ARTICLE

ARTICLES:

The demonstrative adjectives a, an, and they are called the Articles. They
are two types.

The Definite Article(or) - the

Specific Determiner

The Indefinite Article(or) - a, an

General Determiner

THE DEFINITE ARTICLE (SPECIFIC DETERMINER)

The definite article (the) is used before a particular one, which is to be

used before the singular and plural countable or uncountable nouns.

Read the following:

Here is the dog.

The animals
The sky.
The book
The boy

USES OF THE DEFINITE ARTICLES:

I.Before a particular person or thing.

The book is mine.(A particular book)

We saw the baby.(the baby has been talked about already)

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 My pen is on the table. (the table is a only thing in a particular place)
Here is the boy. (the boy refers to a particular boy)

II.Before the geographical features like oceans, rivers, mountain, ranges.

The Atlantic ocean

The Sahara desert
The river ganga.
The Himalayas.
The Andaman Islands.
The Suez canal
The sky
The sun
The south

III) Before the names of certain well known books. Such as

The bible
The Quran
The Ramayana
The thirukural

IV) Before an adjective in the superlative degree. Such as

Gandhi is the greatest leader.

Peter is the best boy.
The Nile is the longest river.

V) Before the ordinal numbers. Such as

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 Let’s see the third chapter.
He got the first rank.
Nithya is in the fifth row.

VI) Before the musical instruments. Such as

Kumar played the guitar very well.

I like to play the piano.
Hearing music from the flute is very nice.

VII) Before the person or thing already talked about

I heard the crying noise of a baby. The baby is lying in a dustbin.

They saw an old lady. The lady sold eggs.
I helped a boy to cross a road. The boy was blind. The road was very
busy.

VIII) Before the means of transport such as

I usually go to school on the bus.

Ganesh goes to office on the bike.
Travelling on the train is so comfortable.

Note: he goes by bus. (They should not be used after by)

He goes on the bus. (The is used after on)

IX) Before the names of occupations. Such as

Kumar goes to the dentist.

Malar approached the goldsmith to make a golden chain.
Mr.Gopal wants to learn English through the English teacher.

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X) Before the unique places and famous monuments like.

Shahajahan built the TajMahal.

The red fort is in Delhi.
The Great Wall of China is one of the wonders of the world

XI) Before the institutions and important places:

He joined the Medical College.

My house is opposite to the theatre.
The municipal office looks beautiful.

XII) Before a particular place when we don’t use them for their basic
purpose.

But the definite article the should not be used when we use them for
their basic purpose.

Examples:

 Mr.Govind goes to the school to meet his son.

 Students go to X school to study.
 Veena went to the market to see the crowd.
 Sita went to X market to buy vegetables.
 I go to the church to see its functions.
 They go to X church to work ship the god.
 Main went to the hospital to meet his friend who works there.
 Rajini has gone to X hospital for his illness.
 Anita goes to the prison to give sweets to the prisoners for her
birthday.

XIII. Before the names of the United Nations.

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 The U.S.A
The U.K
The U.A.E

Note: the definite article the should not be used before the proper noun.

Examples:

Names of the persons - peter, vignesh, priya etc..

Names of the meals - dinner, breakfast, lunch etc…..
Names of the language - English, Tamil, Hindi, French etc….
Names of the relations - Father, Mother, Wife, uncle etc…
Before the personal pronouns - He, she, it, they, him, their, etc….
Names of the festivals - Diwali, Christmas, Moharam, etc…

Note 1: we may use the Definite Article the before the proper noun, when
the proper noun acts as a common noun.

Example:

Coimbatore is the Manchester of Tamilnadu.

Kalidass is the Shakespeare of India.

Note 2: if the definite article ‘the’ is used in front of a language. It denotes

that the people, those who speak such language.

Examples:

English - name of a language.

The English - English speaking people.

Note 3: if the definite article the is to be used before an Adjective/Adverb

such group of words turns as a noun.

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Examples:

The cid
The poor
The good

Inefinite Articles :

A : The indefinite article 'a' is used before singular countable nouns that
start with a Consonant sound.

An : The indefinite article 'an" is used before singular countable nouns that
start with a Vowel sound.

