there are two types of articles
- Definite article
- Indefinite article
Indefinite articles: a, an
Uses of indefinite article
- Before a singular countable noun mentioned for the first time.
eg:- They live in a flat, He is eating an ice-cream.
- They are used only before singular countable noun that starts from consonant sound. Eg: A pen, a student, a college, a book etc
- Before the singular countable nouns in exclamatory expressions.
eg:- What a preety girl she isǃ , What a hot dayǃ
- It is also used before singular countable nouns which begin from vowel letter but pronounce with consonant sound: Eg: A univesity, a ewe, a one ruppe, a united group, a useful book
- An is used before singular countable noun that begins from vowel sound: Eg, An ink pot, an egg, an umbrella, an owl.
- It is also used before singular countable noun that begins from consonant sound but pronounce as vowelsound: Eg- An honest boy, an hour, an honourable person etc.
- in the short forms like: an M.A, an SLC, an M.Ed etc.
- Before a singular countable noun which is used as an example of class of thing,
eg:- A car must be insured, A child needs love.
- for later information to draw attention towards the first.
eg: This is a house. (but) the house is mine,
- To show relation with one denoting number
eg:- A friend of yours= One of mine friend.
- Before a noun complement
eg:- He is an electronic engineer, She is an actress, It was an earthquake, I will be a doctor.
- To show relation with 'any' or 'every' and sometimes one.
eg:- A book is useful thing,
- Before the certain expression of quantity and number.
eg:- A great number of, a good deal of, a large number of, a lot of, a thousand,
- With singular countable noun before 'one'
eg:- A one eyed man is singing a song, A one rupee note is lost on the way, A one week holiday for school children is long.
- In the expression of price, speed, ratio, having the meaning 'per'
eg:- Twice a week, twenty at a time, 5 miles an hour, thirty rupees a kilo, all of a size etc.
- After many, such, quite, rather and what.
eg:- Many a girl would get such a chance, That's rather a pity, in my opinion, she is quite a beauty, what a great opportunity you missed.
- Usually in the form of so/as/quite/too + adj + a/an + noun
eg:- He is not so nice a bou as you think, He is as wise a leader as you say, How big a bag he carried was astonishing, That is too little a cap for me to wear.
- In the sense of 'any' to represent an individual of a class.
eg:- A dog is loyal to his owner, A student should should obey his teacher,
- Before half
eg:- One and a half kilos, But half a kilo,
- When a proper noun is made common noun.
eg:- I want to give birth to a Gautam Buddha,
Omission of a, an
- Before plural nouns
eg:-He has dogs,Do yo like horses?
- Before languages
eg:-She speaks English very well, I like French.
- Before names of meals
eg:-I take breakfast at 7, What time do you have launch?
Note:- use the indefinite article before meal if meal is preceded by an adjective.
eg:-
They gave us a good meal.
We have had a heavy breakfast today.
Note:- use indefinite article before the meal when it is special meal given to celebrate something or someones honour
eg:-
I was invited to dinner ( Ordinary dinner so no article before dinner )
I was invited to a dinner organized to welcome the prime minister.
- Before proper nouns
eg:-Kathmandu is the capital city of nepal, He visited england last year, Prithvi narayan shah is the founder of nepal.
- Before uncountable nouns
eg:- He drinks wine, water is used for doing many things.
- Before games
eg:- Football is my favourite game, I used to play volleyball.
Definite article: the
- With the noun to denote a particular person or in repetation.
eg:-I love a girl. The girl is extremely elegant. ( repeatation ), Dont hit the child.
- Before the nouns which have become definite from the context.
eg:- The bag you want is lost, There's a chair on the floor.
- Before ordinary numbers.
eg:- She is the first to come here from pokhara, Who is the second student in this class, This is the third time i have drunk wine.
