There is no doubt that articles
are adjectives since they modify the nouns after them. But articles
have some special significance as determiners. Articles determine
the standard of nouns.
There are two types of
articles:
DEFINITE ARTICLE - THE
The makes the noun something
particular and definite.
Example:
Give me the ball.
(Here, the speaker is telling someone
to give him/her a particular ball about which the speaker and the listener both
are aware. There is no possibility of the ball to be anything else rather than
the speaker and the listener idea of that particular ball.)
INDEFINITE ARTICLE - A & AN
A & an - make the noun
something general and indefinite.
Example:
Give me a ball.
(Here, the speaker is telling someone
to give him/her a random ball about which the listener is not particularly
aware of, and s/he might ask ‘which/what kind of ball you want?’.)
Give me an egg. (It can be
any kind of egg – the possibility is open.)
RULES OF USING ARTICLES WITH EXAMPLES
Definite article or Indefinite
article, each of the articles has different uses in different situations.
Using Indefinite Article: a
& an
Rule 1:
A common noun in the singular number
always requires an article before it. But a plural common noun does not require
an article always. A plural common noun can have the article ‘the’ if we want
to particularize that noun.
Example:
I saw a snake.
(Refers to a random snake)
I saw snakes in a zoo. (No article is
required)
I have seen the snake again. (Refers
to the snake I have already seen earlier)
I have seen the snakes again before
leaving the zoo. (Refers to the particular snakes of the zoo which I saw
earlier.)
Rule 2:
The choice
between the two indefinite articles – a & an – is
determined by sound. Words beginning with consonant sounds precede ‘a’ and
words beginning with vowel sounds precede ‘an’. There are some special
cases also. For instance,
a university, a union, a useful book,
etc.
a one-dollar note, a one-man army,
etc.
an MA, a BA, an LLB, a BSC, etc.
Rule 3:
A or an
- sometimes
makes a Proper Noun a Common Noun. Proper nouns
generally do not take any articles, but when a proper noun needs to be used as
a common noun, you must bring a or an - for it.
Example:
He thinks he is a Shakespeare. (Here,
‘Shakespeare’ does not refer to the actual person but someone like him.)
He seems to be an Australian.
(‘Australia’ is a proper noun but ‘Australian’ is a common noun because there
is only one Australia but a million of Australians.)
Rule 4:
Sometimes
indefinite articles are used to refer the number ‘one’/’each’/’per’.
Example:
I earned a thousand dollar in that
job. (One thousand dollar)
I have a car. (One car)
It goes 50 miles an hour. (Per Hour)
Rule 5:
Indefinite
articles often precede descriptive adjectives.
Example:
He is a good boy.
What a nice car!
Rule 6:
‘A’ sometimes comes before determiners, for example, a few,
a little, a lot of, a most, etc. but in the case of many, a or
an - comes after.
Example:
I have a few friends coming over.
There is a little milk in the jar.
Many a fan welcomed
Using Definite Article: the
Rule 1:
‘The’ is used to indicate a
particular person(s) or thing(s) in the case of common nouns. Proper nouns
generally do not take an article.
Example:
The man is running. (A particular
man)
I saw the boy stealing.
Where is the pen I gave you last
year?
I gave him a ball, but he lost the
ball. (‘a ball’ became ‘the ball’ in the second clause because that ball was
not a random ball anymore.)
Rule 2:
Sometimes ‘the’ is
used to generalize a group/whole class.
Example:
The dog is a faithful animal. (Refers
to the whole species of dog.)
The English are industrious. (Refers
to the people of England as a nation)
The honest are respected. (The + adjectives
= plural noun)
The poor are not always dishonest.
(The + adjectives = plural noun)
Rule 3:
To particularize a non-count noun
‘the’ is required before it.
Example:
The water of the Arctic ocean is
freezing.
Please return the money I lent you
last year.
Rule 4:
‘The’ is mandatory before a thing
which is only one of a kind in the universe.
Example:
The moon is shining tonight.
The earth is moving around the sun.
Use of ‘the’ before
geographical places:
Rule 5:
Using ‘the’ with
geographical nouns generally depends on the size and plurality of the things
those nouns refer to. ‘The’ is generally used everywhere except some
cases. So, it’s better to know those exceptions first.
‘The’ must not precede:
Names of continents: Asia,
Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, North America, Antarctica.
Names of countries: Australia,
Bolivia, England, France, Spain, etc.
Names of states, cities, or
towns: Los Angeles, Alaska, Sydney, London,
Names of streets: George street,
Albion Street, New town street,
Names of singular lakes and
bays: Lake Carey, Lake Eyre, Lake Hillier, Shark Bay,
Names of single mountains: Mount
Everest, Mount Solitary, Mount Bindo, Mount Fuji, etc.
Names of single islands: Easter
Island, Bare Island, Bird Island, Fatima Island,
Names of languages: Spanish,
Russian, English, (When ‘the’ precedes these nouns, they refer
to the population of those languages.)
Names of sports: cricket,
football, basketball,
Names of discipline/subject of studies: biology,
history, computer science, mathematics,
Note:
‘The’ is a widely used article
in English. Except for the list mentioned above and proper nouns, ‘the’ is
used before almost all the nouns which mean something definite/particular. The
above list has some opposite factors also. Those factors are explained in the
following list:
‘The’ must precede:
Names of oceans, gulfs, seas, and
rivers: the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Coral Sea, the Timor Sea, the
Persian Gulf, the Nile, the Murray River, the Darling River, etc.
Names of countries with united states
or islands: the United States of America (the USA), the UK, the UAE, the
Philippines, etc.
Names of great lakes: the Great
Lakes, the African Great Lakes
Names of mountain ranges: the
Himalayas, the Alps, the Andes, etc.
Names of a group of Islands: the
West Indies, the Andamans, etc.
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