English Grammar Article: a, an, the - Long Notes/ Clear Reference in details.

Basically there are two types of articles in English: the definite (the) and the indefinite (a/an). The terms definite and indefinite designate meaning associated with the noun that an article precedes..

Definite: The
                  Definite implies that a noun is specifically. The use of the definite article 'the' therefore, presupposes that the speaker and the listener can identify the noun that follow it.

Indefinite: A/An

                   Indefinite means 'identifiable in general.' The indefinite article, a/an, occurs when the listener is not expected to be able to identify the object.
Specifically. The listener may only know the concept represented by the noun.

Uses of 'a' and 'an'

1. A is used before a singular countable noun having consonant sound.

eg. a cat, a ball, a union, a awe, a European, a B.A., a useful book, a unicorn, a unit, a university, a one legged man, a kilo,  a litre, a bouquet of flowers, a farmer/teacher etc.

2. An is used before a singular countable noun having vowel sound.

eg. an apple, an engineer, an information, an ugly girl, an owl, an egg, an hour, an M.A., an SLC graduate, an FRCS, an honest boy, an honourable man, an LDO, an SP, an heir, an ISI agent, an NNC training etc.

Use of "The"

1. Before a repeated noun.
For eg. I saw a cow. The cow was red.

2. Before the names of rivers, seas, oceans and Islands.

For eg. Rivers: The Koshi, The Narayani, The Mechi, The Gandaki, The Jamuna etc.

Seas: The Black sea, The Bay of Bangals, The Red sea, The Arabia sea, The Caribean sea, The Dead sea, The Yellow sea etc.

Oceans and Islands:
The Pacific oceans, The Indian oceans, The Isle of Man etc.

3. Before the names of religious books.

For eg. The Vedas, The Ramayana, The Quoran, The Gita, The Bible, The Tripitak etc.

4. Before the names of Mountain ranges.

For eg. The Himalayas, The Alps, The Rockies etc.

5. Before the names of Unique things or the planets.

For eg. The earth, The plato, The sun, The moon etc.

6. Before the names of plural names of the countries.

For eg: The USA, The UK, The USSR, The Netherlands, The Philippines

7. Before the names of Desert.

For eg: The Sahara, The Thar, The Gobi, The Sahel etc.

8. Before the names of Political parties.

For eg: The Communist party of Nepal, The Nepali Congress, The Labour party, The Democrat etc.

9. Before the plural names of families.

For eg: The Gurungs, The Rana, The Sapkotas etc.

10. Before the names of historical buildings and monuments.

For eg: The Taj, The Krishna Mandir, The Hanuman Dhoka Darbar etc.

11. Before the names of musical instruments.

For eg: The madal, The piano, The violin, The harmonium etc.

12. Before the names of news paper.

For eg: The Kantipur, The Kathmandu Post, The Dainik Patra, The Indian Times etc.

13. Before the names of periods in history.

For eg: The Stone age, The Renaissance, The Modern age, The Post modern age etc.

14. Before the names of famous hotels.

For eg: The Yak and Yati, The Annapurna, The Phulbari etc.

15. Before the names of Nationality "adjectives".

For eg: The Nepali, The Indian, The Scottish, The French, The English etc.

16. Before the names of ships.

For eg: The Mary Celeste, The Queen Marry, The Rita Anne etc.

17. Before the names of direction, latitude and longitude.

For eg: The east, The west, The Tropic of cancer, The prime Meridian, The Tropic of Capricorn etc.

18. Before the names of unique objects of the house.

For eg: The Kitchen, The toilet, The bathroom, The door etc.

19. Before the theatre, Cinema and office.

For eg: The theatre, The cinema, The office.

20. Before superlative degree of an adjective.

For eg: The tallest, The best, The youngest, The most intelligent etc

21. Before the names of club, international organizations.

For eg: The Leo club, The UNO, The Red Cross etc.

22. Before the ordinal adjective.

For eg: The first, The third, The tenth etc.

23. Before the names of decade and century.

For eg: The thirties, The twenties, The fifteenth century etc.

24. Before the names of national days.

For eg: The Martyr's day, The Education day, The Democracy day etc.

25. Before the names of inventions.

For eg: The computer, The telescope, The mobile, The television, The telephone etc.

26. Before the adjectives that represents identifiable social group.

For eg: The deaf, The blind, The poor, The rich, The elderly, The young, The sick, The old, The unemployed etc.

27. Before the Daybreaks.

For eg: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening etc.

28. Before the proper noun when they are used as common.

For eg: The great Caesar, The Shakespeare etc.

29. Before the school, campus, market, temple, hospital, church, prison, bed when they are used for secondary purposes.

For eg: I went  to the school to see my friend.

30. Before the chief of any organization.

For eg: The Principal, The Prime Minister, The President, The Manager etc.

31. If the adjectives of two comparative degree are related.

For eg: The more one earns the more one wants.

