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Article in English Grammar with Examples [PDF]

Hello Learners, welcome to another English Grammar lesson, in this lesson I am going to discuss What is Article in English grammar, also I will discuss the Rules of Article omission with suitable examples, and also too download the PDF of this lesson please find the PDF downloadable link below of this article.

feature image of article

Definition of Article:

Basically, an article is an adjective. Like adjective articles modify nouns.

There are two articles in English- The and A/An. ‘The’ is used to refer to specific or particular nouns, 'a/an' is used to modify no specific nouns. We call 'The' definite article and 'A/An' the indefinite article.

For example, if I say, “Let's read the book, “I mean a specific book. If I say, “let's read a book” then I mean any book rather than a specific book.

Let's look at each type of article a little more closely and Find out what is an article exactly.

TAKE A LOOK ON THIS INFOGRAPHIC:
types of articles

Types of Article:

There are two types of article. And those are:

  1. Indefinite article.
  2. Definite article.

Indefinite Article:

‘A’ and ‘An’ these are indefinite article.

'A' and 'An' signal that the noun modified is indefinite, referring to any number of a group. For example,

  • “My daughter really wants a dog for Christmas”. This refers to any dog. We don’t know which dog because we haven't found the dog yet.
  • “When I was at the zoo, I saw an elephant?” There are probably several elephants at the zoo, but there is only one, we are talking about here.

Remember one thing, using ‘a’ or ‘an’ depends on the sound that begins the next word. So…

  • 'A' + Singular noun beginning with a consonant.

For example, A zoo, A car, A bus, A bike, A tree.

  • 'An' + Singular noun beginning with a vowel [External Link].

For example, An elephant, An egg, An orphan.

  • 'A' + Singular noun beginning with a consonant sound. A user (sounds like yoo-zer, begins with a consonant ‘y’ sound, so ‘a’ is used), for example, a university, a school, a bicycle.
  • 'An' + nouns starting with silent ‘h’, for example, an hour.
  • 'A '+ nouns starting with a pronounced ‘h’, for example, a horse.
  • Another case where this rule applies is when acronyms start with consonant [External Link] letters but have vowel sounds.

For example, An MSDS (material safety data sheet) was used to record data.

  • 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.

For example, A broken egg, An unusual problem.

  • Remember, that in English, the indefinite articles are used to indicate membership in a group.

I am a student (Here I am a member of a large group known as teachers).

John is an Englishman (Here John is a member of the people known as English).

Definite Article:

'The' is definite article.

The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific.

For example,

  1. The dog that bit me ran away.

Here, we are talking about a specific dog, the dog that bit me.

  1. I saw the elephant at the zoo.

Here, we talking about a specific noun. Probably there is only one elephant at the zoo.

  • The can be used with non-count nouns.

For example,

I love to sail over the water. (Some specific body of water)

  • A/an can be used only with count nouns.

For example,

I need a bottle of water.

  • Omit the before:
  1. Name of rivers.
  2. Points on the globe like the Equator, the North Pole.
  3. Geographical areas like The West.

Rules of Article Omission:

The omission of articles.

The article "A, An, The" are omitted.

  • Before a Proper noun. for example, Delhi is the capital of India, Shakespeare was the greatest dramatist.
  • Before names of material.

For example,

  1. Silver is a useful metal.
  2. The tea of Assam is very famous (particular tea).
  • Before common noun used in its wide sense.

For example,

  1. Man is Mortal, god is omnipresent, but we say the devil.
  • Before abstract nouns as qualities feelings and States used in general science.

For example,

  1. love is a natural feeling, truth is a noble quality.

*Note- but we can say for example.

  1. The honesty of my brother is beyond any doubt.
  2. She always tells a lie.
  3. Suman always speak the truth.
  • Before a noun complement( appoint, make, select, etc).

For example,

  1. The committee appointed him captain.
  2. They elected him president.
  • Before collective nouns in general science.

For example,

  1. life is complex.
  2. society does not allow this.
  • Before languages.

For example,

  1. Arabic is a difficult language.
  2. He knows Spanish very well.
  • Before school college home Church temples work bed table Hospital market prison Court when their purpose is thought of rather than the actual building or place.

For example,

  1. we go to temple on Monday( for prayer).
  2. He went to sea in his early youth( as a sailor).
  3. I go to bed early( to sleep).
  • Before hobbies profession and sports.

For example,

  1. Painting is her profession.
  2. Gardening is his hobby.
  • Before names of disease.

For example,

  1. Cancer is a deadly disease.
  2. AIDS is spreading like Wildfire.

But we can say the measles, the mumps, the rickets, and the plague, etc

  • In certain phrases.

For example,

  1. To lose heart.
  2. To give ear.
  3. At sunrise.
  4. At home.
  5. In hand.
  6. By name.
  7. At last.
  8. To set foot.

A Must Watch Video Lesson on Article:

Exercise on Article:

You can use this as a Worksheet for school or college.

I mentioned the answers to the below Questions at the bottom of the page. Let's try your own first then correct with the answer I mentioned.