Have a look at some examples,

A:

A Bat
A Cat
A Rat
A Jug

An :

An Apple
An Egg
An Ink-Bottle
An Orange
An Umbrella

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SOUNDS And LETTER Definition :

Please Re-Read the definitions. Here we are talking about Vowel and
Consonant SOUNDS. Not the Letters. People often confuse with this. They
blindly put A before a word, if it starts with a Vowel letter (A, E, I, O, U) and
put An before the word which starts with the consonant letter.

Consider the SOUND, not the LETTER.

Confusing? Lets see a short cut for this.

If a word starts with a SWAR (Any of the Indian Language) sound, then we
should use An before it.
If a word starts with a Vyanjan (An of the Indian Language) sound, then
we should use A before it.

examples,

A:

A European
A One-Eyed beggar
A University
A Useful Website

An:

An hour
An Honest Man
An honourable person

When a singular noun is meant to represent a whole class; as,

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Eg: The cow is a useful animal.

[Or we may say, "Cows are useful animals."]

The horse is a noble animal.

The cat loves comfort.
The rose is the sweetest of all flowers.
The banyan is a kind of fig tree.

[Do not say, "a kind of a fig tree". This is a common error.]

 The two nouns man and woman can be used in a general sense
without either article. Man is the only animal that uses fire.
 Woman is man's mate.

But in present-day English a man and a woman (or men and women) are
more usual.

A woman is more sensitive than a man.

 Before some proper names, viz., these kinds of place-names:

(a) oceans and seas, e.g. the Pacific, the black Sea
(b)rivers, e.g. the Ganga, the Nile
(c)canals, e.g. the Suez Canal
(d)deserts, e.g. the Sahara
(e)groups of islands, e.g. the West Indies
(f)mountain-ranges, e.g. the Himalayas, the Alps
(g)a very few names of countries, which include words like republic and
kingdom (e.g. the Irish Republic, the United Kingdom) also: the Ukraine, the
Netherlands (and its seat of government the Hague)

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  Before the names of certain books; as,

The Vedas, the Puranas, the Iliad, the Ramayana.

But we say-

Homer's Iliad, Valmiki's Ramayana.

 Before names of things unique of their kind; as,

The sun, the sky, the ocean, the sea, the earth.

[Note-Sometimes the is placed before a Common noun to give it the

meaning of an Abstract noun; as, At last the warmer(the warlike or martial
spirit) in him was thoroughly aroused.]

 Before a Proper noun when it is qualified by an adjective or a

defining adjectival clause; as,

The great Caesar : the immortal Shakespeare.

The Mr. Roy whom you met last night is my uncle.

With Superlatives; as,

The darkest cloud has a silver lining.

This is the best book of elementary chemistry.

With ordinals; as,

He was the first man to arrival Before musical instruments; as,

He can play the flute.

 Before an adjective when the noun is understood; as,

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The poor are always with us.

 Before a noun (with emphasis) to give the force of a

Superlative; as,

The Verb is the word (= the chief word) in a sentence.

As an Adverb with Comparatives; as,

The more the merrier.

(= by how much more, by so much the merrier)

The more they get, the more they want.

The Usage of the "THE “

"The". Some of these statements are really make you confuse and seems
they are opposing each other. Please try to read this for two or three times.
so that you can understand The concept easily.

 Before superlative forms

Ex :
The Tallest
The Best
The most beautiful

 Before double comparatives

Ex:
✔ The higher you go, the colder you gets
✔ The harder you work, the better rank you get in Bank Exams

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 ✔The more you earn, the more you want

 When the comparison is between the two and either of the subjects is
Highlighted

Ex:
✔ Sachin is the greater of the two cricketers
✔ Of the two cricketers sachin is the greater

Note :☓ Sachin is the greater than lara

✔ Now what the difference between the first statement and the
third? why the first one is correct and third one is wrong? because in the 3rd
statement, we have mentioned the Person's name. But in the first statement
we didn’t

 Before positive form in apposition

Ex:
Alexander, the great
Manmohan Singh, the prime minister etc

 Before musical instruments

The Guitar
The Tabla
The violinic

 Before a Proper noun when used as a Common noun

Nelson mandela is The Gandhi of South Africa

Kalidasa is The Shakespeare of India

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  Before some adjectives to make them nouns

Ex:
The Blind
The Dead
The Rich
The Poor
Usage :The doctor restored sight to the blind (Here there is no need to
mention "The Blind Person" because, the term Blind itself represents the
Blind person, so its the adjective which is used as the noun.)
The rich should not mock at the poor
✔ Jesus rose from the Dead
☓ Jesus rose from Dead

 Before some Languages, to make them PEOPLE.

