Know The Uses Of Articles For The Preparation Of Govt. Exams

The English language is a common factor of worry for any govt. exam aspirants. English Language test has been included in Banking, SSC, Defence and other major exams to assess applicants’ reading, writing, and comprehension abilities. However, the importance of understanding basic grammatical principles cannot be overstated. Grammar, vocabulary, and comprehension are the three most significant aspects of the English language.

Today we are going to discuss a very important topic “Articles” for any govt. exam preparation. Several types of questions, e.g. Error Spotting, Sentence Improvement, Fill in the Blanks, are asked from this very important topic of the Grammar portion Of the English Language. So, without much ado, let’s understand the topic once and for all:

Articles

An article is a word that modifies a noun or a noun phrase, such as a person, place, object, or idea. Articles are important in the English language because they convey information about the noun or noun phrase they precede. Learning and carefully using a few basic concepts can help enhance article usage. Articles are of two kinds:

I. Definite Articles: The

II. Indefinite Articles: A, An

A and An:  the Indefinite articles:

I. These articles are used when we don’t talk about any specific person or thing.

Example: A nurse – means ‘any’ nurse.

II. We use these articles before singular countable nouns.

Example: An apple, A boy, A tree, etc.

III. An indefinite article a/an is used in its numerical sense – one.

Example 1: She couldn’t say a word in front of them.
Example 2: Twelve inches make a foot.

IV. We also use this article when we are not sure of the person being talked about (in a vague sense).

Example: A Swati Singh is asking for you. Do you know her?

V. We use this article to point out a representative of a group.

Example: A goat is eating all your tender plants in the garden. (Here ‘a goat’ implies any of the goats.)

 The: the Definite article

I. This article is used when we talk about someone specific.

Example: The boy reached the competition early as he was very enthusiastic about it. (Here we are talking about a particular boy.)

II. We use this article before singular countable nouns, plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns.

Example: The chair, The chairs, The oil

III. We use this article before a singular countable noun to represent a whole class.

Example: The dog is a faithful animal.

IV. We use the article “the” before:

Mountain ranges – the Himalayas, the Alps
Deserts – the Thar, the Sahara
Rivers – the Ganga, the Yamuna, the Amazon
Oceans and seas – the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Red sea
Certain books – the Ramayana, the Vedas, the Puranas, the Upanishads
With superlative adjectives – the tallest building, the best gift
With ordinals – Laika is the first dog to travel in space.
Names of unique things – the sun, the moon, the sky, the earth
Musical instruments – Mr. Jha knows how to play the harmonium.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE CORRECT ARTICLE – “A” or “AN”

Selection of an article before a noun depends on:

1. A noun/word starting with a consonant – we take the article “a”.
Example: a book, a boy, a tree

2. A noun/word starting with a consonant but with a vowel sound- takes the article “an”.
Example: an hour, an honest man, an heir (‘H’ is silent in these words.)

3. A noun/word starting with a vowel – we take the article “an”.
Example: an apple, an umbrella

4. A Noun/word starting with a vowel but with a consonant sound- takes the article “a”.
Example: a university, a unicorn, etc.

WHERE NOT TO USE AN ARTICLE

1.  Before the name of a substance and an uncountable noun when used in a general sense.

Examples:

Honesty is the best policy.
Salt is bad for high blood pressure patients.
Gold is a precious and costly metal.

NOTE: But, when we use them in a particular sense, we use an article as in “Would you pass me the salt?”  (the salt which is kept near the person)

2. Before the plural countable nouns

Examples:

Children are god’s gift.
Computers are of great help to people these days.

NOTE: We use an article before the plural countable nouns when used in a particular sense/meaning as in “Go and ask the children to come home at once.” (“the children” are known to the speaker)

3. Before proper nouns, i.e. before names of people, countries, cities, mountain peaks, lakes, hills, etc.

Examples

I live in India.
Kanchenjunga is visible from Darjeeling.

NOTE: When talking indefinitely we can use articles before names, as in “A Michael is asking for you”? (The speaker is not definite who is Michael, but knows his name)

4. Before meals when used in a general sense.

Example:

Come, lunch is ready.

NOTE: But, when we use meals in some particular sense, we use an article as in “Nishant said that the Sunday brunch at the Plaza is amazing”.

This is everything that you should know about Articles & their uses. In the next article, we will learn more about articles through some spotting error problems.