  1. _ boy
  2. _ Universal problem
  3. _ unique book
  4. _ University student
  5. _ elephant
  6. _ hourly visit
  7. _ honorable person
  8. For _ swim
  9. Have _ taste
  10. Make _ noise
  11. _ orange
  12. _ horse
  13. _ Greeks
  14. _ Indians
  15. _ judiciary
  16. _ legislature
  17. In _ air
  18. _ benefit of _ doubt
  19. Feel _ shame
  20. For _ drive
  21. Half _ dozen
  22. What is not _ child
  23. _ ass
  24. _ few students that were in _ class where sitting idle
  25. 12 inch make _ foot
  26. _ beggar cannot be _ chooser
  27. _ center of _ market
  28. _ whole class was absent
  29. _ son should be obedient
  30. _ mango is a sweet fruit
  31. Netaji was _ leader
  32. He is _ man for this job
  33. She can play _ flute
  34. Truth is _ noble quality
  35. _ Prime Minister and _ president are visiting _ town today
  36. _ first and second chapters are very difficult
  37. _ rose is a sweet flower
  38. _ Himalayas are to _ north of India
  39. There are many waterways in _ Ireland
  40. One day I will climb all _ Mount in _ Himalayas
  41. I wish I were good at _ mathematics
  42. what _ useful device _ laptop is!
  43. There are many rain forests in _ Amazon
  44. She works for _ group who helped _ poor
  45. _ World Health Organization will surely stop dengue
  46. I had _ opportunity to do it
  47. He succeeds in doing _ work
  48. This is _ charming scenery
  49. She is _ learned man
Tired of doing this don't worry this fifty for next day
  1. The lion is called _ king of beasts
  2. The injured were taken to _ hospital
  3. They sent me _ box
  4. I am reading _ book
  5. They were calling _ boys
  6. I am living here for _ long time
  7. My father has died yesterday, he left me _ large fortune
  8. He is flying _ kite
  9. I like _ fool to be punished
  10. She laughed _ loud laugh
  11. It grows in _ heavy gale (Gale means - a very strong wind)
  12. He is _ honest man
  13. I have _ umbrella
  14. He is _ best man that I ever saw
  15. _ Rajdhani Express is _ hour late today
  16. Kalidas is _ Homer of India
  17. You must read _ Gita every day
  18. Bravo, what _ idea!
  19. I want _ pen and _ umbrella
  20. We stopped for lunch in _ small restaurant not far from _ town. We took rest for _ hour and then started for our destination
  21. Of all _ boys in _ class he is _ best. He stood first in _ last annual examination in scored _ record marks in mathematics. He is _ good sportsman. And plays _ guitar well
  22. John is one of _ best boys of our club. He has recently gone to _ U.S. and buy _ Air India flight ticket for higher studies. 
  23. One day _ English gentleman named Rowland Hill saw _ postman take _ letter up to _ gate of _ house. _ girl came out to receive it. _ price of _ postage was 1 shilling. But she had no money to pay for _ letter
  24. _ secretary and _ headmaster of _ school called _ meeting of students to discuss _ urgent matter. _ meeting considered _ proposal put forward by _ student for improvement in common room facilities. _ discussion over held in _ amicable manner.
  25. I read _ Statesman which is _ very popular newspaper
  26. Is he _ European?
  27. He is _ boy who stood first last year
  28. He is _ officer in _ army
  29. _horse is _ animal
  30. He is _ European but his wife is _ Indian
Or just 21 left. Let's do it
  1. I have _ bicycle. _ bicycle has two wheels
  2. I paid _ visit to _ west
  3. _ tea of Darjeeling is world famous
  4. We cross _ Pacific Ocean in _ airplane
  5. _ headmaster and _ secretary love _ students
  6. _ U.A.E is prosperous country
  7. There was _explosion in _town hall today
  8. _Hunter entered _ thick up _ forest
  9. There is _ mother in every woman
  10. Land is sold here by _ acre
  11. The book you want is not in _ libery
  12. Replace _ chair by _ new one
  13. I satisfied of _ truth what you say
  14. I need some respite from _ heavy work
  15. He is _ sticker for punctuality
  16. He was _ victim
  17. I am uneasy about _ effect of his action
  18. He died _ victim to his own folly
  19. The man is _ idiot
  20. He is _ able man
  21. I saved him from _ danger
ANSWERS

1.a| 2.a| 3.a| 4.a| 5.an| 6.an| 7.an| 8.a| 9.a| 10.a| 11.an| 12.a| 13.the| 14.the| 15.the| 16.the| 17.the| 18.the/the| 19.a| 20.a| 21.a| 22.a| 23.an| 24.the/the| 25.a| 26.a/a| 27.the| 28.the| 29.a| 30.a/a| 31.the| 32.the| 33.the| 34.a| 35.the/the| 36.the| 37.the/a| 38. The/the| 39.the| 40.the| 41.no article| 42.a/a| 43.the| 44.a/the| 45.the| 46.the| 47.the| 48.a| 49.a|

1.the| 2.the/a| 3.a| 4.a| 5.the| 6.a| 7.a| 8.a| 9.a| 10.a| 11.a| 12.an| 13.an| 14.the| 15.the/an| 16.the| 17.the| 18.an| 19.a/an| 20.a/an| 21.the/the/the/a/the| 22.the/the/an/the/a/an/the| 23.an/a/a/the/a/A/The/the| 24.the/the/the/a/an/the/the/the/the/an| 25.the/a| 26.a| 27.the| 28.an/the| 29.an| 30.a/an|

1.a/the| 2.a/the| 3.the| 4.the/an| 5.the/the/the| 36.The| 7.an/the| 8.the/the/the| 9.a| 10.the| 11.the/the| 12.the/a| 13.the| 14.the| 15.the| 16.a| 17.a| 18.the| 19.a| 20.an| 21.an|

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References [External Links]: