The Articles (Determiners)

1. “A” is used before words beginning with a consonant sound.
1. a boy, a dog, a man, a tiger


2. A European, a university, a uniform

(These words begin with a “y” sound)

2. “An” is used before words beginning with vowel sound
1. An ant, an eagle, an inkpot, an umbrella


2. Are M.A.,an L.C.A.,an F.R.C.S., an S.O.S call

(These words begin with “Em”,”EL”, EF”, and “ES” sound).

It is also used before a silent “h”

an hour, an heir, an honor

3. “A” or “An’ is used before a singular countable
   common noun mentioned for the first time .It is never used with plural
   Nouns. Uncountable Nouns like sugar, water, grass, sand do not take “a” or
   “an”.
1. This is a tumbler. There is milk in it


2. Have you ever seen a tiger?




4. “The” is used before a noun or nouns which are
   particularize or already mentioned in the context.
1. A mad dog bit a man .The dog was shot and the
   man went mad.


2. Here is key and a lock. The key doesn’t fit the
   lock.
5. “The” is also used before the names of rivers,
   seas, Oceans, Canals, Valleys, deserts and forests.
1. London is on the Themes


2. Many ships use the Suez
   Canal.
6. “The” is also used before the names of ships, trains,
   planes ,shops hotels, theaters, government departments, factories , banks,
   and musical instruments and unique objects like “the sky”, ”the sea” etc.
1. The I.N.S My sore, The Kovai Express , the
   Ashoka hotel, The Santhi Theatre, The Ministry of Education, the
   Syndicate Bank, The Violin
7. No article is used before proper nouns, abstract
   nouns, material nouns, plural nouns in the general sense and nouns in
   certain idiomatic phrases.
1. New Delhi, Gandhiji, Everest, Europe , SriLanka , Thirukkural ,honesty ,Poverty , silver
   gold, soldiers .Indians, on foot, by bus
8. No article is used before the names of games, days and months, languages, seasons, sciences and places which are visited for
1. Cricket, Sunday, January,English,Summer, Mathematics,
   
2. Schools ,home, bed, work, market hospital, prison
   

They go to church on Sunday

(But “The” is used when they merely refer to the building)

They go to the church to see the paintings.

9. An article is always used before
   
1. Temple, mosque, shrink, office, factory, house.
10. “The” is not used before the words


1. All, half , double, or both


2. It must follow the
   i. Both the anxious parents sat up half the night
11. “A” does not follow the words,” What kind of “,”What sort of”, “What type of”
1. What kind of day is it? (not “a day”)
12. “The” is not used before the words “Sun rise” and “Sunset”, when they are used with “before”,” After”, “at”


1. I get up before sunrise (not before the
   sunrise)
13. “The” is used in generalization with singular
    countable Nouns .This is common when we are talking about science and
    technology.
1. Galileo invented the telescope


2. I hate the telephone.
14. “The” is used with a few adjective to refer to
    general classes of people.


1. The rich, the blind, the Indian


15. If “One of”, two of” etc. is followed by noun or
    pronoun the latter is preceded by “the” or some other definite determiner
1. One of the students, two of my books