Some important Grammar Rules Articles Common Use of Articles

English has two articles: the and a/an. the = definite article- refer to specific or particular nouns a/an = indefinite article- used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns Dont use singular countable nouns without articles. Have you seen the car key? (not *Have you seen car key? etc.) Dont use the with plural and uncountable nouns to talk about things in general. Politics is boring. (not *The politics is boring)/Apples are good for your health (not *The apples )

INDEFINITE ARTICLE A / AN

The choice between in definite article a/an is determined by SOUND. Use a for words beginning with consonant sounds. Use an for words beginning with vowel sounds.

An is used before a word beginning with a vowel sound: (a) Vowels with vowel sound: An eye, an elephant, an ox, an inkpot, an ear, an owl, an orange. (b) Before words beginning with a silent h: An hour, an heir, an honest man. (c) Consonants with vowel sound: An M.A., an S.D.O., an M.P. A before u and eu when they sound like 'you': a European, a university, a unit, uniform, a one rupee note Vowels with consonant sounds like w and y: a one-eyed donkey, a one-way ticket a one-rupee note ; a one-legged girl.

a useful book, a European a unique building, a university ;

Some native speakers use an before words beginning with h if the first syllable is not stressed An hotel (More Common a hotel) An historical building (More Common a hotel) , but a history class

INDEFINITE ARTICLE A / AN

The choice between in definite article a/an is determined by SOUND. Use a for words beginning with consonant sounds. Use an for words beginning with vowel sounds. An is used before a word beginning with a vowel sound: (a) Vowels with vowel sound: An eye, an elephant, an ox, an inkpot, an ear, an owl, an orange. (b) Before words beginning with a silent h: An hour, an heir, an honest man. (c) Consonants with vowel sound: An M.A., an S.D.O., an M.P. A before u and eu when they sound like 'you': a European, a university, a unit, uniform, a one rupee note Vowels with consonant sounds like w and y: a one-eyed donkey, a one-way ticket a one-rupee note ; a one-legged girl. a useful book, a European a unique building, a university ;

Some native speakers use an before words beginning with h if the first syllable is not stressed An hotel (More Common a hotel) An historical building (More Common a hotel) , but a history class

When the meaning is 'one', referring to a single object or person: I'd like an orange and two lemons please. Twelve inches make a foot. Not a word was said. In the sense of any( representative of a class): A pupil should obey his teacher. A cow is a useful animal

Use a/an to say what peoples professions or jobs are :Peter was a salesman, but he is now training to become an architect A particular person or thing in a group or class: Mary is training to be an engineer. He wants to be a dancer. With nationalities and religions: John is an Englishman. Kate is a Catholic. With names of days: I was born on a Thursday

When you refer to a kind of, or example of something: the mouse had a tiny nose the elephant had a long trunk, a very strange car With singular nouns, after the words 'what' and 'such': What a shame!, She's such a beautiful girl.

Notice also that we usually say a hundred, a thousand, a million.

A particular person or thing in a group or class: Mary is training to be an engineer. He wants to be a dancer. With nationalities and religions: John is an Englishman. Kate is a Catholic. With names of days: I was born on a Thursday

When you refer to a kind of, or example of something: the mouse had a tiny nose the elephant had a long trunk, a very strange car With singular nouns, after the words 'what' and 'such': What a shame!, She's such a beautiful girl.

We usually say a hundred, a thousand, a million.

DEFINITE ARTICLE - THEDEFINITE ARTICLE - THE

Use the with something which has already been mentioned so that both the speaker and listener know what is being talked about (There is an apple and a banana in the fruit bowl. The apple is red and the banana is yellow) Use the in sentences or clauses where we identify a specific person or object: The woman who painted this picture is famous. Which shirt did you choose? The blue one. / My car is the one parked in front. Oceans, seas: the Atlantic, the black sea Rivers: the Ganga,the Nile Canal: the Suez Canal Deserts: the Sahara Group of islands: The Andaman & Nikobar Island Mountain ranges: the Alps, the Himalayas Some countries (Including words like Republic/Kingdom):The United Kingdom, The USA Name of certain books: The Ramayana, The Vedas, the Iliad Things that are unique: the sun, the moon, the world, the earth Superlatives and ordinal numbers: the highest mountain, the smallest child, the first page, the third book, the last chapter. With adjectives, to refer to a whole group of people: the Italians, the Irish, the working class, the poor, the rich With decades, or groups of years: in the sixties, in the 1920s Before musical instruments: the flute, the guitar, the violin As an adverb with comparative: the more the merrier ,the less the better, The higher you ,climb, the cooler it gets. gets. The more they get, the more they want. The higher you climb, the cooler it

Omission of article

Before proper, material and abstract nouns used in a general sense: London, France, Tom, gold, rice, honesty, virtue: Rice is the main food in Asia. / Milk is often to tea in England. Water is gold. Honesty is the best policy. Wisdom is the gift of god. (BUT would you pass me the sugar on the table?/ The wisdom of grandmother is great.) Before plural nouns used to denote a class: Apples are red. Camels are useful animals. Warm clothes are necessary in cold climates. Before plural countable nouns: Children like chocolates. Computers are used in offices. Before a common noun used in its commonest sense: Man is mortal. Iron is a useful metal. The Common Nouns used in the widest sense: Man is a social animal. Animals have an underdeveloped brain. With names of countries (if singular): Germany is an important economic power. (But: I'm visiting the United States next week.) With the names of languages: French is spoken in Tahiti. English uses many words of Latin origin. With the names of meals: Lunch is at midday. Dinner is in the evening. (BUT I had a late dinner. The dinner we had at the hotel was very nice.) With people's names (if singular): John's coming to the party. (But: we're having lunch with the Morgans tomorrow.) Before names of games :She plays volleyball. They like football. With titles and names: Prince Charles is Queen Elizabeth's son./ President Kennedy was added

assassinated in Dallas. (BUT: the Queen of England, the Pope.) After the possessive case: His brother's car, Peter's house. With professions: Engineering is a useful career. He'll probably go into medicine. With names of shops: I'll get the card at Smith's./Can you go to Boots for me? With years: 1948 was a wonderful year./Do you remember 1995? With the names of individual mountains, lakes and islands: Mount McKinley is the highest mountain in Alaska. She lives near Lake Windermere. With most names of towns, streets, stations and airports: Victoria Station is in the centre of London. Can you direct me to M.G. Street?

With some fixed expressions:

by car ,by train, by air, on foot, on holiday, on air (in broadcasting), at school at home at work, at University, in church, in prison, in bed, from top to bottom

Note: Before a singular noun meant to represent the whole class When a singular noun is meant to represent a whole class to which it belongs, it is used with the definite article the. The cow is a useful animal. (Here the singular noun cow represents a whole class.) The rose is the sweetest of all flowers..

Note that these sentences can also be written using a plural noun without any article. Cows are useful animals. Roses are the sweetest of all flowers. A cow is a useful animal. (any cow representative of a class)