Articles

The words a, an and the are called articles.

Articles are of two types:

1. Definite article: The
2. Indefinite article: A, An

Indefinite article a and an tell us about any person or thing.

Definite article the tells us about a particular person or thing.

e.g.

• A copy (any copy)
• Please bring a pen. (any pen)
• The house that we stay in is beautiful. (A particular house)
• The cupboard is next to the door. (A particular cupboard)

As we all know there are 26 letters in all. Out of these a, e, i, o, u are vowels and the rest are called consonants.

A is used before the words that start with a consonant sound.
e.g.

• A girl
• A chair
• A peacock
• A box
• A violin

An is used before words that start with vowels a, e, i, o, u.
e.g.

• An apple
• An umbrella
• An orange
• An elephant
• An insect

We also use an before words that begin that begin with a consonant but have a vowel sound.

e.g.

• An honest man
• An hour

We also use a before words that begin with a vowel but have a consonant sound.

e.g.

• a one-horned deer
• a university 
• a unit

Indefinite articles are used before things that are only one and not more than one. A and An can never be used before things that cannot be counted.

e.g. 

• A boy, A girl, A man, A school, An item - correct
• An umbrellas, A boys, An items, A sugar, A water, A sand - incorrect

Note: Things that cannot be counted do not have an article before them. But if we add some word like a cup of milk. A has been used as a cup is a countable thing.

Definite article the is used before a particular person or thing. The is also used before the names of rivers, seas, oceans, mountains, holy books, newspapers.

e.g. 

• The Taj Mahal
• The Sun
• The Himalayas

Note: No article is used before a proper noun. Bangalore is a beautiful city.

TYPES OF NOUNS: Concrete and Abstract Nouns

 Concrete Noun: names something you can see, hear, touch, smell, or taste.

e.g. 

• The students enjoyed visiting the animal farm last Monday.
• My skin is very dry.
• The car that was involved in the crash has been towed away.
• I cannot find my mobile.
• This ring is precious.

Abstract Noun: names an idea or a quality.

e.g.

• Honesty is the best policy.
• What you do in anger, you'll often regret.
• Your idea was better than mine.
• Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.
• I love my family.

Using Articles A, An, and The: Part 1

Use a, an or no article with generic nouns. Generic nouns are used to make generalizations.

• Indians are generally friendly.
• A dog is a loyal companion.
• Life is full of surprises.
• An Englishman's home is his castle.
• A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

Exception: Sometimes, the is used with generic singular count nouns, specially with inventions and animal species.

• The bengal tiger is an endangered species.
• Do you know who invented the laptop?
• The Ganges river dolphin was officially discovered in 1801
• The African elephant is the largest animal walking the Earth.
• The anemometer is a device that measures the speed of the wind

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