ARTICLES

 

PARK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

HS 8151 COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH

LEARNING MATERIAL

ARTICLES

 

Articles

•       What are articles?

•       The most widely used of all adjectives are the words’ a’, ‘an’, and ‘the’

•       These adjectives are called articles.

•       Articles are small words often used at the beginning of noun phrases.

 

Definite and indefinite articles:

•       ‘The’ is the definite article because it points to specific persons, places, things, or groups.

Examples:

•       The Hindu temple

•       The open window

•       A and an are indefinite articles because they do not refer to specific items.

•       Example:

•       A boy

•       An elephant

•       Use ‘a’ before a consonant sound

•       Use ‘an’ before a vowel sound

 

The indefinite article (A)

 

•       The form ‘a’ is used before a word beginning with a consonant, or a vowel with a consonant sound

•       Examples: ( before consonants)

•       A boy, a cat, a dog, a fox, a goat, a hen, a jackal, a king, a lamp, a mango, a nurse, a picture,

•       Examples: ( a vowel with consonant sound)

A university, a European, a one rupee coin, a one way street, a one eyed man, a one pound coin

            

 

The indefinite article ( an)

 

•       The form an is used before words beginning with a vowel( a,e,i,o,u) or words beginning with a mute ‘h’

•       Examples:

•       An apple

•       An elephant but A European

•       An ink- bottle

•       An orange

•       An umbrella but a university

•       An hour but a hole

•       An MP, an X, an L-plate, an SOS

 

Uses of A/An

 

•       A/an does not add much to the meaning of a noun. It is like a weak form of one.

•       1. one person or thing.

•       We can use a/an when we talk about one person or thing.

•       Example:

•       There is a police car

Arun lives in an old house

 

•       2. Any one member of a class

•       We can use a/an when we talk about any one member of a class

•       Examples:

•       A doctor must like people (= any doctor)

•       A child needs love.(=All children need/ any child needs love)

 

•       3. Classifying and defining

•       We can use a/an when we classify or define people and things- when we say what they are, what job they do, or what they are used for.

•       Examples:

•       1. He is an actor

•       She is a doctor

•       It was an earthquake

 

•       4.Descriptions

•       A/an is common before nouns that are used in descriptions

•       Examples:

•       1. She is a nice person

•       2. That was a lovely evening.

 

A and an : difference

•       We normally do not pronounce the sound /ə /  before a vowel. So before a vowel, the article a /ə / changes into an

Compare

A rabbit   a lemon   an elephant   an orange

The choice between a and an depends on pronunciation, not spelling.

We use an before a vowel sound even if it’s written as a consonant

An hour                an MP

We use a before a consonant sound even if it is written as a vowel

A university        a one pound coin

•       Some people say an not a before words beginning with ‘h’ if the first syllable is unstressed.

•       An hotel ( a hotel is more common)

•       An historic occasion( a historic occasion is more common)

•       But not an house wife

                   a house wife ( the first syllable is stressed)

Thumb rule:

•       Use ‘a’ before  a consonant sound

•       Use ‘an’ before a vowel sound.

 

Omission of a/an

•       1. Before plural nouns

•       A/an has no plural form. So the plural form of a dog is dogs and of an egg is eggs.

•       There were cats( not a cats) in every room

•       2. Before uncountable nouns

•       Her coat is made of pure wool ( not a wool)

The definite article (The)
uses:

•      The definite article is used:

•       1. the= the only one(s) around

•       When the object or group of objects is unique or considered to be unique

•       The sun rises in the east.

•       The earth goes round the sun.

•       ( the moon, the earth, the sun, the worls, the universe, the future, the government … etc.)

 

•       2. Before a noun which has become definite as a result of being mentioned it second time.

•       His car struck a tree.

•       You can still see the mark on the tree

 

•      3. Before a noun made definite by the addition of a phrase or a clause:

•       The girl in blue dress

•       The boy that I met

•       The man with a banner

•       The book on the table

 

•      4. Before superlatives

•       I am the oldest in my family.

Who is the most intelligent boy in the class?

 

•      5. We usually use ‘the’ with first, next, last, same, and only

•       Who is the first rank student?

•       Can I have the next pancake.

•       We went to the same school

 

•      6. Place names:

•       We use’ the’ with these kinds of place names:

•       Seas ( the Atlantic, the Arabian)

•       Mountain groups( the Himalayas)

•       Island groups( the west Indies)

•       Rivers( the Yamuna)

•       Deserts( the Sahara)

 

•       7.. We use’ the’ to refer to something or somebody that both the speaker and the listener know about:

•       Let’s watch the movie ( both know which movie)

•       Let’s go and watch a movie ( any movie)

•       I have been to the doctor( you know my doctor)

•       Have you fed the dogs?( you know which ones I mean)

•       I did not like the film ( the one that the speaker and listener saw)

•       Did you wash the clothes? ( the listener knows which clothes)

•       I need to buy clothes ( the listener does not which clothes)

 

Omission of ‘the’

•      The definite article is not used:

•       1. Before names of places or before names of people

•       The Madurai      the Sitha

 

•       2. Before names of meals

•       I have my breakfast usually at 8 ( but) I did not attend the wedding breakfast ( article is preceded by an adjective)

•       3. Before names of games:

•       He plays foot ball. ( not He plays the foot ball)

 

•       4. Before parts of the body and articles of clothing:

•       Raise your right hand

•       He took off is coat

 

•       4.Bed, church, court, hospital, prison, school/college/university

•       ‘The’ is not used before the nouns listed above when these places are visited or used for their primary purpose:

•       We go:

•        to bed to sleep

•       to hospital as patients

•       To prison as prisoners

•       To temple to pray

 

•       When these places are visited or used for other reasons ‘the’ is necessary

•       I went to the temple to meet the priest

•       He goes to the prison sometimes to give lectures

 

 

Exercise

•      Fill in the blanks with suitable articles

•       !. Copper is ……… useful metal.

•       2. He is not …….. honourable man.

•       3. Banaras is ……. Holy city.

•       4. He visited me ……. Hour ago.

•       5. ……. Sun sets in the west.

•       6.Yesterday …… European called me .

•       7. ……. Ganges is ….. Sacred river.

•       8. French is……. Easy language.

•       9.Which is ……. Longest river in India?

•       10. ……. Girl in white is my sister.