Definite Articles Table

Definite Article 'The'
To Remember	Examples
Things of Nature or Unique	The Sun, The sky, The earth But 'The' is not used before Hell, Heaven, God, Parliament.
Directions (if preposition comes before it)	The sun rises in the east. East or West, India is the best.
The names of Rivers, oceans, seas, hills, lakes, dams, trains, ships, deserts	The Ganga, The Shatabdi Express, The Himalayas, The Bhakhra dam, The Sahara desert, The Arabian sea, The Indian ocean etc.
The names of newspapers, magazine, religious books.	The Gita, The Indian Express, The India Today, The Guardian, The New York Times
The names of historical buildings, public places, religious places.	The Taj Mahal, The Golden Temple, The zoo.
The singular noun which represents the whole of its class.	The dog is a faithful animal.
The Proper noun which is used as a Common noun.	He is the Rustam of Japan.
The name of organization of workshop, factory, party, bank.	The Congress, The state bank of India.
Historical events	The battle of Panipat.
Big posts	The President, The Prime Minister, The Director
Words -evening, morning, afternoon (if words - last, next or every, is not coming before it)	In the evening, In the morning, Last evening, Every morning.
Superlative Degree	The greatest, The most, The fastest
Comparative Degree (if 'than' is not used before it)	She is the wiser of the two. She is wiser than Suman. The older he grew, the worse he became.
The Common noun which has already been mentioned or which is already known.	There was a fox. The fox was hungry. I know the man who came here last night.
Proper noun for making it plural.	The Guptas, The Greens, The Sharmas, The Smiths, The Browns
The Adjectives which is used as noun.	The rich, The brave, The poor.
The dates	Today is the 3rd of December.
After words 'All & Both' and before words 'Whole & Same')	All the boys, Both the girls, The whole class, The same shirt.
The thing which is specific or particular	That is the house. The girl standing in the first row.
Community, castes	The English, The Hindus, The French
Normally 'The' is not used before the name of any country or person. But such countries which are united, 'The' is used before their name.	The UK, The USA, The UAE.
Use 'The' with clauses introduced by only	The only day, The only person, The only tea
The Hotels	The Taj Hotel, The Hilton, The Golden Lion

Indefinite Articles Table

Indefinite Articles 'A' And 'An'
To Remember	Examples
'A/An' is used before Singular Countable Noun. A Noun which can be counted.	An Artist, A doctor, A boy, A dog, An umbrella
'A/An' is used before singular noun. It is not used before plural noun.	A book' is correct, 'a books' is incorrect as word 'books' is plural.
'A/An' is not used before proper noun, but when it is unknown for the speaker, 'A/An' is used.	This book is written by a Mukesh Ailawadi. (Here Ailawadi is an unknown person for the speaker)
'A/An' is used after what, such in exclamatory sentences.	What a scene, What a lovely boy, Such a big hall.
'A/An' is used when someone is introduced by features or personality of important/famous persons.	He is a Dara Singh of our colony, She is a Hitler, She is a Lata Mangeshkar of our college.
'A/An' is used before a verb which is used as a noun in a sentence.	We go for a walk daily, We had a long discussion, She wants to have a bath.
'A/An' is used after words -many/rather/quite/such, if it come before singular noun.	Many a times, quite an easy question, such an intelligent boy, rather a lovely place
If Adjective comes before singular noun, then 'A/An' is used before Adjective.	She is a beautiful girl, He is not a good person, He is an intelligent boy, She is an honest minister.
Before a singular noun which refers to a class of things.	An orange is rich in vitamins, A dog is an animal, A parrot is a bird, I am a journalist, She is an Indian.
'A/An' is used for certain expressions of quantity and numbers.	A lot of things, A few samples, A couple of days, A hundred rupee note, A million dollar question.
'A/An' is used before professions.	She is a teacher. He is an engineer. He is a manager. Ram is an MP.

What is an article? or What is a definite and indefinite article?

The words a, an, and the are special adjectives called articles.

There are two different types of articles that we use in writing and conversation.

1 Indefinite Articles - A/An - Indicate to general things or persons. The things or persons which are not sure / not particular / not certain or not specific.

2 Definite Article - The - Indicate to particular things or persons. The things or persons which are certain / specific or particular.

Indefinite Articles - A/An – A and an are the indefinite articles. In a sentence when Noun is Singular Countable Noun and it is not a definite, then Article A/An is used.

Example:

1. I have a pencil.
2. She is an artist.

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Indefinite Articles (A/An) Table

What is the difference between 'A' and 'An' indefinite articles?

‘A’ is used before a word (singular) beginning with a consonant or a vowel with consonant sound. Consonant letters in the English alphabet are B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M,N, P, Q, R, S, T, V,W, X,Y, Z.

Examples:

• A pen
• A book
• A cup
• A stamp
• A desk
• A boy
• A girl
• A dog
• A table

‘An’ is used before a word beginning with a vowel sound. Vowel letters in the English alphabet are A, E, I, O, U.

Examples:

• An apple
• An elephant
• An orange
• An orphan
• An umbrella
• An artist

Remember - ‘An’ is used on the basis of vowel sound and not only on the basis of the starting vowel letter of the word.

Examples:

• An M.L.A.
• An F.I.R.
• A house
• An X-ray
• An I.A.S.
• A young man
• An honour
• An S.S.C.
• An L.L.B.
• A useful book
• An M.B.B.S.
• An honest man

Definite Articles – The – The word "the" is one of the most common words in English. It is our only definite article. Nouns in English are preceded by the definite article when the speaker believes that the listener already knows what he is referring to. The speaker may believe this for many different reasons.

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Definite Articles (The) Table

Fill in the blanks:

(Choose the correct article in each sentence)

1. _____ (a, an, the) Indian Ocean is very deep.
2. I want _____ (a, an, the) chair to sit on.
3. Please, open _____ (a, an, the) door.
4. _____ (a, an, the) Bicycle is a common man’s vehicle.
5. Once _____ (a, an, the) hour hand of my wrist watch was dropped.
6. What _____ (a, an, the) delightful experience?
7. What _____ (a, an, the) idea!
8. My uncle is _____ (a, an, the) university reader.
9. It is very pleasant to spend holidays on _____ (a, an, the) Island.
10. _____ (a, an, the) Teacher is the maker of a nation.
11. The one eyed man gave _____ (a, an, the) one rupee note the beggar.
12. Is she _____ (a, an, the) S.S.C. student?
13. _____ (a, an, the) Lotus is the national flower of the India
14. Let me tell _____ (a, an, the) story.