ARTICLES
An article is a word that precedes a noun/s or
noun equivalents. When an article is inserted
before any noun, it informs us whether the noun in
that sentence or phrase is specific or generic.
There are three articles in the English language: a,
an, and the, each of which is an important part of
the phrase.
Example: After I went to the party, I fell ill.
Here, ‘the’ specifies the party.
Articles as a Part of Speech
Some scholars consider articles to be a type of
adjective or in the same category as adjectives.
Adjectives are words that describe a noun.
Articles are similar to adjectives in that they
modify nouns. However, unlike adjectives, they
do not actually describe a noun; they just identify
it. So, some English language experts give a
different meaning to the articles as their own
part of speech, separate from adjectives. For the
purposes of this lesson, articles will be
considered their own part of speech.
.
Types Of Articles
The three articles: ‘a’, ‘an’, and ‘the’ can be divided into two groups.
Definite Articles
“The” is the article that falls into the category of definite
articles. It restricts the meaning of a noun to a single
thing. Singular, multiple, and uncountable nouns use the
definite article. “The” is used when a noun needs to be
associated with something specific.
Definite Article examples:
He threw the ball into the pond.
‘The’ specifies the ball.
I saw the boy puncturing the tyre.
Here, ‘the’ is emphasising the particular boy.
Where is the notebook that I gave you?
The usage of ‘the’ is here because of the particular notebook given.
Some proper nouns always take definite articles. The
definite article "the" should be used when referring to a
proper noun, a person or an organization that there is
only one of. For example:
The President of the United States
The Olympic Games
The Eiffel Tower
The Roman Colosseum
The definite article also is used to refer to
geographical terms such as a river, ocean,
bridge, region, or building. For example:
The Brooklyn Bridge
The St. Louis Arch
The Arctic Ocean
Some plural nouns always take the definite
article, such as mountain ranges, island chains,
or groups of lakes:
The Rocky Mountains
The Hawaiian Islands
The Great Lakes
Indefinite Articles
There are two indefinite articles—‘a’ and ‘an’—and their
usage is determined by the first letter of the word. The
article ‘a’ is used when the following word begins with a
consonant. If the following word begins with a vowel, ‘an’
is used. The indefinite article indicates that a word is
being considered in general rather than specifically.
Indefinite Article examples:
She wore a pretty necklace.
No focus on a particular necklace.
I want to raise my son to be an honest and kind person.
No specification of which honest man the speaker is referring to.
There are some exceptions to this rule. Some
words that begin with consonants do take the
article "an," as in these examples:
"In an hour, we will go home."
"It has been an honor to meet you."
"She is an honest person."
In addition, some words that begin with vowels
take the article "a" instead of the article "an."
Here are some examples:
"Romania is a European country."
"Do you need to wear a uniform to the game?"
"I attended a university in West Lafayette, Indiana."
This is to facilitate the flow of the sentence. Saying "a
hour," "an uniform" or "an university" sounds awkward
and disrupts the smooth rhythm of the English
sentence.
Examples of Articles in English
In some instances, the meaning of a sentence changes
when an indefinite article is replaced with the definite
article "the" (or vice versa). Replacing a definite article
with an indefinite article implies that someone is not
talking about a specific noun, whereas replacing an
indefinite article shows that a specific place, person, or
thing is being discussed. Here are some examples of
sentences whose meaning is changed when you
replace one article with another.
Mark wants to go to a park. (indefinite; implies that Mark
wants to go to any park)
Mark wants to go to the park. (definite; shows that Mark
wants to go to the park he is thinking about)
"Angel and I went to see a movie last night." (indefinite)
"I just saw the best movie ever!" (definite; refers to a
specific movie)
"A dog bit me." (indefinite)
"There's the dog that bit me today. (definite; refers to a
specific dog)
Rules
After learning about the many types of articles and how they
are used in different contexts, here are some guidelines to
follow for proper usage.
When utilising the indefinite articles a and an, use the following
formula:
Sounds of the first letters of the word
When using ‘a’ and ‘an’, there are certain exceptions to the
norm. For example, the word honest starts with an
unpronounced consonant letter and sounds like it starts with a
vowel sound. As a result, ‘an’ is employed here. This holds for
acronyms as well.
For example:
Ram is an honest man.
A UK-based company etc.
When there are Uncountable and Countable Nouns
Countable nouns can be counted in numbers, whereas
uncountable nouns can’t or are difficult to count.
Indefinite articles can’t be used with these items because they
can’t be numbered.
The article ‘the’ must not be used before the following
names of continents like Australia, Asia .
countries, states or streets like China, India
lakes, mountains, islands or bays, like the
Himalayas, Chilika Lake.
languages like English, Hindi.
sports such as cricket, football.
subjects like mathematics, geography, or
when talking about an abstract idea like creativity.
Conclusion
Articles are very important from a competitive
examination point of view and also important for
the correct usage of the English language. One
can further attempt some questions and exercises
for understanding the concept.