☓ English ruled over India for many Years

✔ The English Ruled over India for Many Years
☓ French are good at heart
✔ The French are good at heart

 When a noun's quality is STRESSED

☓ We cannot remove warrior in him

✔ We cannot remove the warrior in him
☓ Mother in her aroused when she saw a Crying Baby
✔ The mother in her aroused when she saw a Crying Baby

 Before Ordinal numbers

The First

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 The Third
The Tenth, etc
Ex:
The first and the second posts of this blog
Note : Little clarification for those people who have no idea about Ordinal
numbers

One, Two, Three, Four → Cardinal Numbers

First, Second, Third → Ordinal Numbers

 Before the names of Oceans, Seas, Rivers, Canals,

Deserts, Groups of Mountains and Groups of Islands

Note : Dont use "The" for single mountain or single Island (Thats the
reason why we've underlined these two statements)

Ex :
✔ The Pacific
✔ The Red Sea
✔ The Sahara
✔ The Himalayas

Usage :

✔ Kolkata is on the banks of the Hoogli

☓ Kolkata is on the banks of the River Hoogli
✔ Kolkata is on the banks of river Hoogli
✔ Kolkata is on the banks of the Hoogli river
Don’t be confused, please read the above
sentences properly and understand them

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  Before Holy Books

The Ramayana
The Quran
The Bible

Usage:My father reads the Bible everyday

 Before the names of the Things, which are unique in nature

The Sun
The moon
The Sky

 Before the names of Planets and Satellites

The Mars
The Earth
Note : Little clarification for those people who confuses between the words
Planet and Satellites

1. Planets rotates around the Sun

2. Satellites rotates around Planets
3. In apposition, when name precedes the position (Important)
4. Man mohansingh, the prime minister is on a two day tour to srilanka
5. In correction of sentences, they've given this model for a number of
times. The above sentence means, Man Mohansingh, who is the prime
minister is on a two day tour to srilanka.
6. Some time they will give like this
7. The X, the Y is on a two day tour to srilanka

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 8. What’s wrong with this sentence? You can remove THE at the
beginning or, just put ARE in the place of IS, so that the sentence tells
about TWO different persons one is X and the second one is Y

 Before the names of News Papers

The Indian Express

The Hindu etc

 Before the names of some countries

The U.S.A
The UAE
The Netherlands
The Congo etc
Omission of Articles

 Before the common nouns man, woman, god, heaven, hell,

when used in general sentence

Man is mortal but God is immortal

Man proposes but god disposes
Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die

Note : But when particularized 'the' definite article is used.

The man who is standing at the door is my uncle
When it means one, the indefinite article is used.
There is a man at the door

 Before abstract nouns, when generalized

Honesty is the best policy

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 Beauty should lie in one's heart
Bravery is the sign of man

Note : But when these are particularized, THE is used

The honesty the auto-driver showed was finally rewarded

 Before material nouns when Generalized

Water is essential for all

Sugar is sweet
Wood is used for making furniture
Gold is a precious metal
But when particularized, THE definite article is used
The water in this pond is pure
The gold used for making this chain was 22 carat

 Before places like Church, Temple, Mosque, School, College,

University, Hostel, Library, Class, Hospital, Jail (Prison)
etc. When they are visited for their primary purpose

☓ He was an atheist, but now a days he is going to the church

✔ He was an atheist, but now a days he is going to church
☓ You should go to the school regularly in-order to get good
marks
✔ You should go to school regularly in-order to get good marks
✔ I went to the church to meet my friend (here i dint go for the
primary purpose(prayer))
✔ The man was put in jail for killing a woman
✔ The injured were taken to hospital
☓ The injured were taken to the hospital

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  But when these places are visited for their secondary purpose
the definite article should be used.

