Spotting Errors - Articles
1. The Articles are adjectives
2. The articles are: a, (an), The
3. Common Nouns: Generally take articles.
4. The Proper Nouns generally do not take articles.
A OR An
1. It is an indefinite article. It does not give us a particular or definite person or thing.
2. A and An is determined by the sound of the word for which the article is used:
(a) The article before a word with the sound of a consonant will be a book, a chair, a university, a useful thing, a man, a child.
(b) Article An is used before a word with the vowel sound: (a, e, I, o, u are vowels, all other are consonants) an elephant, an ass, an ugly woman, an evil man, an ant, an aunt, an egg, an inkpot, an orange, an oral test, an hour, 'an heir, an umbrella, an uncle, an onion, an utterly foolish man, an owl.
(c) Article An is not used before the word starting with a vowel the sound of which is of a consonant: a universe, a union, a university, a useful person.
The Article 'The'
(a) It shows some particular person or thing:
He saw the doctor. (a particular doctor)
The book which you want is not in this library.
(b) Before the person or thing already referred to:
I saw a table. The table was very small.
She must have a doctor.
The doctor must be very efficient.
(c) When a singular noun is used to represent the whole class
The cow is a useful animal.
The horse is a faithful animal.
The cat likes mice.
The rose is a sweet flower.
Man is the only animal that has a language.
(d) With names of gulfs, rivers, seas, oceans, group of island, mountain-ranges:
E.g.: The Persian Gulf, the Sabarmati, The Ganga, The Atlantic, The Pacific, The Indian Ocean, The Red Sea, The Hebrides, The Rocky Mountain.
(e) Before the names of certain books:
E.g.: The Ramayana, The Bible, The Geeta, The Kuran, The Vedas, The Purans.
(f) Before the nouns of unique things:
E.g.: The Earth, The Sun, The Moon, The Sky
(g) Before a Proper noun qualified by an adjective or an adjectival clause:
E.g.: The Great Ashoka, The immortal Kalidasa, The Great Nanalal.
(h) With Superlatives:
E.g.: The best boy, The worst girl, The longest route, The fattest boy.
(i) With Ordinals:
E.g.: The first boy, The ninth girl, The twenty-first object
(j) Before the musical instruments:
E.g.: The Flute, The guitar, The sitar.
(k) Before an adjective when the noun is understood:
The rich, sometimes, do not love literature or arts.
The blind must be helped.
(l) As an Adverb with Comparatives:
The more we try, the more we succeed.
The more he gets, the greedier he becomes.
The more Ravana got, the more he wanted.
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