32. Before the states' names  and geographical division of the nation.

For eg: The Terai region, The Uttar Pardesh, The Bihar etc.

33. Noun with the clause.

For eg: The women is red sari is my teacher.
The pen which was was brought from Kathmandu is excellent.

OMISSION OF ARTICLE

1. Before the proper noun.

For eg: Person: X Ram, X Mr john, X Sharmila etc.
For eg: Place: X Palpa, X Beni, X Syangja, X New  York etc.
For eg: Country: X Nepal, X India, X China etc.

2. Before the names of relations.

For eg: X father, X sister, X maternal uncle, X nephew etc.

3. Before the school, campus market, temple, hospital, church, prison, bed when they are used for general purposes.

For eg: I went to X school to take classes.
He rushed to X hospital for his health check up.

4. Before the names of games, languages, subjects, days and months.

For eg: My son knows X English/Newari / Sanskrit languages.
We play X volleyball/ basketball/ tennis.
X Sunday, X January, X December, X Friday etc.

5. Before the means of transport. (By +means of transport)
For eg: She goes to school by X bus.

But article can be used in the following cases. (in/on+ vehicles)

For eg: She sat in the train.

She goes to school on the bus.

6. Uncountable  and plural nouns in general terms.

For eg: X pearl is bright.
X gold is expensive.
X dogs are X animals.

'The' can be used to specify like:

For eg: The pearl to USA is bright.
The dogs in the farm are sincere.

7. Before seasons.

For eg: Heavy rain fall in X rainy season.

The' can be used to show the specific situation of particular season like:

For eg: I got married in the spring of 2005.

8.Before a possessive adjective followed by a noun.

For eg: X his pant, X her basket

9. Before the names of subject.

For eg: X Physics, X Mathematics, X Science

10. Before meals.

For eg: I have X dinner/ lunch/ breakfast.

"A"/"an"/"the" can be used to show the specific meal or if an adjective comes before the meal.

For eg: I have a light breakfast in the morning.
The wedding dinner in the Prime Minister's residence is memorable.

11. Before some expressions.

For eg: at X home, on X top of, on X earth, at X night, on X foot, at X hand, at X dinner, at X first sight etc.

12. Before colours.

For eg: X red, X black, X blue etc.

13. Before abstract nouns.

For eg: X honesty is the best policy.

"The" can be used if the abstract nouns are used in definite sense.

For eg: The honesty shown by our school students is really admirable.

14. With the words like appoint, declare, elect, make+noun.

For eg: Raj was declared X thief.
She was appointed X peon.

15. Before the names of diseases.

For eg: She died of X asthma.
X cholera can be easily communicated.

EXERCISE-1

Fill in the blanks with 'a', 'an' or 'the' or 'X':

1. She is ...............ugly lady.
2. He is ................very tall girl.
3. He is ...........BA student.
4. She is ...........MA student.
5. He buys ............T-shirt.
6. .............. Rising Nepal is a national newspaper.
7. She prays in.........temple.
8. She goes to.........temple to repair its window.
9. I read.............Ramayana.
10. He is..........honest man.
11. She is ...........SLC graduate.
12. .........Mary Celeste moves in the ocean.
13. ............. Sahara desert is a vast land.
14. He saw............ewe.
15. She is ............untidy lady.
16. Some of ............... boys are irregular.
17. ............more one gets, ...........more  one needs.
18. She is..........first girl in grade 10.
19.  My wife is .............engineer.
20. He is...........one eyed man.
21. ...........Alps lies in ...............USA.
22. That costs..............hundred rupees.
23. Please, have ............drink.
24. As.............result, he fails.
25. He visits his village in..........Dashain holiday.
26. He visited his village at...........Dashain.
27. A horse is.............animals.
28. .............white horses in your stable in clever.
29. They came from...............Switzerland.
30. Beni is called.............mini Switzerland.
31. I saw ............one eyed tiger.
32. ................Nepalese are honest.
33. I took..............dinner.
34. He is..............union member.
35. I climbed .............Mount Everest.
36. Raju is ................LDO but Sita is ............CDO.
37. He played...........harmonium but she played...........cricket.
38. He is...............honest teacher.
39. I always submit.........hourly report.
40. They made.........unanimous decision.
41. I read...........physics.
42. .............pen in his pocket is red.
43. He is.........tenth boy in our class.
44. John is from.............UK but shyam is from........Nepal.

