1

ARTICLES & THEIR USAGE

A/AN Indefinite articles are used for things, not in particular sense but in
the sense of one or any.
1. Give me a pen.
2. This is an apple.
3. He brought me an orange.
4. Please give me a pen.

THE Definite article, because it is used in a sense of a particular thing or

person, e.g.,
1. The earth is round.
2. I saw the doctor.
3. This is the book I want.
4. This is the project I told you about.

POSITION OF ARTICLES

1. Articles are used before nouns, e.g.,

a. This is a ball.
b. Here is an apple.
c. These are the boys.

2. If an adjective is used before a noun, the article comes before the

adjective, e.g.,
a. This is a new ball.
b. Here is an old apple.
c. These are the mischievous boys.

3. If how, so, or too precede an adjective, the article is used after the
adjective but before the noun, e.g.,
a. How fine a day!
b. Shes so good a girl!
c. Its too good an attempt for a novice.

USAGE OF THE ARTICLES

A/AN indefinite articles --
2

1. Before a word beginning with a CONSONANT having a CONSONANT

SOUND, as
A boy, a woman, a house, a hole

2. Before a Word beginning with O when it has the SOUND of W, as :

a. A one-man show.
b. A one-rupee note.

3. Before a word beginning with VOWELS having CONSONANT SOUND,

as:
a university, a European, a uniform, a youth, a U.K. plane, a ewe, a yard

4. Before a word beginning with a VOWEL, as :

an inkpot, an elephant, an orange, an egg

5. Before a word beginning with SILENT H as:

an honour, an heir, an honest man, an hourly report

6. Before a word beginning with a consonant having a VOWEL SOUND, as:

an M.P., an S.D.M., an x-ray plant, an M.Sc., an F.I.R. etc.

USE OF INDEFINITE ARTICLE

The indefinite articles are used as follows:-
1. Before NAME of the PROFESSION, OCCUPATION, RELIGION,
NATIONALITY
a. She is a teacher.
b. She is a Christian.
c. I am an Engineer.
d. She is a Socialist (Political loyalty)
WE DONT SAY:
a. He is barber.
c. She is sales manager.

2. Before a PROPER, MATERIAL OR ABSTRACT NOUN, provided it

is used as a COMMON NOUN, as (denoting a type of quality):-
a. Sudha was a great beauty.
b. He has received a good education.
c. The applicant has a working knowledge of Hindi.
3

3. Before a DOZEN, HUNDRED, THOUSAND, MILLION, ETC.as

a. I have a hundred rupees.
b. She has a dozen books.

4. In EXCLAMATORY SENTENCES before a SINGULAR

COUNTABLE NOUN but after what, as:
a. What a foolish girl!
b. What a cat!

5. Before A FEW, LITTLE, MANY, GREAT DEAL, GOOD DEAL,

etc., e.g.,
a. A few boys.
b. A little sugar.
c. A great deal of money.

6. In the sense of certainty, as:

a. There lived a rich man in my neighbourhood.

7. After MANY, QUITE, SUCH, as:

a. Many a flower.
b. Such a fine book.
c. Quite a nice guy

8. To make a COMMON NOUN of a PROPER NOUN , as:

a. He is a Dara Singh (Dara Singh a very strong man)

9. In SPECIAL PHRASES, as :
a. to make a noise,
b. a short time ago,
c. to make a good guess at,
d. to be in a temper,
e. to have a knowledge of,
f. to pay somebody a visit, etc.

10. In the sense of ONE/ANY, KIND, SOME

a. There is a boy.
b. Iron is a useful metal.
c. He has a chance of success.
4

11. When a singular COUNTABLE NOUN is used after, with or without

the indefinite article, or before a singular countable noun, as:-
a. He came with a boy.
b. She ran without an umbrella.

USE OF DEFINITE ARTICLE

1. THE is used BEFORE ADJECTIVE OR PARTICIPLES TO
REPRESENT A CLASS OF PEOPLE:
a. the rich, the poor, the dead.
b. The dying, the injured/wounded.
c. The rich are not necessarily happy.
d. The blind deserve our sympathy.

2. THE IS USED BEFORE AN ADJECTIVE TO DENOTE A

QUALITY, as:-
a. the white/yellow of an egg.
b. The evil, the good, the beautiful.