He went to the temple to meet the priest

My father came to the school to talk to my class teacher
I went to the hospital to see and console a patient

 But when it means one, the indefinite article is used

There is a school at the end of the street

 Before Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, Dinner etc, when used in

general sense

we usually take lunch at 1

Breakfast is served between 7 and 9

 But when these are particularized, by an adjective, the

indefinite article is used.

We had a delicious lunch yesterday (here the lunch

is particularized, so we used an indefinite article "a")
We are going to have a healthy breakfast

 Before plural nouns, when generalized

Tigers are ferocious animals

Cows are domestic animals
Children like chocolates

Note : Here if we represent singular instead of plural, then we

should use articles

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 The tiger is a ferocious animal
A tiger is a ferocious animal
Tigers are ferocious animals
In expressions like Go to bed, Take heart, Lose heart, Send
word, Set fire
Please switch off all the lights before going to bed (not going
to the bed)
Don’t lose heart when you are on the verge of danger (not lose
the heart)
The house was set on fire (not on the fire)

THE INDEFINITE ARTICLES (GENERAL DETERMINER)

Indefinite articles a and an are used only before singular countable noun
or the adjective which associated with a noun. They do not refer to a
particular person or thing

Definitely. They refer to any one among many. So it is called Indefinite

Article. It is also known as General Determiner.

Examples:

A dog - does not refer to a particular dog. It refers to any dog.

An egg - does not refer to a particular egg. It refers to any egg.

IDENTIFICATION OF THE PLACES WHERE THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE

IS USED:

Sound of the beginning letters of the countable noun or the adjective

which associated with a noun is the basic thing to choose the indefinite
article a or an.

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Note: it is an important that the word an is to be used before a singular
countable noun or the adjective which associated with a noun. It begins with
a vowel sound (not a vowel letter)

Examples:

It is an ant. (ant – noun)

He is an honest man. (honest – adjective)

The indefinite article a is to be used in front of a singular countable noun or

the adjective which associated with a noun. It begins with a consonant
sound.

Examples:

He is a union leader.
Rama is a good boy.

A, e, I, o, u are the vowel sound letters.

HERE IS THE HELPING TABLE FOR USING THE

INDEFINITE ARTICLES:

Sentence singular countable sound

Noun/ad

1. It is an apple apple vowel sound

2. He is an enemy enemy vowel sound

3. It is an ewe ewe vowel sound

4. Cow is a useful animal useful consonant

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5. It is a university university consonant

6. It is a table table consonant

7. He has a uniform set uniform consonant

8. He is an heir heir consonant

9. It is a one rupee coin one consonant

10. It is a bag bag consonant

11. He is a union leader. Union consonant

12. He is an honest man honest vowel sound

13. It is a horse horse consonant

14. He is an M.P M.P vowel sound

15. He is a member of Parliament member consonant

16. He is an MCA student MCA vowel sound

17. It is an Orange orange vowel sound

18. He is a man of mood man consonant

19. It is an elephant elephant vowel sound

20. Mr.james is a European European consonant

21. it is an example example vowel sound

22. It is an ink bottle ink bottle vowel sound

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23. English is an easy language easy vowel sound

24. Australia is an island island vowel sound

Note: a, an, another, both, each, either, every, few, many, neither, other
and several

Should not be used before the uncountable nouns.

Examples:

He is an American - single person among the American.

He is an American friend - defines a particular friend who is in
America.
They are the American - plural and mentioned the people of America.
Articles - Shortcut Rules

Rule 1 : The indefinite article 'A' should be used before the word 'Half'
when it follows a whole number.

I stayed in Madras for one and half years. ☓

I stayed in Madras for one and a half years. ✔
He spent one and half a half rupee. ☓
He spent one and a half rupees. ✔

Rule 2 : The definite article 'THE' should be used with a comparative

adjective if the phrase 'of the two' is used.

She is better of the two sisters. ☓

She is the better of the two sisters. ✔
This is the best of the two books. ☓
This is the better of the two books. ✔

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Rule 3 : With the names of meals such as Break fast / Lunch / Dinner /
Supper, no article should be used in a general way except in particular
causes.

