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Translate the following sentence in your mother
tongue
● I eat an apple every day.
● marathi: Mi roz ek safarchand khato
● Ami protidin ekti aapel khai (Bengali)
● Nenu apple rooju thintanu(Telugu)
● Nan dinamum oru apple sapiduvain: Tamil
● Mu sabhu din apple kauchi : Odia
● nanu dhinalu apple thinthane(kanada)
● njan ella divasavum oru apple kazhikum(malayalam)
● Hav sadda ek apple khata. (konkani)
Articles
A, An, and The
Indefinite articles ‘A’ and ‘An’ & Definite article ‘The’
A is used before nouns with consonants sounds.
Eg: a pen, a knife, a man, a sickle
An is used before nouns beginning with vowels or with vowel sounds.

Eg: An angel, an Irishman, an officer, an umbrella.
A and An : Do not specify a particular person or a thing but refers to them

in general.
The is used to refer to a particular person or a thing.

Eg: The man in the blue shirt is my uncle.
A
A is used with words beginning with a consonantal sound.

These include:
1. Words which begin with consonants (including y, and also h when it is
pronounced):
a boy, a horse, a human being, a historical novel, a yard, a yell, a young
man,, a year.
(It is wrong to say ‘an year’. This is a common error which should be
carefully avoided.)
A
2. Words beginning with certain vowels which have a consonantal sound:
(a) Words which begin with a y sound:
a ewe, a university, a European, a uniform, a union, a eulogy.
(b) Words which begin with a w sound:
a one-legged man, a one-rupee coin, such a one, a one-way ticket.

An
An is used before words beginning with a vowel sound.
These include:
1. Words beginning with vowels.
an arm-chair, an army, an Alsatian, an American, an Australian, an

enemy, an idiot, an umbrella, an eye, an ear, an ulcer, an ell.
2. Words beginning with a silent h:
an honor, an heir, an heirloom, an honest man, an honorable man.

Use of indefinite articles
A and An are weakened forms of one.
So their primary use is in the sense of one.
1) I bought a dozen oranges.

2) He has an ulcer on his leg.
3) We shall be leaving in a day or two.
4) A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Vague sense of a ‘certain’:
1) I saw a hawker selling his wares in the street.
2) A man came and knocked at the door.
3) I saw a green-eyed monster.
Used with a Singular Noun to make the latter represent a whole class:
1) A dog is faithful to his master. (meaning all dogs)
2) Only an infantry man knows what war is. (all infantry men)
3) A parrot can repeat what you say. (all parrots)
Use of indefinite article
Occasionally used in the sense of any or a single:
1) At this rate there won’t be a lion left in the Gir forest in a few years’
time.
2) There is not a man here who will not support you.
Used in the sense of every:
1) He gets a salary of 2,000/- a month.
2) Tennis balls cost 108/- a dozen now.
Used in the sense of per
1)The room is available for Rs 2000 a month.
2) They can travel 60 kms an hour.
Occasionally used before a Proper Noun to make it a Common Noun:
1) Here is a Daniel (a wise and upright judge) come to judgement.

2) He is a Valmiki (an inspired poet).
3)He is a second Newton (a great scientist and philosopher).
Exercise
__ youth, ___ useful thing, __ one-man tribunal, ____hour,__ yellow
paper, __ unit
1) ____ stitch in time saves nine.

2)____ honest man is ___ gift of God.
3) He is ___ man of letters.
4)This is ___ honour bestowed upon me.
5)She got ___ anonymous call.
6)___ representative called me.
Exercise
7) He did not speak ____ word in self-defense.

8) He makes thirty thousand ____ year.
9) She is ___ Mother Teresa in doing service.
10) He is ____ Edison in real sense.
11)___ lawyer should be good in arguments. ( all lawyers)
12)___ mother is a symbol of sacrifice. ( all mothers)
Use of definite article
The Definite Article is used in various contexts:
1.When we speak of things which are the only ones of their kind:
the sun, the moon, the sea, the earth, the sky
2. When we speak of a particular person or thing:

1) The boy, who stood first, was given a prize.
2) Call the man waiting outside.
3) Revenge is the main theme of this play.
3. When a person or thing has been already mentioned earlier, the
Definite Article is used in later references to that particular person or
thing.
1) I saw a beggar near the bus stop; the fellow came to me with
outstretched hands.
2) We came across a little, bubbling stream; the stream flowed through a
wooded valley.
4. When it is clear from the context that a particular person or thing is
meant, the definite Article is used:
1) I was talking to the Mayor yesterday. (Must be the Mayor of the city)
2) I asked the boys not to play in the street. (Must be the street in front of
their house.)
3) He went to the market to buy provisions. (Must be the market where
he usually goes.)
5. When a Singular Noun is used to represent the whole class of things to
which it belongs:
1) The lotus is a lovely flower.

