A, an and the are called articles. An article is placed before a noun to indicate whether the noun is specific or unspecific.
A and an are called indefinite articles because they do not refer to any particular person, place, animal or thing. The is called the definite article because it refers to a particular person, place, animal or thing.
INDEFINITE ARTICLES
We use indefinite articles
1. Before singular countable nouns when we speak about them in a general way.
For example-
• He is reading a book.
• Inuits live in an igloo.
2. Before words that begin with a vowel but have a consonant sound, we use a.
For example-
• Jake is a European.
• He studies at a university.
3. before words that begin with a consonant but have a vowel sound we rise an
For example,
• She is an MLA.
• My father has an MA degree.
4. before words that begin with a silent h. For example,
•He is an honest boy
•It's an honour for me.
5. when we refer to something for the first time. For example
• Would you like to have a drink?
• My father has bought a new car.
6. to say that a person belongs to a particular religion, before nationalities
For example,
• Kuria is a Jew.
• Dave is an Englishman.
7 while referring to an example of something. For example,
• An elephant has a long nose.
•A bear has a tiny tail.
8. with names of jobs. For example.
• He is a waiter.
• Julie is an engineer.
DEFINITE ARTICLE
We use the definite article
1.When we refer to a noun that is one of its kind.
For example-
• The moon is very bright today.
• The prime minister will address the nation tonight.
2.when we refer to a noun that we love already mentioned.
For example-
• An armed robber stole money from the bank .
• The police has not caught the thief yet.
3.when we refer to a noun that we believe is known to the hearer or reader
For example-
• Please give me the book you were reading.
• The man is drinking color.
4.when we refer specific geographical point on earth.
For example-
• It is very cold at the South Pole as well as at the North Pole.
• The equator is an imaginary line.
5.with words such as next, only, same, following, previous.
For example-
• She in the only daughter of her parents.
• I went to see him again the following night.
• We had watched the same film the previous evening.
6.before a common noun when the noun represents the whole family /group/ class.
•The dog is a faithful animal.
•The elephant has an excellent memory. • •The deer na fast runner.
with superlatives and ordinal numbers.
For example-
•He is one of the greatest Indian actors.
•I think she has the most beautiful voice.
•The third story in the book is very interesting.
8.the names of mountain ranges, rivers, seas and oceans.
For example-
the Alps, the Nile, the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean
9.names of some holy books, magazines and newspapers.
For example-
the Bhagavad Gita, the Outlook, the Times of India
10. famous landmarks and buildings, works of art and monuments.
For example-
the Victoria Memorial, the Gateway of India, the Eiffel Tower, the Mona Lisa
11. with countries whose names contain words like kingdom, states or republic.
For example-
The United States of America, the Kingdom of Nepal, the People's Republic of China.
12 with countries which have plural nouns as their names. For example-
the Netherlands, the Philippines
13. when we mean adjective of quality a noun. For example-
• The poor have many problems.
• She works for the downtrodden.
14.when we speak of musical instruments. For example-
• Ustad Amjad Ali Khan plays the sarod beautifully.
• Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma plays the santoor superbly.
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