Articles

The words aan, and the are called articles.

Articles are of two types:

  • Definite article: The
  • Indefinite article: A, An

Indefinite article a and an tell us about any person or thing.

Definite article the tells us about a particular person or thing.
e.g.

  • A copy (any copy)
  • Please bring a pen. (any pen)
  • The house that we stay in is beautiful. (A particular house)
  • The cupboard is next to the door. (A particular cupboard)

As we all know there are 26 letters in all. Out of these a, e, i, o, u are vowels and the rest are called consonants.

A is used before the words that start with a consonant sound.
e.g.

  • A girl
  • A chair
  • A peacock
  • A box
  • A violin

An is used before words that start with vowels a, e, i, o, u.
e.g.

  • An apple
  • An umbrella
  • An orange
  • An elephant
  • An insect

We also use an before words that begin that begin with a consonant but have a vowel sound.
e.g.

  • An honest man
  • An hour

We also use a before words that begin with a vowel but have a consonant sound.
e.g.

  • a one-horned deer
  • a university
  • a unit

Indefinite articles are used before things that are only one and not more than one. A and An can never be used before things that cannot be counted.
e.g.

  • A boy, A girl, A man, A school, An item – correct
  • An umbrellas, A boys, An items, A sugar, A water, A sand – incorrect

Note: Things that cannot be counted do not have an article before them. But if we add some word like a cup of milk. A has been used as a cup is a countable thing.

Definite article the is used before a particular person or thing. The is also used before the names of rivers, seas, oceans, mountains, holy books, newspapers.
e.g.

  • The Taj Mahal
  • The Sun
  • The Himalayas

Note: No article is used before a proper noun. Bangalore is a beautiful city.