fld,af, ^la& a boy fld,af,d álla some boys
l=vh ^la& an umbrella l=v j.hla some umbrellas
wem,a f.äh ^la& an apple mqgq j.hla some chairs
fodvï f.äh ^la& an orange fmd;a j.hla some books

Uncountable Nouns (Singular)

Sinhala English
j;=r álla some water
f;,a j.hla some oil
iSks álla some sugar
je,s j.hla some sand
lsrs álla some milk
mia álla some soil
yq,x álla some air

Definite Articles (The)

Countable Singular Countable Plural
Sinhala English Sinhala English
<uhd the child <uhs the children
.=rejrhd the teacher .=rejre the teachers
k.rh the town k.r the towns
fmd; the book fmd;a the books
rg the country rgj,a the countries
ysre the sun weu;sjre the ministers
ckdêm;s the president
 Uncountable Nouns

Sinhala English
j;=r the water
f;,a the oil
iSks the sugar
je,s the sand
yq,x
the air

The indefinite articles ( a or an )

 Its use
1. Before a countable singular noun when it is mentioned for the first time.
Ex:- I met a foreigner yesterday.
He is writing a letter.
2. With few and little.
Ex :- We bought a few apples.
She ate a little curd.
3. With persons’ profession
Ex :- He is a doctor.
She is a housewife.
You are a farmer.
4. Before the name of a person who is not known
Ex :- A Mr. Gamage phoned you today.
A Miss. Chathuri blamed you today.

 Its omission
1. With uncountable nouns.
Ex :- news
water
powder
2. With abstract nouns.
Ex :- cleanliness
sincerity
foolishness
Definite Articles (the)
 Its use
1. Before nouns of which there is only one or that is considered as one
Ex :- The sky, the sun, the moon, the prime minister, the principal
2. Before a noun which has already been mentioned and become definite.
Ex :- The teacher punished a boy yesterday.
The boy was shouting in the class.
3. Before a noun which represents a particular person or thing.
Ex :- I was studying in the class room.
The children were playing in the ground.
I must consult the doctor.
4. Before first, second, third, and superlatives
Ex :- The tallest boy.
The second owner.
The third wicket.
5. With an adjective to represent a class of person
Ex :- The poor
The rich
6. Before names of rivers, seas, groups of islands, ranges of mountains and plural names
of countries
Ex :- the Mahaveli, the Maldives, the Westindies, the Himalayas, the USA.
7. Before musical instruments
Ex :- She plays the guitar well.
They gave me the piano.
 Its omission
1. When we are talking about things in general (general ideas)
Ex :- I’m afraid of dogs.
(dogs = dogs in general)
Doctors are paid more than teachers.
Life has changed a lot in the last 30 years.
I like music
Man creates problems themselves.
2. With names of places and people.
Ex :- Rohan Nishantha, Kumara Sangakkara, Sri lanka, Colombo.

But ‘the’ Is used with the plural of a name to refer to a family.

Ex :- I know about the Edirisinghes.
3. With an abstract noun which expresses a quality or state.
Ex :- Patience begets relief.
Inspiration makes you a better person.
4. With meals and games
Ex :- I had lunch at 1.30
They play football in the evening.
Shall we go for supper ?
5. With home, work, town etc
Ex :- I’ll go home tomorrow.
I went to town.
She is going to work now.

6. With bed, school, college, university etc when those places are visited for their primary
purpose, but when those places are visited for other reasons, or when we refer to the
building ‘the’ is used.
Ex: He went to school by train.
She is in hospital.

The school is by the temple.

The minister visit the hospital.
7. Television
I watch television.
What on television tonight.
But
Can you switch off the television.
8. With next / last week / month / year/ Monday etc.
Ex:- I’m not working next week.
Did you go home last month?