Articles
Presenter
Ms. K. S. Priya
Assistant Professor of English
Department of Science and Humanities
.
Articles
Articles, which are words used in front of nouns to show whether you
are referring to something in general or specifically, are of two types:
▪ the indefinite article : a and an
▪ the definite article : the
▪ The article ‘a’ is used before words which begin with a consonant
sound, for example ‘bag’ and ‘use’, and ‘an’ before words which
begin with vowel sound, for example ‘idea’, ‘umbrella’ and ‘honour’
(in which the letter ‘h’ is silent).
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Articles define noun as specific or unspecific.
▪ She is an actress.
▪ He will come to the United Kingdoms.
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Use of ‘A’
Before a word that begins with a consonant sound
▪ A European
▪ A university
Before abbreviations spoken as a single word
▪ A FIFA player
▪ A SWAT team
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Use of ‘An’
Before a word that begins with a vowel sound
An umbrella
An apple
Before abbreviations spoken as a individual letters
An MBA student
An FBI Agent
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Words with silent ‘h’
▪ an honest player
▪ an hour ago
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Use of ‘A/An’
To talk about job a person does
▪ She wants to be a musician.
▪ Ram is an astronaut.
To indicate something for the first time
▪ I need a computer
▪ Can you pass me an apple?
Before single countable nouns (one can also be used)
▪ I am going to India for a/one year. ----O is sounded as “Wa”
▪ Please come here for an/one hour.
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One is used to emphasize on only one thing.
▪ I need one chocolate.
▪ Use one pencil and then the other.
Before number and quantity phrases (cannot use one)
▪ 3 times a day
▪ Once in an hour
To refer to one from a group
▪ Raising kids is a challenge for all parents.
Articles---- The
--
Use of ‘The’
When something is unique
▪ Lucknow is the capital city of UP.
▪ The sun is bright.
When we know which thing or person we are referring
▪ The girl we met yesterday.
▪ Did you like the chair?
Use before superlatives
▪ It is the biggest match of the century.
▪ I picked the cheapest dress from the store.
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In the pattern of the … of …
▪ At the back of my car.
▪ I dropped my glasses in the middle of the race.
With some proper nouns
Seas and ocean the Indian ocean
Rivers the Indus, the Ganges
Country names representing a group the United Kingdoms
the United States of America
Mountain ranges the Everest, the Mount ABU
Famous buildings the Parliament
Nationalities the Indian, the British
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Some other uses of the
• the moon
• the car race
• the ground
• the south pole
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“A, An, V/S The”
I bought an ice-cream and a chocolate, but only the ice-cream was
eaten.
Use of Zero Article - Before unaccountable and plural form of noun
to talk about people and things in general.
▪ Children like playing in ground. (All children)
▪ Let’s dance on Bollywood song. (Bollywood in general)
Before names of particular people
▪ Narendra Modi is making the Indians proud.
▪ The name of Mahatma Gandhi is unique.
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With some proper nouns
Countries India, China, Australia
Cities or states Lucknow, UP
Mountains Everest
Companies Mind Tree, Google, Microsoft, Apple
Continents Asia, Africa
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▪ The definite article ‘the’ is pronounced /ðə/ when it occurs before
a consonant sound, as in the words ‘ground’, ‘bird’, ‘soldier’ and
‘university’ (which begins with the consonant sound /j/).
▪ It is pronounced /ðɪ/ when it occurs before a vowel sound, as in the
words ‘earth’, ‘animal’, and ‘MLA’ (where the first letter is pronounced
with the vowel sound /e/).
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For example, if we say,
▪ "Let's read the book," I mean a specific book.
▪ "Let's read a book," I mean any book rather than a specific book.
▪ The is used to refer to a specific or particular member of a group. For
example, "I just saw the most popular movie of the year." There are
many movies, but only one particular movie is the most popular.
Therefore, we use the.
▪ "A/an" is used to refer to a non-specific or non-particular member of
the group. For example, "I would like to go see a movie." Here, we're
not talking about a specific movie. We're talking about any movie.
