A BAT---AN ELEPHANT---THE DOG-- ARTICLES

By Ranjana S.

Read the following aloud:-

My friend is an artist. After graduating, she took up a job with a company.The job involves traveling to various places. She was progressing well but unfortunately she met with an accident.After the accident she stayed home and took up a course on aesthetics. She is now doing well as an aesthetic designer.

In the above paragraph you saw we used 'A', 'AN' and 'THE' several times.

These are known as articles.

When to use 'a' or 'an' ?

The indefinite articles 'a' and 'an' are used when:

We use singular countable nouns.

Examples- a man, an umbrella, a lorry, a radio, an egg, an octopus, etc.

a men, an umbrellas, a lorries, a radios, an eggs, an octopuses-----INCORRECT

(WHY? ---these are plural nouns)

a sugar, a salt, a water, a sand---INCORRECT

(WHY? ---these are uncountable nouns)

We use the indefinite articles 'a' and 'an' when we are referring to a person, place or thing for the first time.

Example- An ambulance came immediately to take away the injured person.

• I saw a tiger in the forest.
• A huge tent was erected for a circus.
• An elephant can lift a truck with its trunk.
• We know that a, e, I ,o,u are vowels and all other letters of the alphabet are consonants.
• The indefinite article 'a'  is used before all words that begin with consonants.

For example: a cot, a deer, a red dress, a colourful umbrella, a big orange, etc.

Exceptions- use 'an' before silent 'h'.

• An hour, an honorable man, an honest boy, an heir.
• The indefinite article 'an' is used before all words that begin with vowels.

For example: an apple, an egg, an orange, an orbit, an Indian, an inkpot, an Eskimo, an igloo, an uprising,etc.

Exceptions-

When  'u'  makes the same sound as the 'y' in you.

• example: a union, a university, a unicorn, a united country, a used tissue, a US submarine, a usage, a useful item, a European.

When 'o'  makes the same sound as 'w' in won.

• example: a one-legged man, a one- rupee note, a one-eyed giant, a one-way street, a one-way ticket.

 Before individual letters spoken with a vowel sound.

• example: an M.P, an S.P, an M.L.A, an MBA degree( M sounds as 'em' like in the word 'embrace' and S sounds as 'es').

He won the election and went on to become an M.P.

Look at the below sentence:

"He won the election and went on to become a Member of Parliament".

Here the sentence has the same meaning as the previous one, but we use 'a' here since the sound of Member starts with 'm' sound like in the word 'money'.

The definite article 'the' is used when:

To denote a particular person or thing or one already mentioned:

Examples:

• I saw a girl in the garden. The girl was playing with the kitten.
• The chain you gave me is lost.
• I hate the girl.
• We will go to the circus.

When a singular noun represents a whole class:

Examples:

• The King Cobra is extremely poisonous.
• The lion is the king of beasts.
• The cow is a very useful animal.

With superlatives:

Examples:

• She is the best student in my class.
• This is the worst film I have ever seen.
• He is the oldest man in our neighborhood.

With names of rivers, seas, gulfs, group of islands, mountain ranges, canals and Newspapers:

Examples:

• The Ganges, the Black Sea, the Red Sea, the Atlantic ocean, the Indian ocean, the Persian gulf, the West Indies, the Alps, the Himalayas, the Suez Canal.
• The Hindu, The Times of India, The Indian Express etc.

Before a proper noun only when it is qualified by a more or less permanent adjective:

Examples:

• The great Caesar, the immortal Shakespeare, the calm and composed Sachin Tendulkar, the late Mr.Gupta, the lovely Merlin Monroe.

Before names of certain books.

Examples:

• The Ramayana, the Bible, the Quran, the Puranas etc.

With nouns that are unique:

Examples:

• The earth, the sun, the moon, the sky, the equator, the galaxy etc.

With nouns of musical instruments:

Examples:

• The violin, the flute, the piano etc.

With adjectives representing a class of person:

Examples:

• The old, the poor, the rich, the weak, the strong etc.

 As an adverb with comparitives:

Examples:

• The more the better, the nearer the bone the sweeter the meat.

With ordinals:

Examples:

• Armstrong was the first man to land on the moon.
• The fifth chapter of the book is very interesting.
• All the students of sixth grade were absent.

With a very few names of countries, which include words like Republic and Kingdom:

Examples:

• The Irish Republic, the United Kingdom
• We also say 'the Ukraine', 'the Netherlands'.

With the names of ships, aeroplanes and famous buildings:

Examples:

• The Titanic, the Vikrant, the Red Fort, the Tajmahal

With the names of important events that took place in history:

Examples:

• The Reformation, the Mutiny, the French Revolution, the Jallian Wala Bagh, etc.

In place of possessive adjective before the names of parts of the body :

Example:

• He struck the child on the head.(not his)

Before the name of a nation and sometimes before the name of a community or a class of people:

Examples:

• The French, the English, the Hindus, the Sikhs.

Before the names of directions when such nouns are preceded by prepositions (to, in, on, at, etc.); as, the north, the south, the east, the west.

Example:

• The ship sailed to the north.

Before an adjective to denote an abstract quality; as,

Examples:

• We should always love the beautiful.
• We should revere the intelligent.

To make Proper Noun Common; as,

Examples:

• Kalidas is the Shakespeare of India.
• Mumbai is the London of the East.

Before a common noun to give it the meaning of an Abstract Noun; as,

Example:

• At last the mother (the motherly love) in her was stirred.

Before fixed phrases:

Examples:

• On the one hand; on the other hand; on the defensive;in the long run; on the march; in the way; in the wrong; in the way; all the same; all the more ; to the utmost; to the contrary; on the way.
• A perseverant person is sure to reach his/her goals in the long run.

Before a noun when special emphasis is needed; as,

Examples:

• Now is the time to rise.
• He is the authority on Leadership.
• This is just the thing I wanted.

Before an adjective in the Comparative degree, when not more than two persons or things are being compared; as,

Example:

• Peter is wiser of the two.

With the names of things typical of their class; as,

Example:

• The pen is mightier than the sword.

Before 'same' and after 'both', 'all' and 'half' ; as,

Examples:

• This is the same book I was talking about.
• Both the students belong to the same class.
• All the students know this.
• Half the apples are rotten.

In the next session we will learn about "Omission of the article" and "Repetition of the article".

Happy Learning!! :)