ARTICLE

 Presented By :-
Mrs. Rajinder Kaur
Lect. English
GSSS, Gobind Nagar, LDH
 ARTICLES
A

AN

THE
 ARTICLE

There are two types of articles:

 Indefinite Articles – A, AN
 Definite Article – THE
 ARTICLE
 Indefinite Articles:
‘A’ and ‘AN’ are indefinite Articles. They are used
before a countable common noun in singular
number. They are called indefinite articles because
they are used with indefinite names.
Eg: a girl, a pen, an apple etc.
Use of ‘a’ :
 If a word begins with the vowel letter ‘e’ sounding like ‘u’ , ‘a’ is used
instead of ‘an’
eg. A European
 If a vowel gives the sound of ‘w’, ‘a’ is used.
eg. A one-eyed man.
 ‘A’ is used in some numerical expressions:
eg. A great deal, a lot of , a dozen, a hundred
 ‘A’ is used with few and little as
I borrowed a few books from him.’
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing
 ‘A’ is used before a proper noun to make it a common noun
He is a Milton (an inspired poet)
He is a second Newton (a great scientist)
 Use of ‘AN’
 ‘AN’ is generally used with countable common
nouns in singular number before words beginning
with a vowel sound;
For eg. An apple, an egg, an MLA, an umbrella,
an inkpot
 If a word begins with a silent ‘h’ , ‘an’ is used
before it.
For eg. An hour, an honest
Definite Article:
‘The’ is called the Definite Article because it points out to a
definite person or thing. For eg:
 I met a boy.
 The boy told me a story.
 The story was very interesting.
In the (1) sentence ‘a boy’ means ‘ any boy’, not a particular
person.
In the (2) sentence, ‘the boy’ refers to a particular person.
Similarly in the (2) sentence ‘ a story’ means any story. But in the
(3) sentence ‘the story’ means a particular story.
Use of ‘THE’
 ‘THE’ is used to denote a particular person, place or thing;
For eg.
He is the boy who won the prize.
She has gone to the bus stand.
 ‘THE’ is used when a person, place or thing has already
been mentioned;
For eg.
I bought a bicycle. The bicycle cost me Rs. 1500/-
 ‘THE’ is used to denote the whole class or community;
For eg.
The horse runs fast
Special use of ‘THE’
. Before the names of rivers, mountains, oceans, bays,
descriptive names of states and countries.
For eg: The gangas, the ravi, the shivaliks, the
Indian ocean, the bay of Bengal, the Punjab.
 Before names of newspaper, magazines, companies,
corporations, organizations.
For eg: The Tribune, the times, the life insurance,
the national book trust, the Punjab roadways.
. Before the names of sacred books:
e.g The Ramayana, The Guru Granth Sahib, The
Quran, The Vedas, The Bible
. Before musical instruments:
For eg. The sitar, the veena.
 Before names of unique things.
For eg: the sun the moon the stars
 Before adjectives in superlative degree:
For eg. He is the best singer of the college.
Mumbai is the biggest city in India
 Before adjectives used as nouns:
For eg. the sick, the poor.
 As part of a phrase made of the comparative degrees:
For eg. the higher we go,the colder it gets.
 When a family name is used to refer to the whole family.
For eg. The kapoors are a happy family.
THANK

YOU