The Articles-Basic Grammar
There are two types of Articles.
1.The Definite Article
2.The Indefinite Article
The , a or an are the articles in English Language.
The =The Definite Article
A, an = The Indefinite Article
1.The Definite Article
Its Uses-"The" is the definite article.Its uses are explained below.
1."The" is used to Point out or refer to a noun.
e.g,
> The Student sitting there is my friend.
> Where are the oranges I had brought?
2. "The" is placed before a singular noun when it ( the noun ) represents its complete class.
e.g,
>The hare runs fast. (This sentence means: Hares run fast.)
>The elephant is not as dangerous as the lion.
We like the mango.The Potato is exported by us.(=We export the potato.)
Note: We do not place the before "man'' and "woman" when they represent the whole class.
e.g,
>Woman is strong in the head and heart.Man is not so happy today.
(It means:All Men,and all woman , are not so happy today.Man represents the whole human race.)
(When man and woman are used together,they refer to their sexes:
e.g,
>Don't think man is wiser than woman.
3. "The" is placed an adjective of quality like honest, poor, proud, etc. to give it the meaning of a noun in the plural number.
e.g,
>The honest (Honest People) succeed in the long run.
It is the true, the hardworking and the faithful that take a country to heights of glory.
The late refer to someone who is dead.
e.g,
> The late president was a man of parts.Who does not know his late sister? The late Mr.Goldsmith....]
4. "The" is placed before an adjective in the third degree. It is not placed before a third degree adverb when it is used alone.But "the" is placed before and adverb followed by a connected word.
>The tallest building ; the most useful person.
e.g,
>She is the ablest teacher in our college.
3rd-Degree Adjective
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3rd-Degree Adj.(Alone)
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3rd-Degree Adj.
+ Word
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The tallest building here.
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Speaking most effectively
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The most effectively discussed matter.
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We have met the kindest teacher.
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He behaves most kindly
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The most kindly behaved teacher.
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The Fastest bus
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This bus runs fastest.
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The fastest-running bus.
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e.g,
>Her greatest asset is knowledge, not beauty.He is our most beloved leader.
>Their worst fears proved true when they were attacked by robbers in the darkness.
6. "The" is used as an adverb in sentences like these:
e.g,
>The easier the question, the quicker the reply.
>The sooner you come, The better it will be.
7. "The" is placed before the names of newspapers, books, ships,rivers,mountains, etc.
e.g,
> The Nation, The News (newspaper),The travels of Marco Polo ( a Travelogue), The poems of pleasure (a book of poems).
But when a proper noun alone is the tittle, "the" will not be used:
e.g,
>I Have read "Ivanhoe" and Tipu Sultan: (novels).Have yoy read "Anarkali" (a Play) ?
Qualities or abstract nouns as titles will generally not take "the";
e.g,
>"Pride and prejudice" and "Great Expectations"are marvellous novels.
when "the" is implied ( contained inside) in the title, "the" will not be used:
e.g,
"Dawn" has the largest circulation in karachi. ("dawn" meaning "the begining of the day")
"The Tipu Sultan" (a ship), the Ravi, the Himalayas, the Pacific Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, etc.
8. "The" is placed before words indicating directions and before heavenly bodies that are in common used and are familiar to us:(the Earth=the world;the moon =the body which moves round the earth)
e.g,
>The East,the north,the south-west
But a proper name of a heavenly body will not take the definite article:
e.g,
> Saturn is much larger than Venus, Mars made its closest approach to the earth in 60.000 years in August 2003 ("When it was just 55,760,220 KM away.").
2.The Indefinite Article
"A" or "an" is the indefinite article.It generalized a noun and shows it as one out of many.
"A" is placed before consonants when they give out consonant sound.
The consonants letters are like b,c,d...x,y,z except a,e,i,o,u (these are vowels.)
e.g,
a college, a house, a vegetable.
"An" is placed befor vowels when they give out vowels sounds.Otherwise, "a" will be placed.
e.g,
>an egg, an idea, an orange, etc.
Note:
(a) "An" is generally placed before a word whose first letter "h" is silent.
e.g,
> an hour, an honour etc.
(b) "A" is placed before "u" spoken as "you" or "o" spoken as "wu."
e.g,
> a useless habit, a unit, a one day holiday.
(C) "A" or "an" is placed before things that we can count, in the singular number.
e.g,
> a pen, a flower, a city, an idea, an inkpot.
(d) "A" or "AN" is used according to the vowel or consonant sound at the start of the next word.
e.g,
> an M.A. ( the sound is of "e" ) , a B.A(the sound is of "be''), an ant, a utensil (the sound is of "yoo").
We generally we do not use the indefinite articles (a or an ):
(a) Before a material noun.
e.g,
water is needed here.
Gold and Platinum are not as useful as oil.
(b) Before an abstract noun.
e.g,
Efficiency without hnesty is of little value.
wisdom cannot be taught by fools.
Rules (a) and (b) mean:
we do not place "a" or "an" before uncountables or uncountable noun.(Water , iron, glass, honesty etc. are uncountable as material or abstract nouns.) However , we place it when these are used like common nouns:
e.g,
He is a justice (Judge).It is a truth. [Plural : Justice, truths ] I want a glass of fresh water.
Also Note: (a) we can place "a" before "Mr., Mrs., or Miss followed by the family name (surname) __it means we do not know the person referred to:
E.g,
> A certain Miss Angela want to see you, and, a Mr. Khilji comes with her (accompanies Her) from the foreign ministry.
(b) "A" can be used before an uncountable noun when an adjective qualifies it or a phrase is after it.
e.g,
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.A good knowledge of English, an insufficient guidance, an efficiency of the highest order, a bravery (or courage ) never seen before.
(C) Often we do not place the definite article before proper nouns:
However , we use it before the names of newspapers, books, seas, rivers, etc. as explaines earlier.
(d) "The" is placed before a proper noun, too, when we use it like a common noun:
e.g,
>She is the Fatima Jinnah of our society (good like Fatima Jinnah__there is comparison).
Kashmir-the Switzerland of Asia.
(e) "The" is placed witha common noun followed by a proper noun connected with it.
e.g,
>The poet Ghalib ,the Leader Nishtar
(f) Also note "the" for reference:
The Bahawalpur of the 1990's or 2000's , the Mr. Ali who flies that plane, the Alis(Mr. Ali and member of his family who have "Ali" as their last name), the Punjab (that is, the five rivers that run through the province), the United states of America (that is, the states or Provinces the make up the country called "America").
