Article (A, An and The)
 

[CENTER][U][COLOR=black][SIZE=6]Use of the articles (A, An, The)[/SIZE][/COLOR][/U][/CENTER]
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[B][I]A[/I], [I]An[/I] and [I]The[/I] are known as the articles. [I]A [/I]and [I]An[/I] are called the [I]indefinite articles [/I]while [I]The[/I] is known as the [I]definite article[/I].[/B]

[B][SIZE=3][U]When do we use these articles?[/U][/SIZE][/B]

1) The indefinite article[B] A[/B] or [B]An [/B]cannot be used before things which we cannot count; as; ink, paper, sugar etc.

But we say:

a bottle of ink, a bag of sugar, a cup of tea, a piece of paper.

2) [B]A[/B] or [B]An[/B] can only be used with countable nouns in the singular; as, a book, an orange, a year, an hour

3) [B]A[/B] is used before words beginning with a consonant, and An before words beginning with a vowel or silent [I]h[/I]; as,

an umbrella, an old man, an honest man, a house, a pencil, a cow, a picture, a kilo of apples.

4) [B]A[/B], not [B]An[/B] must be used before words which begin with a vowel sound of [B]yoo[/B]. Such words are: Europe, European, uniform, union, unique, united, universal, university, usual.

Belgium is [I]a[/I] European country. (not [I]an European[/I])
She hopes to be [I]a[/I] university professor. (not [I]an university[/I])

5) The names of professions and occupations take the [B]indefinite article.[/B]

My brother is an engineer. (not is engineer)
I hope to be a doctor. (not I hope to be doctor)

In the same way, such noun as [B]hero, genius, tool, thief[/B] and [B]liar[/B], which describe someone by telling us the kind of person he is, take the indefinite article.

Beware of that fellow; he is [I]a[/I] liar. (not……[I]he is liar[/I])

6) The indefinite article always follows the word such when it is applied to things that are countable.

I have known such [I]a [/I]cold winter. (not [I]a such cold winter[/I])
Such [I]an [/I]accident has never occurred before. (not [I]such accident[/I])

7) If an adjective is preceded by [B]so[/B], the [B]a[/B] or [B]an[/B] must be placed between the adjective and the noun.

I have never known such [I]a[/I] cold winter. (not[I] a so cold wint[/I]er)

8) Adverbs such as [B]only[/B] and [B]just[/B] can be used before [B]a few[/B] and [B]a little[/B], but not before [B]few[/B] and [B]little.[/B]

There were just [I]a few mangoes[/I] left.
We have only [I]a little money.[/I]

9) The definite article [B]The [/B]is used when we speak of a particular person, thing or one [I]already[/I] referred to.

I saw a boy and a girl riding on an ass. [I]The[/I] boy was sitting behind [I]the[/I] girl on [I]the[/I] ass.
This is [I]the[/I] boy who stole my purse.
Give me [I]the[/I] blue cup.
He is [I]the [/I]man for this job.

10) [B]The[/B] is used when a singular countable noun is meant to represent whole class:

[I]The[/I] cow is a useful animal.
[I]The[/I] rose is the sweetest of all flowers.

11) [B]The[/B] is used with superlatives.

Everest is [I]the[/I] highest mountain in the world.
[I]The[/I] darkest cloud has a silver lining.

Note, however, that [B]most[/B] is sometimes used meaning very, as in ‘A most interesting book’ meaning ‘a very interesting book’.

12) [B]The[/B] is used before adjectives and participles when these are used as plural nouns.

[I]The[/I] rich ought to help [I]the[/I] poor.
[I]The[/I] cries of [I]the [/I]dying could be heard.
[I]The[/I] wounded were at once taken to hospital.

13) [B]The[/B] is used before common nouns which are names of things unique of their kind:

[I]The[/I] sun rises in [I]the[/I] east.
[I]The[/I] moon goes round [I]the [/I]earth and [I]the[/I] earth goes around [I]the[/I] sun.

14) [B]The[/B] is used in an adverbial way to show that two things increase in the same proportion:

[I]The[/I] moon [I]the[/I] merrier.
[I]The[/I] sooner [I]the[/I] better.
[I]The [/I]more one has, [I]the [/I]more one wants.

15) [B]The[/B], [B]unlike A or An[/B], is used before uncountable nouns to identify them:

[I]The[/I] milk in this pot is meant for children.
[I]The[/I] rice in this bag is not of good quality.