3. The is used before a NOUN CONSIDERED UNIQUE OR

EXTRAORDINARY, i.e., a noun treated as equivalent to a
SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVE in this construction the means the
best, the only, or precisely.
a. She is the bride for him.
b. This is the place for our picnic
c. He is the authority on the subject.

4. The is used before a noun whose identity is common knowledge or

can be easily informed. In this construction the denotes a PERSONS
TITLE, RANK, or PROFESSION etc:
The President The Prime Minister
The Principal The King/Queen
The Prophet The Bench/Bar
The Postman The Press/Media
The Director The Chairman

5. THE is used before a Singular Common Noun (place/person) that

CAN BE EASILY INFERRED FROM THE SITUATION:
The Police Station The Post Office
The Station The Radio
5

NOTE
RADIO always takes the:
She is listening to the radio.
Whats on the radio now?

b. The use of the before TELEVISION is optional

6. THE IS USED:
In front of MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, as
a. Sudha plays the table, can you play the trumpet?
b. She is playing the violin/piano/sitar.
c. He is playing the drum/table.
d. He is accompanied on the violin by an Englishman.

7. THE is used before a noun denoting a unit of measure to mean every:

(before words indicating number, weight, or measure to express the
idea of rate such as
a. We buy petrol by the gallon/liter.
b. They sell bananas by the dozen.
c. They are paid wages by the hour/week.
d. Cloth is sold by the meter.
e. Apple is sold by the kilo.

5. THE is used before a singular countable noun to denote AN

ATTRIBUTE/AQUALITY
a. The monkey in man still survives.
b. The dancer in her is dead.

6. THE is used before adjectives in the COMPARATIVE DEGREE

(of the two)
a. She is the taller of the two.
b. He is the wiser of the two boys.
NOTE
In this construction expressing parallels increase /decrease the
Is used twice.
c. The older you grow the wiser you become.
d. The more you have the more you want.

7. THE is used before adjectives in the SUPERLATIVE DEGREE.

6

a. Sudha is the tallest girl in the class.

b. Mr. Verma is the oldest man in the village.
c. The best book
d. The most beautiful flower.
e. One of the wisest men.
f. One of the most beautiful animals.
TO LAY EMPHASIS ON THE ADJECTIVE
THE LAST
THE BEST
THE FIRST

8. THE is used before ordinal numbers and only

a. The first prize
b. The only son
c. The only hope
d. The second son
He was the first man to arrive.
This is the best book of English Literature.

9. THE is used before the names of RIVERS , SEA, OCEANS,

MOUNTAIN RANGES, GROUP OF ISLANDS:
a. RIVERS, CHANNELS : The Ganges
The Thames
The Indus
The Brahmaputra
The Nile
The English Channel

b. SEAS/ OCEANS : The Atlantic ( Ocean)

The Indian (Ocean)
The Mediterranean Sea
The Arabian Sea

c. MOUNTAIN RANGES The Himalayas

The Alps
The Vindhyas

d. GROUP OF ISLANDS The Andamans

The West Indies
The Maldives
7

NOTE : The is not used before the following peaks or mountains:

a. Everest
b. Kialash
c. Kanchenjunga
d. Mount Abu
e. Parasnath

10. NOTE: The is not used before individual island:

Crete
Malta
Bermuda
Ireland
Sri Lanka
Sicily

11.THE is used before the names of these COUNTABLE/STATES

The Netherlands
The Sudan
The UK
The USA
The Punjab
The GDR

12. THE is used before the name of holy / great books

The Bible
The Ramayan
The Gita/Vedas
The Mahabhatrata
NOTE: THE is not used before the name of a books when it
appears in front of the name of the author:-
a. I have read Tulsi Dasas Ramayan (not, the Tulsi Dasas Ramayan)
b. Homers Illiad, Valmikis Ramayan)

13.THE is used before names of newspaper

a. The Hindustan Times
b. The Times of India
c. The New York Times
d. The Guardian
e. The Statesman
8

14.THE is used before a common noun considered unique

a. The Sun/Moon
b. The Sky / Earth
c. The World/Universe
d. The Sea/Air

15.THE is used before names of inventions

a. The Telephone
b. The microscope
c. The World/Universe
d. The Steam Engine
e. The Wheel

16.THE is used before the parts of ones body and articles of clothing:
a. The stone hit him on the shoulder.
b. The trouser you bought fits you well.
c. I held him by the tie/collar.