I have the breakfast at 8 hrs in the morning ☓

I have breakfast at 8 hrs in the morning ✔

Rule 4 : The + Positive Adjective represent the whole class, and take a
plural verb.

The rich is responsible for the lawlessness in the country.☓

The rich are responsible for the lawlessness in the country. ✔

Say 'The poor are / The young are / The old are' etc....

Rule 5 : After Di- Transitive Verbs like Elect / Make / Appoint, articles
should not be used except when they are used as Mono transitive verbs.

We appointed him a chairman.☓

We appointed him chairman ✔
We made him a leader ☓
We made him leader. ✔

The Govt. has appointed a Committee (mono transitive)

(As a mono transitive verb)

Rule 6 : After type of / kind of / sort of / post of / title of / rank of / articles

are not used.

He is not that sort of a man. ☓

He is not that soft of man. ✔

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 He was promoted to the rank of a General manager. ☓
He was promoted to the rank of General manager. ✔

There are two Articles - a (or an) and the. They come before nouns.

‘A' or ‘an' is called the Indefinite Article, because it usually leaves indefinite
‘The' is called the Definite Article, because it normally points out some
meaning some particular doctor.

The indefinite article is used before singular countable nouns, e.g. a book, an
orange, a girl The definite article is used before singular countable nouns,
plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns, e.g., the book, the books,
the milk

The choice between a and an is determined by sound.

1. Before a word beginning with a vowel sound 'an’ is used; as,

An ass, an enemy, an ink-pad, an orange, an umbrella, an hour, an honest

man.

2. Before a word beginning with a consonant sound 'a’ is used; as

A boy, a reindeer, a woman, a yard, a horse, a hole, also a university, a

union, a European, a ewe, a unicorn, because these words (university,
Similarly we say,

A one-rupee note, such a one, a one-eyed man because one begins with the
consonant sound of 'w’.union, etc.) begin with a consonant sound, that of
'yu’.

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The Definite Article ‘The' is used-

1)When we talk about a particular person or thing, or one already referred

to that is, when it is clear from the context which one already referred to
(that is, when it is clear from the context which one we mean);

Eg. The book you want is out of print.

(2) When a singular noun is meant to represent a whole class; as,

Eg. The cow is a useful animal.

3) The two nouns man and woman can be used in a general sense without
either article.

Eg. Man is a social animal.

Women is an embodiment of patience.

(4) Before some proper names, viz., these kinds of place-names:

(a) oceans and seas, e.g. the Pacific, the black Sea

(b) rivers, e.g. the Ganga, the Nile

(c) canals, e.g. the Suez Canal

(d) deserts, e.g. the Sahara

(e) groups of islands, e.g. the West Indies

(f) mountain-ranges, e.g. the Himalayas, the Alps

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(g) a very few names of countries, which include words like republic and
kingdom (e.g. the Irish Republic, the United Kingdom) also: the Ukraine, the
Netherlands (and its seat of government the Hague)

(5) Before the names of certain books

(6) Before names of things unique of their kind; as,

The sun, the sky, the ocean, the sea, the earth.

(7) Before a Proper noun when it is qualified by an adjective or a defining

adjective clause; as,

The great Caesar: The immortal Shakespeare.

(8) With Superlatives; as,

The darkest cloud has a silver lining.

(9) With ordinals; as,

He was the first man to arrive.

(10)Before an adjective when the noun is understood; as, The poor are
always with us.

The Article is omitted-

(11) Before names of substances and abstract nouns (i.e. uncountable

nouns) used in a general sense; as, e.g. Honesty is the best policy,

Platinum is a precious metal.

(12)Before plural countable nouns used in a general sense;

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Eg. Old people like to rest

(13)Before most proper nouns eg. Ram, India, Tamil

(14)Before languages; Eg. I am studying English.

(15)Before names of relations, like father, mother, aunt

(16)Before predicative nouns denoting a unique position, i.e., a position that

is normally held at one time by one person only; as,

He was elected chairman of the commission

(17)In certain phrases consisting of a transitive verb followed by its object;

as,

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