Study of articles (a, an, the) and their uses is necessary and it has own significance in english grammar. Here, I will explain in details.
There are there articles. These are:-
a
an
the
“a” and “an” are indefinite article
“the” is definite article
Uses of “a”:-
(1) “a” is used before a word beginning with a consonant
(2) “a” is used before a word if a word starts with vowel but the pronounciation begins with consonant sound
(3) “a” is used before singular countable noun
Uses of “an”:-
(1) “an” is used before a word beginning with vowel ( vowels are “a” , “e” , “i” , “o” , “u” )
(2) “an” is used before a word if a word starts with a consonant but the pronounciation begins with vowel sound
(3) “an” is used before an abbreviation if pronunciation starts with a vowel sound or the abbreviation starts with “A” , “E” , “F” , “H” , “I” , “L” , “M” , “N” , “O” , “R” , “S” , “X”
Uses of “the”:-
(1) “the” is used before the name of daily news paper, mountain range, sea, ocean, group of island, river, desert, holy book, direction, planet, famous book, specific and famous incident, musical instruments, sky, ancient monument etc
(2) “the” is used before superlative degree
(3) “the” is used before name of a community, but if the word is used as a language or “language” word is given after the word, then “the” is not used before the word
(4) “the” is used before name of a country, if the country is made up of different parts/province or name of the country is in plural form or some words like “kingdom” , “states” , “republic” etc are included in the name of that country
(5) “the” is used if a thing, an incident, a living creature etc are mentioned specifically in that sentence
(6) “the” is used to generalized the whole class, whole categorie, whole group etc
Use of articles in a sentence are given below with the help of examples:-
(1) Mr J is as good as an actor.
(2) An apple a day builds immunity.
(3) She goes to a university near this province every week.
(4) She is an innocent and talented girl.
(5) I saw an elephant in a beautiful and well maintained zoo.
(6) I have seen the elephant again before leaving the zoo.
(7) I am an Indian citizen.
(8) This is a lovely picture of the great wall of china.
(9) She is an amazing dancer.
(10) The professor he talked to at the event was very polite and humble.
(11) We should help the beggars.
(12) I saw an axe yesterday at his hut.
(13) The honest are always respected.
(14) Mr T is an honest man.
(15) The earth is moving around the sun.
(16) She is the most beautiful and innocent girl of our class.
(17) The book that I read last night, was great.
(18) I bought an umbrella to go out in rain.
(19) My friend is now learning to play the violin at her school.
(20) I will definitely send you an SMS tomorrow morning.
(21) Do you remember the kid that we saw last monday.
(22) The school on the corner was built by him.
(23) It is a very good habit to help the poor and the needy.
(24) Her brother bought an H.M.T. watch, the watch was very beautiful.
(25) What is the largest animal in the sea ?
(26) She lost the ring that I had gifted her a few years ago.
(27) This is an apple, the apple is red and tasty.
(28) Yes, I have seen the Taj mahal.
(29) Sahara is the largest desert in the world.
(30) Please give me an LED bulb as soon as possible.
(31) I have to buy a uniform for my school.
(32) It is an evolution in the field of science and technology.
(33) He works in a CA firm.
(34) He works in the CA firm, which was established last year.
(35) It is an easy task for me to do.
(36) This is the pen with which I wrote the letter to my great grandfather.
(37) He has an amazing sense of humor.
(38) All the rich are not polite.
(39) She returned after an hour.
(40) He has a union of people.
(41) I have a one rupee note.
(42) It’s a once-in-a lifetime opportunity for me.
(43) He is on a european trip.
(44) It is an honor / honour to receive this prestigious award.
(45) She got an honorary membership of this institution.
(46) It was an unbelievable day.
(47) She lived in an island for many years.
(48) He has an honesty towards his work.
(49) I am in a daily market to buy an envelope for my child.
(50) This is a unique thing.
(51) I have an inkpot.
(52) He said that he was an M.P a few years ago.
(53) They live in an RCC building.
(54) The pyramid of giza is the UNESCO world heritage site.
(55) He lodged an FIR against the thief.
(56) Sir C V Raman is the Newton of India.
(57) The brave are not afraid of death.
(58) It was the worst period of my life.
(60) Singapore is in the south of Japan.
(61) He has been living in the USA for 10 years.
(62) It is an honour to meet the king.
(63) Is the sun shining today ?
(64) There are many bright stars in the sky.
(65) I have an idea.
(66) She wants to become an engineer.
Articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are important in English grammar as well as on the language perspective also, because they help clarify whether we are referring or saying to something specific or something general. It also signifies the nature or content of the sentence, which the subject is trying to speak. These are the basic uses of “a” , “an” , “the”. I hope students will be able to learn and understand the uses of articles from the above explanations and solved examples.
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