How to Use Articles A, An, The in English Grammar
Articles are very much basic learning part in English Grammar. We need to learn the use of articles to use them correctly and effectively. In this section we will learn the uses of articles A, An and The with examples.
What we will learn–
• What is Article
• What is Definite and Indefinite Article
• How to use A, An, The
What is Article:
A, An and The are called Articles. They are called so because they have some special significance as the part of speech.
There are two types of Articles:
• Indefinite Article
• Definite Article
What is Indefinite Article:
A, An are called Indefinite Articles because they do not point any particular person or thing.
General Rules of the Use of A, An:
• A is used before a word beginning with Consonant sound.
• An is used before a word beginning with Vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u).
Examples of the Uses of A, An:
a boy an axe
a cat an ox
a city an umbrella
a book an arm-chair
a pen an apple
There are some exceptions in the use of A and An:
• A is used before a Vowel pronounced as ‘yu’ and ‘owa‘.
• An is used before a Consonant having a Vowel sound in the beginning.
• An is used before silent ‘h‘.
Exception Cases:
a useful book an M.L.A
a one-rupee note an M.A
a one-eyed deer an hour
a European an honest man
a University an M.B.B.S
What is Definite Article:
‘The‘ is called Definite Article as it points to some particular person or thing.
Uses of ‘The’ with Examples:
• To indicate a particular person(s) or thing(s).
The boy who came here is my brother.
The book is on the table.
• Before a Noun which has become definite by being mentioned a second time. It is also called Familiar The
There is a boy in the park. The boy is my friend.
• The is used before a singular noun meant to represent a whole class.
The cow gives us milk.
The rose is the sweetest of all flowers.
But two nouns ‘man’ and ‘woman’ used to denote the whole class never have any article.
Man is mortal.
• The is used before an Uncountable Noun to particularise it.
The gold of ring is very precious.
The wisdom of Solomon is known to all.
The water of the Ganga is sacred.
• The is used before the names of things which only one exists in Nature.
The moon is round.
The earth moves round the sun.
• The is used before some nouns to indicate profession.
He joined the Bar.
He joined Church.
• The is used before the names of musical instruments.
He plays the guitar well.
He plays on tabla.
• The is used before Ordinal numbers.
What is the first day of week?
Who has come the second in race?
• The is used before Important dates.
The World Environment day is celebrated on the 5th June.
The 15th August is our Independence Day.
• The is used before the names of countries collectively formed.
The U.S.A (The United States of America)
The U.K (The United Kingdom)
• The is used before Proper Nouns for comparison.
Rabindranath is the Wordsworth of India in poetic quality.
Ahmedabad is the Manchester of India in industry.
• The is used before the Adjectives in superlative degree.
He is the best boy.
It is the darkest evening of the year.
• The is used before Comparatives as Adverbs.
The sooner, the better
The more we have, the more we want.
• The is used before the names of holy books, newspapers, seas, oceans, mountains, islands, deserts, directions, trains, famous monuments and buildings, aeroplanes and spacecraft.
The Bible, the Gita, the Koran, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata etc.
The Times of India, the Anandabazar, the Statesman etc.
The Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal etc.
The Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean etc.
The Himalayas, the Alps, the Mountain Everest, the Kanchanjangha etc.
The Andamans, the Hebrides, the West Indies etc.
The Sahara, the Thar, the Gobi etc.
Go to the North, turn to the South etc.
The Bombay Mail, the Rajdhani Express etc
The Taj Mahal, the Writer’s Buildings, the Victoria Memorial etc.
The Boeing 747, the Aryabhatta etc.
These are the rules to use of Articles in English Grammar. I hope these rules will help to use the Articles correctly and effectively.
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