"An article is a word or a letter which is used before
noun and tells about the certainty of that noun".
There are two types of articles :
(i) Indefinite articles: A, AN
(ii) Definite article: The
(i) A or AN is called the Indefinite Article because it
leaves indefinite the person or thing spoken of.
Example: (a)A boy means any boy. (b) A teacher means any
teacher.
For example, if I say, "Let's read the book," I mean a specific
book. If I say, "Let's read a book," I mean any book rather than a
specific book.
Rules to Use article "A"
1.If consonant is the
first letter of a countable singular common noun, we use" A" before
it.
A + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a
boy; a car; a bike; a zoo; a dog
A + nouns starting
with a pronounced "h": a horse
Examples:
Shravya has book—wrong
Shravya has a book —correct
I met girl there —wrong
I met a girl there—correct
2. 'A' is used before
some indefinite numbers.
Example:. (a) A lot of (b) a number of (c) a great deal of (d)
a half of a large number of (e) a quarter of
3. ‘A’ can be used
before some indefinite collective numbers.
Example:
(a) a team of (b) a
gang of (c) a flock of (d) a herd of (e) a swarm of (f) a panel of (g) a bunch
of
4.If an adjective is
followed by a singular noun, we use ‘A’ before that adjective.
Example:
(a) Shravya is beautiful(Adjective)
girl(noun)—wrong; (b) Shravya is a
beautiful girl —correct
5.Whenever a noun is
not used after Adjective we do not use article before it.
(a) Reema has a good(adjective) health(adjective) —wrong
(b) Reema has good health —correct
6. 'A' is used at the
place of 'per".
(a) Petrol is sold at Rs. twenty-five a litre.
(b) Apples are sold at sixty rupees a kg.
7. To show the whole
class of common noun we can use ‘A’ before a common noun.
Example: (a) A bird has two wings. (b) A monkey have a tail.
Exception: But,
common noun like Man and Woman do not follow the above rule.
Example: (a) A man is moral.—wrong (b) Man is moral. —correct
8. Sometimes at the
place of an' we can use article ‘A’
Example: (a) Sita was seen a bed.
(b) Kumar went a hunting.
9. If we put article
'A’ before plural number the forthcoming noun becomes singular.
Example: (a) A five day match. (b) A ten mile walk. (c) A
fifteen man committee.
Example: (a) Five days match. (b) Ten miles walk. (c) Fifteen
men committee.
10. ‘A‘ is used
before these words because they have the sound of consonant in their first
letters.
Example: (a) A university. (b) A union. (c) A unique film.(d)
A European. (e) A one-rupee note. A one-eyed person. (f) A one-act play. (g) A one-sided decision.
11.If noun is placed
after such, quite, rather, how etc., we use ‘A’ before that noun.
Example:
(a) I have never seen such girl in my life.—wrong; I have
never seen such a girl in my life.—correct
(b) Roma is quite dull girl.—wrong; Roma is quite a dull
girl.—correct
12.If these words are
used In singular, we use 'A' before them; Noise, Lie, Hole, Headache etc.
Example:.
(a) The pupil makes noise in the class. —wrong;The pupil
makes a noise in the class.—correct
(b) Joydeb always tells lie.—wrong; Joydeb always tells a
lie.—correct
13. If the noun is
modified by an adjective, the choice between a and an depends on the initial
sound of the adjective that immediately follows the article:
(a) a broken egg (b) an
unusual problem (c) a European country
14. Omission of
Articles: Some common types of nouns that don't take an article are:
(a) Names of
languages and nationalities: Chinese, English, Spanish, Russian
(b) Names of sports:
volleyball, hockey, baseball
(c) Names of academic
subjects: mathematics, biology, history, computer science
15. Note that in
English, the indefinite articles are used to indicate membership in a
profession, nationality status, or religion.
(a) I am a teacher.
(b) Brian is an
Irishman.
(c) Seiko is a practicing Buddhist.
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