Articles

The words a, an and the are called articles.

Articles
• Indefinite Articles (a, an)
• Definite Article (The)

Indefinite Articles

We use indefinite articles a or an when it is not clearly defined or stated a person or a thing spoken of, e.g., a teacher, means here any teacher.

Definite Article

We use definite article the when it points out some particular, some special person or thing spoken of, e.g., the teacher, means here some particular teacher.

• A is used before the noun in the singular countable number beginning with consonant sound.
• An is used before the noun in the singular countable number beginning with vowel sound.
• The is used with both singular or plural nouns that must be in particular form.

1. The indefinite articles, are used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns. These are a and an.
   For example:
   • I would like to have dinner at a restaurant. (any restaurant, not a specific one)


2. The definite article, is used to refer to specific or particular nouns. This is the article the.
   For example:
   • I ate at the best restaurant in town. (There are many restaurants in town, but I ate at the best one.)

• We use a and an before singular nouns. The can be used for both singular and plural nouns.
  For example:
  • Radha planted an orchid in her backyard. (one plant)
  • I have exactly the same watch you are wearing. (one watch)
  • How did you make the cookies you sent me? (many cookies)


• We use a with words beginning with consonant sounds. We use an with words beginning with vowel sounds.
  For example:
  • a university (Although u is a vowel, it has the sound of the consonant y.)
  • an hour (Although h is a consonant, it is silent and the word begins with the vowel sound aa.)


• With uncountable nouns, the can be used.
  For example:
  • He spilled the soup all over the floor.


• Sometimes, the can be omitted, as in this sentence.
  For example:
  • He spilled soup all over the floor. (Here, we don't have to specify which soup.)


• We also use the when we have already mentioned the nouns before.
  For example:
  • She has got two children, a boy and a girl. The girl's four, and the boy's six years old.


• We use the article the before -
  • ordinal numbers - the second, the last
  • superlative degree of comparison - the worst, the shortest
  • names of unique things - the earth, the sun, the sky
  • names of nationalities, races and communities - the Australians, the Sri Lankans
  • names of countries that indicate that the countries are made-up of many parts- the United States, the Netherlands
  • names of mountain ranges and deserts - the Alps, the Thar Desert
  • names of rivers, seas and oceans - the Arctic Ocean, the Brahmaputra
  • names of important buildings - the Qutub Minar, the Taj Mahal
  • names of newspapers and holy books - the Hindustan Times, the Quran

Omission of Articles

We do not use an article with the names of,
1. people or places, except when the country is a collection of states.
   For example:
   • Peter, Pakistan, the United Kingdom


2. islands, except in the case of a group of islands.
   For example:
   • Greenland, the Andaman Islands


3. lakes, except in the case of a group of lakes.
   For example:
   • Pichola, the Great Lakes


4. mountains, except in the case of mountain ranges.
   For example:
   • Mt. Everest, the Himalayas

• We do not use an article when we are speaking about meals, places and transport.
  For example:
  • He has breakfast at home.
  • I go to college.
  • Maggle goes to work by taxi.


• We also do not use an article when we are speaking about things in general, substances, languages, sports and academic subjects.
  For example:
  • Sugar is sweet.
  • I enjoy playing football.
  • Father loves Geography.