16) [B]The[/B] is used before nouns which name the inhabitants of a country collevtively, not before the names of their languages:

[I]The[/I] French live in France.
[I]The[/I] inhabitants of France speak French. (not [I]the French[/I])
[I]The[/I] Russians defeated [I]the[/I] Germans. (but – Russians drink vodka.)

17) [B]The[/B] is regularly used with:

Names of river; as:
Delhi stands on [I]the [/I]Jamuna.
[I]The[/I] Ganga is a sacred river.
Many ships use [I]the[/I] Suez Canal. (not [I]use [/I]Suez Canal)

Names of mountain ranges; as,
[I]The[/I] Himalayas lies to the north of India.

[CENTER][SIZE="6"][U]Omission of the Article[/U] [/SIZE][/CENTER]


[B]Note the omission of [I]The[/I] in such expressions as:[/B]

1) We travel [I]by land, by sea [/I]and [I]by air[/I]. (not [I]by the land, by the sea[/I] and [I]by the air[/I])

We are going to Lahore by train, not [I]by[/I] bus. (not [I]by the train, by the bus[/I])
The fastest means of travel is [I]by [/I]aeroplane. (not [I]by the aeroplane[/I])

2) We say – [I]go to school, go to market, go to church, go to the prison[/I]
The children [I]go to school [/I]to learn. (not [I]go to the school[/I])
Christians [I]go to church [/I]to pray. (not [I]go to the church[/I])

But, I am going [I]to the hospital [/I]to visit a friend.

We always say – [I]go to work[/I], but [I]go to the office[/I]. (not [I]go to office[/I])

3) We say [I]all day[/I] and [I]all night[/I].

I have worked hard [I]all day[/I]. (not [I]all the day[/I])
She nursed the patient [I]all night[/I]. (not [I]all the night[/I])

But we say: [I]all the morning, all the afternoon, all the evening, all the week.[/I]

Note: [I]in the morning, in the evening, in the afternoon, but at noon, at night, at dawn, at daybreak, at sunrise, at sunset.[/I]

4) Do no use [B]The[/B] before the names of [I]games[/I]:

I play [I]football[/I], [I]hockey[/I] and [I]tennis [/I]equally well. (not [I]the football, the hockey [/I]and [I]the tennis)[/I]
[I]Chess[/I] is a game which requires great patience. ([I]not the chess[/I])

Similarly: [I]cricket, rugby, polo, badminton, baseball, cards, ludo.[/I]
But we say: play [I]the piano[/I], play [I]the drums[/I], play [I]the violin[/I], play [I]the organ[/I], play [I]the guitar[/I], play [I]the harmonium[/I].

5) Do not use [B]The[/B] before plural nouns when they are used in a [I]general[/I] or a[I] universal [/I]sense:

[I]Apples[/I] are good to eat. (not [I]the apples[/I])
[I]Books[/I] give us knowledge. (not [I]the books[/I])
[I]Aeroplanes[/I] can fly very fast. (not [I]the aeroplanes[/I])

But if the reference is to [I]particular [/I]ones, then The must be used:

[I]The[/I] apples we bought yesterday were not good.
[I]The[/I] books you gave me are not interesting.

6) Do not use [B]The[/B] before the names of [I]materials[/I] or [I]substances[/I] if they are used in a general sense:

[I]Gold[/I] is a precious metal. (not [I]the gold[/I])
[I]Bread[/I] is made from flour. (not [I]the bread……the flour[/I])
Tables are made of [I]wood[/I]. (not [I]the wood[/I])

Similarly: [I]sand, butter, cheese, milk, grass, meat, paper, rice.[/I]
But we say: She paid for [I]the[/I] bread that she bought.
[COLOR="White"].................[/COLOR]I paid for [I]the[/I] meat that I bought.

7) Do not use [B]The[/B] before the names of meals, if they refer to the meals generally:

[I]Breakfast[/I] is ready. (not [I]the breakfast[/I])
When do you have [I]dinner[/I]? (not [I]the dinner[/I])
Have you had [I]lunch[/I] yet? (not [I]the lunch[/I])

But we say: We enjoyed [I]the[/I] breakfast she gave us.
[COLOR="White"].................[/COLOR][I]The[/I] dinner was not properly cooked.