ENGLISH GRAMMAR PART-3
Use of Articles
Articles
Exercises: There
are two types of articles:- definite article (the) and indefinite articles (a,
an). We usually use indefinite articles first to mention a person or a thing.
By doing so, we don’t have to be clear about which particular person or thing
we are referring to. When we refer to the same person or thing again, we use
the definite article the to indicate the person or thing already mentioned.
There are times when we don’t have to use any one of the articles. Such non-use
of the article is called zero articles.
We use “the’:
· only before person, place or thing:-the Pope, the President of
India, the North Pole, the earth, the sky.
· before names of famous buildings:-the Red Fort, the Great Wall
of China, The Taj Mahal
· before a singular noun that refers to a whole class or group of
people or things the middle class, the homeless, the Hindus, the Sikhs
· before special names of rivers, seas, oceans, mountain ranges,
groups of islands the Nile, the Dead Sea, the Andaman and Nicobar islands, the
Himalayas.
·
before names of holy books The Ramayana, The Gita
·
before names of newspapers and magazines The Tribune, The India
Today
·
before superlative degree of adjectives the best, the greatest
·
before heavenly bodies the moon, the sun, the earth, the sky
·
before abbreviations the UK, the ICICI
· before name of inventions Who invented the aeroplane?
·
before proper nouns Sunday, Delhi, Volkswagan, Rita Tiwari
·
before abstract nouns Man is Mortal.
·
before names of meals I am very fond of eating Rice and Dal.
·
before names of parts of body and clothing Show me your fingers.
·
before name of languages English, Hindi, Chinese
·
before name of games I love to play football.
We use ‘a’:
·
when we mention something for the first time I saw a dog.
·
before a word which begins with a consonant There is a woman
waiting for you.
·
before a word with a long sound of u a university, a uniform, a
useful book, a European, a unique.
·
before the word one because one sounds as if it begins with a W
(wun) a one way street, a one-eyed monster, a one-year course, a one-week
holiday, etc.
The
indefinite article a also means one. We can use ‘a’ or ‘one’ as follow:
·
He keeps a/one dozen snakes as pets.
·
I have told you a/one hundred times to leave me alone!
We use an
·
before a noun which begins with a vowel sound They say an apple
a day keeps the doctor away.
·
before a singular noun (person or thing) to mean only one in
quantity She’s an only child.
·
before a noun that is representative of a group, species, etc An
ostrich has only two toes on each foot.
·
before a noun that begins with a silent h an hour, an honest
man, an heir, an honour, an honourable man, etc.
·
before abbreviations, some of which begin with a consonant an
MP, an SP, an X-ray.
·
before plural nouns dogs, chairs, trousers, pants
·
before abstract nouns gold, advice, patience, loyalty
·
before names of meals Brunch shall be served at 12.00 O’clock.
·
before proper names Mohit, Diwali, Cricket
·
In certain idiomatic expressions and special phrases by bus, on
foot, in bed, at dinner, go home, etc.
Exercise 1
Some of these sentences are right, but some of them need a/an.
Put in a/an where necessary. Write ok if the sentence is already correct.
1. I have not
got watch.
2. Do you like
cheese?
3. Reena never
wears hat.
4. Are you
looking for job?
5. Madhu does
not eat meat.
6. She eats
apple every day.
7. I am going to
party tonight.
8. Music is
wonderful thing.
9. Jamaica is
island.
10. I don’t need
key.
11. Everybody
needs food.
12. I have good
idea.
13. Can you drive
car?
14. Do you want
cup of coffee?
15. I don’t like
coffee without milk.
16. Don’t go out
without umbrella.
Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks with a/an or the:
1. We enjoyed
our holiday ………… hotel was very nice.
2. Can I ask
………… question?
3. You look very
tired. You need ………… holiday.
4. Where is Om?
‘He is in ………… bathroom.’
5. Rita is …………
interesting person. You must meet her.
8. It is …………
nice morning. Let us go for ………… walk.
9. Sushma is
………… student. When she finishes her studies, she wants to be ………… journalist.
10. Sushma lives
with two friends in ………… flat near ………… college where she is studying ………… flat
is small but she likes it.
11. Rakesh and
Reena have got two children, ………… boy and ………… girl ………… boy is ten years old
and ………… girl is three.
12. Mohan works
in ………… factory. Meeta has not got ………… job at the moment.
13. man and …………
woman were sitting opposite me ………… man was American but I think ………… woman was
British.
Answer:
Exercise 3
Put in a/an or the wherever necessary.
1. Don’t forget
to turn off light when you go out.
2. Enjoy your
holiday and don’t forget to send me postcard.
3. What is name
of this village?
4. Canada is
very big country.
5. Which is
largest city in Canada?
6. I like this
room but I don’t like colour of carpet.
7. Are you OK?’
No, I have got headache’.
8. We live in
old house near station.
9. What is name
of director of film we saw last night?
Answer:
1. Don’t forget
to turn off the light when you go out.
2. Enjoy your
holiday and don’t forget to send me a postcard.
3. What is the name
of this village?
4. Canada
is a very big country.
5. Which
is the largest city in Canada?
6. I like this
room but I don’t like the colour of the carpet.
7. ‘Are you OK?
‘No, I have got a headache’.
8. We live
in an old house near the station.
9. What is the
name of the director of the film we saw last
night?
Exercise 4
Put in a, an or the wherever necessary. Don’t use any article
where it is not necessary.
1. My father is
____ M.A. in mathematics.
2. ____
Mumbai is London of India.
3. We are going
to ____ cinema.
4. Yesterday I
met ____ European playing with ____ boy.
5. I have got
____ headache.
6. ____ Ganga
is ____ holy river.
7. ____ Quran
is read by ____ Muslims.
8. Rohit is
____ unique boy.
9. He is
____ most intelligent boy in the class.
10. I know how to
play ____ sitar.
11. I live in
____ Delhi.
Answer:
