Articles in English

INTRODUCT
ION
A noun is a name of a person, place, animal
or thing.
Ex: Ram, Car, Cat, Table ,book etc
-- I bought car --- I bought a car.
-- I ate apple. --- I ate an apple.
-- Cat is under the table. --- The cat is
under the table.

DEFINITION
An article is a word that identifies or modifies
a noun. Each noun is either a countable noun
or an uncountable noun. So the noun and its
use in a sentence is the determining factor
when considering which article is used to
modify the noun.
Here are a few examples:
My daughter wants to buy a dog this
weekend.
I want an apple.
The actors were really good.

TYPES OF
ARTICLES
ARTICLES
Indefinite articles
A, An
Definite article
The

INDEFINITE
ARTICLES
A – before a singular noun beginning with a consonant
sound.
An – before a singular noun beginning with a vowel
sound. (A, e, I, o, u)
A is used with a common noun singular in number .
plural common nouns do not require an article always.
Ex: I saw a snake.
I saw snakes in a zoo.
That is an excellent book.

CONT…
Rule 1:
Countable nouns refers to items that can be counted and are
either singular or plural.
Uncountable nouns refers to items that cannot be counted and are
always singular.
Countable nouns
Uncountable nouns
Specific identity A, an
no articles
Not known E g:
Water, coffee, kindness ,love ,etc
I own a cat and two dogs. My
cousin was seeking some advice from a counsellor.
We are looking for an apartment.

CONT……
Rule 3:
Choice between the two indefinite articles a &
an is determined by sound. Words beginning
with consonant sound use the article ‘a’
while the words beginning with vowel sounds
take ‘an’.
Ex: a university, a union, a useful book. (Yoo)
An MLA, An MA (Em, El)

CONT….
Rule 4:
A or an sometimes makes a proper noun a
common noun. Proper nouns generally do
not take any article but when a proper noun
needs to be used as a common noun, you
must use a or an.
Ex: He thinks he is a Shakespeare.
He seems to be an Australian.

CONT……
Rule 5:
Sometimes indefinite articles are used to
refer the number. (One/each/per)
Ex: I earned a thousand dollars in that draw.
My car goes 50 miles an hour.

CONT…..
Rule 6:
Indefinite articles often precede descriptive adjectives.
Ex: He is a good boy
What an honest leader!
Indefinite articles are also used with collective nouns which
refers to a group of people, animals or a collection of
things as a whole.
Ex:
a pack of dogs
a flock of birds
a group of islands
a gang of criminals.
an orchestra of musicians.

EXERCISE
There is a green English book on the desk.
She's reading an old comic.
They've got an idea.
He is drinking a cup of coffee.
The girl is a pilot.
This is an expensive bike.
Look! There's a bird flying.
My father is an honest person.

RULES TO
USE
ARTICLE
THE IN
SENTENCE
S
The is a definite article.
The is used before singular or plural nouns.
The definite article The is used define the
nouns as something specific.(something
previously mentioned or known)
Eg : 1.I bought an apple .The apple was very
delicious.
2.I gave him a ball, but he lost the ball.
3.Where is the pen I gave you last year
?

CONT…..
The is used before the names of
*rivers: the Yamuna ,the Brahmaputra ,the
Indus , the Mississippi ,the Hudson etc.
*Oceans : The Pacific ocean, The Atlantic
ocean, The Indian ocean etc.
*Seas :The Baltic sea, The Arabian sea etc.
*Mountain ranges : The Alps, The Himalayas,
the Andes etc.
*Geographical features :The Deccan plateau,
The Northern plains etc.
*Trains : The Rajdhani express, The Shatabdi
express etc.
*News papers: The Hindu, The Times of
India ,
*Sur names(the family names) but not with
the names of individuals:
the Kapoors , the Smiths , the Kumars etc.