There are many movies, and I want to see any movie. I don't have a
specific one in mind.
Indefinite Articles: a and an
"A" and "an" signal that the noun modified is indefinite, referring
to any member of a group. For example:
▪ "My daughter wants a dog for Christmas." This refers to any dog. We
don't know which dog because we haven't found the dog yet.
▪ "Somebody call a policeman!" This refers to any policeman. We don't
need a specific policeman; we need any policeman who is available.
▪ "When I was at the zoo, I saw an elephant!" Here, we're talking about
a single, non-specific thing, in this case an elephant. There are
probably several elephants at the zoo, but there's only one we're
talking about here.
Indefinite Articles: a and an
Remember, using a or an depends on the sound that begins the
next word. So...
• a + singular noun beginning with a consonant : a boy; a car; a bike; a
zoo; a dog
▪ an + singular noun beginning with a vowel : an elephant; an egg; an
apple; an idiot; an orphan
▪ a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds
like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins with a consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used); a
university; a unicycle
▪ an + nouns starting with silent "h": an hour
▪ a + nouns starting with a pronounced "h": a horse
Definite Article: the
The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the
noun is specific or particular. The signals that the noun is definite, that it
refers to a particular member of a group. For example:
▪ "The dog that bit me ran away." Here, we're talking about
a specific dog, the dog that bit me.
▪ "I was happy to see the policeman who saved my cat!" Here, we're
talking about a particular policeman. Even if we don't know the
policeman's name, it's still a particular policeman because it is the one
who saved the cat.
▪ "I saw the elephant at the zoo." Here, we're talking about
a specific noun. Probably there is only one elephant at the zoo.
Geographical use of ‘the’
There are some specific rules for using the with geographical nouns.
▪ Do not use the before:
▪ names of most countries / territories: Italy, Mexico, Bolivia; however,
the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, the United
States
▪ names of cities, towns, or states: Seoul, Manitoba, Miami
▪ names of streets: Washington Boulevard, Ranganathan Street.
▪ names of lakes and bays: Lake Titicaca (between Peru and Bolivia in the
Andes Mountains), Lake Erie (the fourth-largest lake of the five Great Lakes in
North America) except with a group of lakes like the Great Lakes
Geographical use of ‘the’
▪ names of mountains: Mount Everest, Mount Fuji except with ranges
of mountains like the Andes or the Rockies or unusual names like
the Matterhorn
▪ names of continents (Asia, Europe)
▪ names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key West) except with island
chains like the Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands
Do use ‘the’ before
▪ names of rivers, oceans and seas: the Nile, the Pacific
▪ points on the globe: the Equator, the North Pole
▪ geographical areas: the Middle East, the West
▪ deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas: the Sahara, the Persian Gulf,
the Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula
Omission of Articles
Some common types of nouns that don't take an article are:
▪ Names of languages and nationalities: Chinese, English, Spanish,
Russian (unless you are referring to the population of the nation:
"The Spanish are known for their warm hospitality.")
▪ Names of sports: volleyball, hockey, baseball
▪ Names of academic subjects: mathematics, biology, history, computer
science
Repetition of the Article
• When two adjectives or nouns qualify the
same person or thing connected by ‘and’, the
article must be used with the first noun or
adjective or with each noun or adjective.
• She has a black and white cat. (one cat)
Correct the errors
• 1. The prevention is better than cure.
• 2. He is a better poet than a orator.
• 3. Im waiting for a hour.
• 4. I speak the English at home.
• 5. She does not add a sugar to her coffee.
Exercises
Fill in the blanks with suitable articles: (4 x ½ = 2)
1.It is true that ______ Indian BPO sector is witnessing _______
unprecedented boom but the flip side of _______ industry cannot be
ignored. Fear of stagnation is _________ major factor that forces the
employees to quit the industry.
2.For busy executives wishing to calm down after ________ awful day
at work, there is __________ channel of slow synthesizer music, and
another carrying only _________ sound of _________ mother’s
heartbeat.
