Articles - A or An and The

Study the pictures

A, An and The are called articles. A and An are called indefinite articles and the is known as the definite article. A and An are used before the singulars and countable nouns. The is used for both countable and uncountable nouns. A is used before a singular noun beginning with a consonant sound. An is used before a singular noun beginning with a vowel sound. If an initial consonant is silent as in hour or honest, then an has to be used. Similarly, if the initial vowel in a word is pronounced with a consonant sound as in European, union and useful then a is to be used. Examine the examples. An office, an umbrella, an hour, an honest boy, an heir, an orange, an historical novel, an idea A useful idea, a hole, a universal message, a cow, a cat, a crane, a one-eyed man Golden Tip The definite article has two pronunciations depending upon whether the comes before
consonant or vowel. the will sound like i: when it is followed by vowel and it will sound like when it is followed by consonant.

When to use the definite article the?

Rule 1: A thing or person already referred to and is understood to be as such; as I hate the woman. (The listener knows the woman who is being referred) Let us go to the office. (The listener knows which office)

Rule 2: When a noun is one of its kind and is unique in a given context; as Lets go and sit in the kitchen. (There is only one kitchen in the house) Lets look at the sky. The darkest cloud had a silver lining.

Rule 3: Before some proper nouns: oceans and seas, e.g. the Pacific, the black sea rivers, e.g. the Ganges, the Nile canals e.g. the Suez Canal deserts, e.g. the Sahara groups of islands, e.g. the West Indies, the Maldives Mountain-ranges e.g. the Himalayas, the Alps

Rule 4: Before the names of certain books; as The Holy Quran, The Vedas, the Holy Bible

Rule 5: With Superlatives and ordinals; as The darkest night, the best employee The first, the ninth,

Practise aloud
1. Gold is an expensive metal. 2. I met him an year ago. 3. Hebrew is not an easy language. 4. Who is the best among them? 5. The sky is blue. 6. The Ganges is a sacred river.

7. Dont tell a lie. Speak the truth. 8. He was an honourable man. 9. I will show you the road to Madras. 10. Lets discuss the matter now. 11. Do you see the blue sky? 12. Today the sun shines brightly. 13. Who is the man sitting there? 14. Sri Lanka is an island. 15. I have a spanner and a hammer. 16. She is an untidy girl. 17. Sun rises in the east. 18. Who wishes to talk with me? 19. Where did you buy the laptop? 20. Set back the clock; it is hour too fast.