Article a, an and the- Grammar exercises

Article a, an and the- Grammar exercises

‘A’, ‘An’, and ‘The’ are called articles. In fact, they are determiners. They function in sentences as adjectives. They are used to point out two different meanings of a noun.

General Meaning: The indefinite article ‘a’ and ‘an’ point out general meaning of a noun.

I saw a bird yesterday. (Any one bird. It doesn’t matter which one.)

Specific Meaning: The definite article ‘the’ points out specific meaning of a noun.

It is the biggest bird. (Only one bird is the biggest, not many.)

The sun is a big star. (There is only one ‘sun’.)

1.    The choice between ‘a’ or ‘an’ is determined by vowel and consonant sounds, not by vowel and consonant letters.

2.    We often use ‘an’ before words that start with the vowel letters ‘a’ and ‘i’.

an applicant, an ant, an inkpot, an ice-cream

3.    Nouns that start with the vowel letters ‘e’, ‘o’ and ‘u’ give both vowel and consonant sounds.

-       When the vowel letters ‘e', 'o' and 'u' give vowel sounds, we use 'an'.
an engineer, an elephant, an orange, an ox, an octopus, an urgent message, an urn, an ugly creature, an umbrella, an uncle, an unusual name

-       When the vowel letters 'e', 'o' and 'u' give consonant sounds, we use 'a’.
a ewe, a European, a eucalyptus, a one- eyed man, a one way ticket,

a utensil, a unicorn, a union, a uniform, a usage, a university, a unit, a union, a user, a useless car, a u- turn

4.    The consonant letter ‘h’ gives both vowel and consonant sounds.

a.    When 'h 'is silent:

an hour, an honest person, an heir, an honorable person, an hour class

b.    When 'h' is pronounced:

a house, a hat, a horse, a huge tree, a honeycomb.

5.    Abbreviations that start with A, E, F, H, l, L, M, N, O, R, S and X often give vowel sounds.
an SEE candidate, an MP, an MA, an NTC staff

6.    Abbreviations that start with B, C, D, G, J, K, P, Q, T, U, V, W, Y and Z often give
consonant sounds.
a UFO, a BA, a VIP, a WHO officer, a BBC reporter, a DEO

USES OF A/AN

1.    with singular countable nouns that give general meaning in the sense of 'one '

I bought a T-shirt, a tie and an umbrella.

A friend of mine studies at a university in America.
Can I have an apple, please?

2.    in the sense of one

I have a cat and a dog.

Mr. Thapa has a son and two daughters.

3.    with jobs or professions

His uncle is a farmer.

Jane is an English writer.

4.    when we mention something for the first time

Once an English, a Chinese and an Indian were on a plane.

5.    to show that a person or thing is a member of a group

Mr. Rowe is a Christian.
Sachin is an Indian.
Nirya is a Magar.
Sabnam is a Muslim.  

6.    with a less- emphatic forms of 'one -a hundred, a thousand, a million, a billion

It costs a hundred rupees.

There were more than a thousand students.

A hundred and ten workers were given a Dashain bonus.

7.    to mean 'each 'or 'every 'or to say how often something happens or to express the rate of something

They get paid ten thousand a month.
She meets her uncle once a week.

They go to the dentist once a month.

Petrol costs Rs. 100 a litre.

8.    with some expressions
have a drink, have a bite, have a laugh, have a look, take a look, have a say, have a try, have a rest, take a rest, have a wash, a pity, at a loss, in a low voice, a pleasure, in a whisper, in a hurry, as a rule, in an instant, in a fix, as a result

9.    after 'what 'and 'such' in exclamations

What a good idea!

Such a boring party!

10. with units of uncountable nouns
a piece of cake, an item of furniture, a bottle of water, a glass of milk, a grain of sugar

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