CONT…..
*Directions :,The East , The West ,The North
, The South Etc.
*Ordinals: The First , The Second Etc.
*Superlative Degree :The Wildest ,The
Bravest, The Most Beautiful
*Unique Things :The Stars, The Galaxy, The
Sun, The Moon, The Universe Etc.
*Unique People :The President, The Prime
Minister, The King Etc.
*Historical Monuments : The Taj Mahal, The
Red Fort, The White House, The Charminar
Etc.
*Certain Proper Names Which Have Become
Examples For Common Nouns:
The Shakespeare, The Kalidasa.

CONT…..
*Use the with countries that include the
words "republic", "kingdom", or "states" in
their names : the Republic of South Africa,
the United Kingdom,
The United States of America etc.
*Musical instruments: the Flute , the Violin,
the Guitar etc.

EXAMPLES
Example Sentences:
1A thief stole money from Ram’s
house. The thief hasn't been caught yet.
2.I was walking past Benny's bakery when I
decided to go into the bakery to get some
bread.
3.We went on a walk in the forest yesterday.
4.Where is the bathroom?
5.The man who wrote this book is famous.
6.I live in the small house with a blue door.
7.The sun rose at 6:17 this morning.
8.Clouds drifted across the sky.
9.The President will be speaking on tv
tonight.
10.This is the highest building in New York.
11.She read the last chapter of her new book
first.
12.This is the third time I called you today.

CONT…..
*names of the days: Monday, Tuesday etc.
eg:1. Sunday is a holiday.
2. I was born on Monday.
*names of the months: March, May etc.
eg:1. April and May are the months when we get to
eat mangoes.
2. January is the coldest of all the months.
*plural nouns: apples, bears, leaves etc.
eg:1. Many bears are found in Russia.
2. Trees shed leaves in Autumn.
*material nouns: cotton ,water etc.
eg:1. Water is necessary to survive.
2. India is the largest producer of Manganese.
*names of subjects : English , Physics, Biology etc.
eg:1. Math, Physics and Chemistry are the need of
the hour.
2. English is my favourite subject.

CONT…..
*names of sports: cricket, football, badminton etc.
eg: 1.Cricket is the pulse of Indians.
2. Americans are basketball champions.
*a common noun used in its commonest sense:
eg :1. Man is mortal.
2. Iron is a useful metal.
*places of working or functioning : school, college, university,
church, bed, hospital, prison etc.
eg :1. His dad is still in hospital.
2.We learned English at school.
*Unless it is in particular or The is used before these words
when the reference is to the building or object rather than to the
normal activity that goes on there.
Eg : 1.I met her at the church. (Here the reference is to the
building and not to the activity that is going on there.

OMISSION
OF
ARTICLES
Omission of articles
There are certain nouns which we do not prefix with
any article.
This omission of the article is done before
*abstract nouns :knowledge, truth, darkness etc.
eg:1. Falsehood is never liked.
2. Virtue is its own reward.
*proper nouns : America, London, Paris, Hyderabad, Bill
Gates etc.
eg:1. Bill Gates visited Hyderabad in June.
*the names of meal time :breakfast, lunch etc.
eg:1. We should never skip breakfast.
2. Shraddha went to have lunch.
*languages : Hindi , Telugu, French etc.
eg:1. English is called as the window of the world.
2. Do you speak French?
*years:1947,1928 etc.
eg:1. India got its independence in 1947.
2. The American civil war took place in 1861.

ARTICLES
QUIZ
A famous detective and his deputy were
walking in a forest. The forest was dark and a
little bit frightening. Soon it began to get
dark. But luckily they had a tent with them.
They decided to stay that__ night. They put
up their tent under the stars and went to
sleep. Then, in the middle of the night there
was a loud noise. The detective woke up. He
looked up at the sky. Then he woke up the
deputy and asked “ what can you see?” The
deputy replied “I see millions and millions of
___ stars.” The detective asked “what is your
opinion about that?” The deputy replied “well,
if there are millions of stars, and even if the
few of those have ___ planets, it’s quite likely
there are some planets like earth out there. If
there are a few planets like earth out there,
there might also be life.” The detective
replied “you fool! It means that somebody
stole the tent”

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