Fill in the blanks with 'a', 'an' or 'the' or 'X':

1. ..............Beauty of Muktinath is remarkable.
2. She plays.........Madal well.
3. He is ............union member.
4. She had..............dinner.
5. I met..........one eyed baby.
6. Salary is paid by..............month.
7. This is ....................UN declaration.
8. ..........principal is in the office.
9. .................honesty is the best policy.
10. I attended ............dinner party of my friend's wedding.
11. Gita goes there...........bus.
12. .............gold is expensive.
13. ..............gold of Nepal is expensive.
14. Galilio invented ............telescope.
15. It is........U-turn.
16. .............French are clever.
17. I saw.............Dead sea.
18. I hurt my.........leg.
19. Robber shot in .............leg.
20 My horse turns to..........east.
21. ................sun is a star.
22. This is ...............only cinema hall in town.
23. She is................M.sc in chemistry.
24. I found...........book you were asking for.
25. She is ..................good girl.
26. ..................Binita is a girl.
27. He meets me in..............evening.
28. She is .................useful member.
29. This is ..............village where I was born.
30. Srilanka is .................island.
31. I know he is .............best student.
32. My sister is ................MA student.
33. Have you read..............Bible.
34. We played..............volleyball yesterday.
35. That is..............book I like most.
36. It is...........one rupee note.
37. Mt. Everest is.............highest mountain in the world.
38. Nepal is ...............country where Lord Buddha was born.
39. She is ..............SP.
40. She is an ................ISI agent.
41. ..............Mt. Everest is a mountain.
42. ................higher you go............cooler you feel.
43. ......................milk in that bottle in pure.
44. He buys ............sack of rice.
45. I visited.............Rani Mahal in Palpa.
46. She is ..............mother.
47. She gave me............her book.
48. He is at................home.
49. What..........nice scene!
50. He reads..............Mathematics.
51. She is............typist.
52. He is............Muslim, but she is ...........Buddhist.
53. He is .............worst player.
54. ...............tiger is ...........fierce animal.
55. He is.................Shakespeare of our time.
56. Who is ..............best players of your team.
57. She is ...............teacher who teaches us English.
58. Rice cells Rs.50 ...............kilo.
59. Carol is from................UK.
60. I went to see ...............European.
61. I went to ...........school to sell my hardware.
62. She is...........girl who stole my money.
63. Please, give me.................exercise book.
64. ...............unemployed are helpless.
65. His father is ..................farmer.
66. Shakespeare is..............English writer.
67. What.............good idea!.
68. I found .............my lost bag.
69. Coffee is..........drink.
70. I spent ...........hour with my friends.
71. ..................orange has..........sweet taste.
72. ....................French is a language.
73. It is...............uniform.
74. it's .................big kitchen.
75. It is ...................American kitchen.
76. ..........................blinds are unfortunate to see.
77. let's sit in .................garden.
78. He became.................great man.
79. I met him in.....................morning.
80. I met him at.................noon.
81. ................cows are...............animals.
82. ..................Birgunj.............gateway of Nepal.
83. This was invented in .................Victorian age.
84. He was born in..................twenties.
85. It is ...............unanimous decision.
86. It is..................CNN report.
87. It is ..............hourly report.
89. ..................is spoken all over the world.
89. She drinks ..............milk.
90. The lion is .................king of forest.
9. She went to.............school to read.
92. Our life would be difficult without...........oxygen.
93. Have you any idea who invented.................TV.
94. Windows are made of................glass.
95. ................water of..............Bagmati river is dirty.
96. He needs................tie, which you are wearing.
97. Once upon .............time, there lived a dragon.
98. He was ............unware of my presence.
99. He is ............heir to the throne.
100. This is ............school where I studied.
101. ............man in red suit in my father.
102. They have climbed up............Everest within a decade.
103. We need to do more for...............poor.
104. .................poverty is a curse.
105. She is only child of her parents.
106. Students have a right to form........union in University.
107. Sita plays on..............harmonium.
108. She is .................university.
109. It is ...............unique piece of stone.
110. .............Ram is a good teacher.

EXERCISE -3 (SLC)

1. Crown Prince Charles of Great Britain is..............heir to the throne. (A/an/the).
2. She broke my chair to make ............wooden ruler. (a/an/the).
3. I keep busy myself in............kitchen every morning. (a/an/the)
4. My Nile is...............longest river. (a/an/ the)
5. My mother is .............MP.(a/an/the).
6.  We need to do more for .........poor. (a/an/the).
7. Harris is.................University student. (A/an/the).
8.  My sister is............M.sc. student. (a/an/the).
9. Once I saw .............cute ape in the zoo. (a/an/the).
10. Have you ever seen...............wounded man. (a/an/the).
11. Could you please close............door, please? Its really cold. (a/an/the).
12.  Goma is ................SLC graduate. (a/an/the).
13. i don't want to miss the opportunity to be..............doctor. (a/an/the).
14.  Who is .............best students of your class. (a/an/the).
15. ..................girl in blue skirt is my sister. (a/an/the).
16. They have climbed up.............Everest within the decade.(a/an/the)
17. ................statue of Liberty was gifted of friendship from France in the US. (a/an/the)
18. ....................water in the glass is very dirty. (a/an/the/nothing)
19.  Kailash is ...............eye specialist. (a/an/the)
20. ..................Venus is a planet. (a/an/the/nothing).