- When a singular countable noun represents the whole class.
eg:- The cat loves milk, The rose is a kind of throny flower,
- With physical environment.
eg:- The town, the rain, the weather, the mountains
- Geographical context in the sense of highest, biggest,...........
eg:- The Atlantic, The Alps, The Ganges, etc
- Before national emblems.
eg:- The cow, The rhododendron, the pheasant,
- Before the name of religious and historical place, book and buildings, musical instruments and religion.
eg:-The kuran, The Gita, The violin is difficult to learn, The Vedas, The Bible, My son is playing guitar, The Hinduism,
- Before a noun which by reason of locality can represent the particular thing.
eg:- Ann is in the toilet now, Who is in the garden?, Please pass the wine.
- Before the name of nationality, tribe, occupation, post and position.
eg:- The general, The president, The sherpa, The Nepalese,
- Before a singular noun representing a whole class of animal or things,
eg:- The whale is in danger of becoming extinct, The lion is the king of the forest, The freeze has made life easier for house wives,
but
the man is mortal (incorrect)
man is mortal (correct)
- With superlatives.
eg:- I am the oldest in my family, The best, The most beautiful, The tallest,
- Before plural surname
eg:- The thapas have gone to the usa, The limbus are honest, The tharus have just arrived.
- With human organs, musical instruments, newspapers and magazines, universal bodies, national park etc.
eg:- The rara national park, The flute, The Kantipur, The sun, The green park etc,
- Before scientific inventions.
eg:- the computer, the radio, the television.
But, Do not use the before television when it is used as a form of entertainment
We are watching television now.
Whats on TV?
- When abstract nouns show the quality of a person and became common nouns.
eg:- Radha is the beauty of Nepal,
-
To qualify the proper noun, which follows the and sometime before as an adjective or defining clause.
eg:- Alexader the great, Buddha the light of asia, The immortal Devkota never dies,
- Before parts of body
eg:- The leg, the head, the stomach
- With the noun that is governed by a phrase or clause and with the noun to give the position of superlative.
eg:- The boy with red shirt is my friend, The verb is the word in a sentence.
- Before names of the armed forced groups and names of battles.
eg:- The police, the army, The gulf war
- Before adjective when the nouns are understood.
eg:- The rich should help the poor.
- As an adverb with the comparison.
eg:- The sooner the better, The more you need the more you earn.
- Before names of empires, dynasties, historical events, social clubs, trusts, foundations, organisations, historical documents, name of political parties, name of newspapers,
eg:- The taj mahal, The lions club.The congress, The kathmandu post.
- Before a proper noun that is given as example.
eg:- Devkota is the kalidas of Nepal, Nepal is the switzerland of asia.
Omission of articles
- Before countable noun showing a widest sense.
eg:- Man is mortal, What type of book is it?
- Before countable nouns and the names of languages.
eg:- Gold is expensive metal. ( But ) the gold that is used in this watch is expensive, English is an international language.
- With the nouns like school, college, hospital, church. prison, market, bed, table, chapel, court, work, sea. ( When they are visited or used for primary purpose )
eg:- Students go to school for study, The job holders are at work.
But if they are used for secondary reasons:
He went to the church to attend a wedding.
She has gone to the school to meet her friends.
- Before abstract nouns (love, happiness,freedom, anger, hatred etc).
eg:- Love is sweet, Everybody needs freedom
- With uncountable nouns, but to show quantity or number.
eg:- He drinks coffee. ( But ) He drinks a little coffee, I have paper. I have a piece of paper.
- Before names of games.
eg:- They are playing football in the rain, I never miss the football.
- After the noun in the possessive form.
eg:- This is Rita's car, This ais a tasty type of apple.
- Before countable noun showing kind or species.
eg:- What type of pen are you using?, This is a good kind of apple.
- In certain phrases made up of a preposition followed by object.
eg:- At home, at ease, on demand, at interest, at daybreak, at sight, in jest, on earth, by land,
NOTE:- When two or more adjectives qualify the same noun the article is placed before the adjective only but if it refers to both then that is used before each
eg:-
Rita has a green and read coat. ( same coat )
Rita has a green and a red coat. ( two coat )