2) Can the leopard change its spots?
3) The camel is the ship of the desert. 4) The
Eskimo lives in an igloo. 5) When
the atom is split, it releases immense energy.
6. Before names of rivers, gulfs, seas, groups of islands, mountain ranges:
The Ganges, the Mississippi, the Amazon, the Persian Gulf, the Pacific
Ocean, the Dead Sea, the Himalayas, the Andamans.
Note. The is not used before the names of individual peaks and
mountains:
Mount Everest, Mt. Etna, Kanchenjunga.
7.Before the names of certain well-known books:
The Bible, the Ramayana, the Koran, the Iliad, the Odyssey.
Note. But the is dropped when the author’s name is prefixed to the name
of the book:
8.Before a Proper Noun when it is used as a Common Noun:
1) Kalidas is the Shakespeare (the greatest dramatist) of India.
2) Einstein is the Newton (the greatest scientist) of our age.
3) Bombay is the Manchester (the biggest cloth producing centre) of
India.
9.Before an Adjective in the Superlative Degree:

1) The corruption of the best becomes the worst.
2) The longest day has the shortest night.
3) Socrates was the wisest of Greek philosophers.
10.Before an Adjective to make it a Noun in the Plural:
1)The rich must help the poor.
2)The educated should teach the illiterate.
3) Oligarchy is the rule of the many by the few.
11. As an Adverb in such sentences as:

1)The more they get, the more they want.
2)The more the merrier.
3)The more you speak, the less I understand.
Fill up the blanks with appropriate Articles:
1. We want ....... help of ....... few volunteers.
2. This is ....... historic occasion.
3. After ....... year or two ....... question can be reconsidered.
4. He is ....... real Hitler.
5. Mussolini was ....... Hitler of Italy.
6. ....... higher you climb ....... colder it gets.
7. There was ....... ugly scar on ....... face of ....... prisoner.
8. We should have compassion for ....... poor.
Fill up the blanks with appropriate Articles:
9. ....... Amazon is ....... longest river in ....... world.
10. In ....... park I saw ....... one-eyed beggar.
11. He reads ....... Bible every day.
12. Frank is ....... American, but Robinson is ....... European.
13. Mumbai is ....... Manchester of India.
14. He has been appointed for ....... year in the first instance.
15. I cannot remember ....... story which he told.
Cases where Articles should not be used
1. Before Proper Nouns:
1)Tagore was a truly great poet.
2) Stalin was a ruthless dictator.
3) Delhi is the capital of India.
4) Everest is the highest peak in the world.
2. Before Abstract Nouns:

1) Wisdom is better than riches.
2) Commonsense is a great virtue.
3) Patience and perseverance can conquer all obstacles.
3.Before Material Nouns:
1) Iron and steel are controlled commodities.
2) This pillar is made of reinforced concrete.
3) There are vessels made of silver and gold in the temple.
4) Michelangelo carved his ‘David’ in white marble.
4. Before a Common Noun used in its widest sense:

1) Man is mortal.
2) Animals have an undeveloped brain.
3) Science tries to discover the laws of nature.
5. In certain Verbal Phrases (Transitive Verb + Noun):
1) He sent word that he was going to Mumbai. (not ‘sent a word’)
2) Don’t take offence so easily.
3) Don’t lose heart, but struggle courageously.
4) Her clothes caught fire, while she was cooking.
6. In certain Prepositional Phrases (Preposition + Noun):

1) The ship was riding at anchor.
2) We can travel by road, (by) rail or (by) air.
3) We shall start at daybreak, at noon or at night.
4) We had company at breakfast,(at) lunch,(at) tea and (at) dinner.
7. Before titles used in apposition to a Proper Noun, or as the
Complement of a Subject:
1) Solomon, son of David, was the wisest of monarchs.
2) Philip, King of Spain, planned to invade England.
3) My brother is Manager of Dustoor & Co., Ltd., Chennai.
4) Zakir Husain was elected President of India.
5) Elizabeth II became Queen of England after the death of her
father.
Correct the following sentences:
1. I saw a elephant in the zoo.
2. Wordsworth wrote poems on the beauty of the nature.
3. In few years he became a richest merchant.
4. More I hear pop music, less I like it.
5. Umbrella is of no use in thunderstorm.
6. Livingstone was great explorer!
7. What beautiful picture it is!
8. What kind of a bird is that?
9. He is a best friend of mine.
10. Of the two brothers Shyam and Ram, former is good man, but
latter is very selfish fellow.

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Translate the following sentence in your mother

An is used before nouns beginning with vowels or with vowel sounds.

A and An : Do not specify a particular person or a thing but refers to them

The is used to refer to a particular person or a thing.

A is used with words beginning with a consonantal sound.

(a) Words which begin with a y sound:

a ewe, a university, a European, a uniform, a union, a eulogy.

(b) Words which begin with a w sound:

a one-legged man, a one-rupee coin, such a one, a one-way ticket.

an arm-chair, an army, an Alsatian, an American, an Australian, an

2. Words beginning with a silent h:

an honor, an heir, an heirloom, an honest man, an honorable man.

1) I bought a dozen oranges.

1) Here is a Daniel (a wise and upright judge) come to judgement.

1) ____ stitch in time saves nine.

7) He did not speak ____ word in self-defense.

2. When we speak of a particular person or thing:

1) The lotus is a lovely flower.

9.Before an Adjective in the Superlative Degree:

11. As an Adverb in such sentences as:

2. Before Abstract Nouns:

4. Before a Common Noun used in its widest sense:

6. In certain Prepositional Phrases (Preposition + Noun):

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