There are three articles in the English language – a, an and the.
These three little words have different function, and are used in different situations. It is important to choose the right article in order to communicate properly. Articles are some of the most basic parts of speech in English. In this page, let’s take a look at how to use each type of article and how to use them.
Article ‘a/an’:
· The articles a and an refer to some indefinite person or object. They are called indefinite articles.
· Some letters stand for sounds that can be spoken on its own. There letters are called vowels. They are a, e, I, o, u.
· Other letters that cannot be vocalized on its own are called consonants.
Have a look at these phrases:
a bat
a uniform
a horse
a one-armed man
a European
a ewe
an apple
an umbrella
an honest officer
an hour
Points to ponder:
· A/An is used before countable or singular nouns referring to people/ things that have not already mentioned.
· They are also used before uncountable nouns and those have an adjective in front of them or a phrase following them.
· A/An is used to mean any/every.
· The article a is used before nouns beginning with consonant sounds and words which begin with vowel letters but consonant sounds. Sometimes a word that begin with the letter e or u has a y sound at the beginning. For example, a ewe, a university.
· An is used before nouns that begin with a vowel sound. In some words, letter h is silent and the first sound is a vowel. In such cases, we use an. For example, an hour.
·
Example sentences:
He is a postman.
They built a house.
She is looking for a job.
Sri Lanka is an island.
I came here an hour ago.
My uncle is an MLA. (Here, Note that M begins with a vowel sound)
Article ‘the’:
The is used to refer to a specific or an obvious one.
It is called the definite article.
Article the is used
·
to refer to someone or something already
mentioned.
For example,
I purchased a book. The book is full of pictures.
He is the boy I met yesterday.
·
to refer to the people or objects that are one
of a kind.
For example,
The Earth, the moon, the sun
The sun rises in the east.
·
before uncountable nouns. For example,
I spilt the juice while pouring.
· before names of geographical areas, rivers, mountains and mountain ranges. For example,
The Himalayas, the Ganges, the Alps, the Deccan plateau
The Nile is the longest river.
·
before the names of famous buildings, monuments
and works of art. For example,
The Taj Mahal, the Mona Lisa, the Twin Tower
I visited the Red Fort.
·
before superlatives and ordinal numbers. For
example,
The Nile is the longest river.
Hiroshima is the first city on which the atom bomb was
dropped.
· to refer to a group of people. For example,
The rich are not always happier than the poor.
The Italians we met yesterday were friendly.
· When a singular noun represents a whole class or kind of anything.
The spider has eight legs.
The lion is the king of the jungle.
· before names of holy books, magazines and newspapers. For example,
the Bible, the Quran, the New York Times
Fill in the blanks with a, an or the:
Last summer I took __ plane from London to Rome. From __ airport we went to our hotel by bus. We stopped at __ small restaurant for __ quick meal. __ driver parked __ bus beside __ restaurant. We stayed there for __ hour. My holiday was great. I visited __ Pantheon and other historical places. __ expert-guided tour of __ Colosseum offers __ fair introduction to Rome’s past.
Answers:
Last summer I took a plane from London to Rome. From the airport we went to our hotel by bus. We stopped at a small restaurant for a quick meal. The driver parked the bus beside the restaurant. We stayed there for an hour. My holiday was great. I visited the Pantheon and other historical places. An expert-guided tour of the Colosseum offers a fair introduction to Rome’s past.