ENGLISH LANGUAGE NOTES

ARTICLES

In English grammar, the words ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ are called articles. They come
before nouns. Articles can be either definite or indefinite.

‘A’ and ‘An’ are indefinite article. "Indefinite" means "not specific". We use ‘a’
or ‘an’ when we are talking about a thing in general, NOT a specific thing.

Use of ‘a’

The article ‘a’ is used before singular, countable nouns which begin with

consonant sounds.

Examples:

 Mr. Sharma is a teacher.

 I saw a bear at the zoo.

Note:

1. The article ‘a’ is used before words such as "European", "university",

“uniform”, “union”, “useful” and “unicorn” which sound like they
start with a consonant, that of the ‘yu’ sound, even though the first letter
is a vowel.

Examples:

 She is a European. 
 Copper is a useful metal.

2. The article ‘a’ is used before numbers which sound like they begin with a
consonant W. "1" is spelled O-N-E; however, it is pronounced "won" like
it starts with a "W".

Examples:

 A one-rupee note was found on the road.

 Ram met a one-eyed man on his way to school.

Use of ‘an’
The article ‘an’ is used before singular, countable nouns which begin with
vowel sounds.

Examples:

 He is an actor.
 I saw an eagle at the zoo.

Note:

1. The article ‘an’ is used before words such as "hour", “honest”,

“honourable” and “heir” which begin with vowel sounds, as the initial
consonant ‘h’ is not pronounced.

Examples:

 He is an honourable man.
 Tina returned after an hour.

Use of ‘a’ and ‘an’

Note:

1. If there is an adjective or an adverb-adjective combination before the

noun, A(AN) should agree with the first sound in the adjective or the
adverb-adjective combination.

Examples:

 He is an excellent teacher.
 I saw a really beautiful eagle at the zoo.

Use of ‘the’

‘The’ is called a definite article. "Definite" means "specific". The article ‘the’ is
used with specific, particular or special names of:

 oceans
 seas
 coasts
 rivers
 swamps
 archipelagos
  collections of lakes (such as the Great Lakes)
 mountain chains
 deserts
 references on the globe (such as the Equator, the North Pole)
 geographic regions (such as the Northwest, the Middle East)
 bridges (except Tower Bridge)
 pagodas
 hotels
 theatres
 museums
 institutes
 skyscrapers
 the Sun, the Moon
 extraordinary works of art or architecture (such as the Mona Lisa, the
Colosseum, the Great Wall of China, and the Taj Mahal)

Examples:

 James visited the Hermitage, a famous museum in St. Petersburg.

 I would love to visit the North Pole.

Note:

1. The article ‘the’ is used when we are talking about something which is
already known to the listener or which has been previously mentioned,
introduced, or discussed.

Examples:

 I have a cat. The cat is black.

 There is a book in my backpack. The book is very heavy.

2. The article ‘the’ can be used with both singular nouns and plural
nouns.

Examples:

 I saw the bear in Yellowstone National Park. (singular noun)

 I saw the bears in Yellowstone National Park. (plural noun)

3. The article ‘the’ is used with nouns modified by ranking or ordering

expressions such as "first", "second", "third", "next", "last", "previous",
"following", etc.
 Examples:

 This is the fifth day of our conference.

 I will pay the next time we have dinner.

4. The article ‘the’ is used with superlatives such as "best", "biggest",

"most important", "least interesting", etc.

Examples:

 This is the best day ever.

 That is the most expensive hotel room I've ever heard of in my life.
 He told the funniest joke!

EXERCISE

Fill in the blank using articles:

1. Mike ate ______ orange and _____ apple for his lunch. Sometime later
he ate ______ pie.
2. Sue has _______ aunt who lives in Pune and ______ uncle who lives in
Brisbane.
3. __________Ganga is ______ sacred river.
4. ______ athlete must train hard if she is to win ______ race.
5. John got _______ best present.
6. Yesterday, _______ European called at my office.
7. India is one of _______ most industrial countries in Asia.
8. March is ________ third month of the year.
9. Brutus is ________ honourable man.
10.Sanskrit is _________ difficult language.
11.My mother is _______expert cook. She baked _____enormous cake.
12._________ Nile is ______ longest river in _______world.
13.We shall be back in ______ hour and ______ half.
14.Harry is going to marry _______ heiress.
15.Tina hopes to be ______university professor.