Articles and its uses
THE ARTICLES
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The demonstrative adjectives a, an, the — these are called The Articles.
Articles are divided into two parts.
1. Indefinite Articles
2. Definite Articles
A and An is called indefinite articles, because these indicate person and thing uncertainly.
As: A Kamran came here.
I eat an egg.
This is a ewe.
She looked an owl and feared.
‘The’ is called Definite Articles because it indicates particular things or persons.
As-: The woman is old.
The horse is to let.
The man is young.
Use Of A
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1. Generally ‘a’ is placed before a consonant.
As-: I am a boy. This is a book.
Alam is a good student. This is a pen.
That is a chair. It is a magazine.
She is a girl. It is a bottle. It is a CD. It is a dog.
2. Before uncertain person or thing ‘a’ is used.
As-: A Rahim came here.
A Hasan came here.
I see a bird.
I see a gang of robber.
He is a doctor.
3. If the word begins with ‘E’ and ‘E’ is pronounced like ‘yu’ then ‘A’ is used.
As-: This is a ewe.
She is a European.
4. If the word begins with ‘U’ and ‘U’ is pronounced like “yu” then a is used before the word.
As-: She is a university student. It is a useful bag. That is a ewe. The student formed a union.
He is a unique student. Mr. Patrick is a European.
The cow is a useful animal.
5. If the word begins with ‘O’ and ‘O’ is pronounced like ‘Wa’ then a is used before the word.
As-: He is a one -eyed man. It is also a one act play.
That was a one-act play. The man helped a one eyed man. Please give me a one taka note.
She gave the beggar a one-taka note.
6. To use proper or abstract noun as a singular common noun, a is used.
As-: A Mirjafar can destroy a nation.
She is a Beauty.
You are a Hitler.
You are a Nazrul I see.
He is a Rabindranath.
7. ‘A’ is placed before plural noun with few, little, good, many, lot of, great many, great deal of, good deal of etc.
As-: A few persons were present there. There are a few apples on the table.
They have bought a lot of things. Karun had a great many years.
The old man lived a great many years ago.
8. A is placed to describe the man by noun.
As-: He is a cricketer.
9. ‘A’ is placed with singular common noun before quite, many, rather, but, more, not, many and such etc.
As-: Robinson Crusoe was quite a famous sailor. Mr. Hussein is rather a gentleman. You are but a child.
Not a person was present there. Not a rickshaw is seen in the road.
He is rather a brilliant student. Many a man was present in the meeting.
10. ‘A’ is used in some phrase.
As-: In a nutshell, In a temper, In a fix,
11. ‘A’ is used before numerical expression as couple, dozen, hundred, thousand, million, score etc.
As-: A hundred girls came out from school.
There are a thousand people.
Here are a dozen of eggs.
12. A is used before each noun to compare between two nouns.
As-: He is both a farmer and a businessman.
It is as essential as a pen or a paper.
13. A is placed before common noun to mean race with consonant.
As: It is a dog. That is a cow. He had a got.
14. A is placed before singular common noun.
That is a book. She has a pen.
15. A is placed before first adjective while it qualify two or more adjectives of same persons or things.
As: Mr. Sabbir wants a red and blue pen. I want a blue and red shirt. Sheela wants a beautiful and white bird.
16. A is placed before proper noun to mean comparison.
You are a Shakespeare, I see. You are a Nazrul, I see. You are a Rabindranath Tagore, I see. He is a Monirul, I see. You will be a Fazlul Haque.
17. A is placed before abstract noun used as concrete noun.
As: Helen was a beauty. Momtaj Mahal is a beauty. She is a needy. Marilyn Monroe is a beauty.
18. A is placed to mean emphasis.
As: Not a girl was present. Not a gun was fired. Not a drop of water was in the pot.
19. Sometimes a is placed before Mr./ Mrs. / Miss / Ms
As: A Miss Mina sought her help. A Mr. Rahman called at my office. A Ms Helen called at my home.
20. A is placed before adjectives while too, so are available in the sentence (consonant).
As: This is too serious a matter for him to overlook.
Iron is so useful a metal.
21. A is placed after what, how such to mean exclamation. As: What a pretty girl. How nice a bird.
22. A is placed before numerical expression as couple, dozen, score, hundred, thousand, million, etc.
As: She earns a hundred taka a day. They sold a dozen apples. At least a million of people attended the meeting.
23. Sometimes disguise preposition placed as a.
As: He went a hunting (on).
24. A is placed before special meal:
As: The dinner was excellent.
I had a meal in my friends’ house.
25. A is placed before abbreviation word with consonant. As: Mina is a BA. Hasan is a BAG.
Kohinoor is a B Sc.
Use of An
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1. An is placed before vowel.
As-: This is an egg. I saw an ant. It is an inkpot. He gave me an orange. I have an uncle called Habib.
There is an ugly called crow. He is an uncle as his age.
2. ‘An’ is placed before uncertain person or thing.
As-: An Alam came here.
I have an umbrella.
I saw an owl and ran away.
3. ‘An’ is placed before consonant ‘h’ unpronounced silent.
As-: Mr. Habib is an honest man. He has an heir. Abir was an honest man.
Mr. Hakim is also an honest man. Mr. Monir is an honourable man
Sixty minutes make an hour.
4. ‘An’ is placed before ‘h’ word to stress on the second syllable.
As-: I shall stay in an hotel.
Mr. Habib is an historian.
She will reside in an hotel.
This is an historical place.
He lives in an hostel
He is an historian.
5. ‘An’ is placed before consonant pronounced as vowel or abbreviation word with vowel.
As-: He is an M. A. Mr. Ali is an MA.
Mr. Hakim is an LLM.
My uncle is an S.D.O.
Mr. Hussen is an MP.
Sumana is an FRCS.
Mr. Manik is an LLB.
Sehab is an MLA.
6. ‘An’ is placed before proper noun used as common noun and be used for comparison.
As-: An Akber can save a nation. Nelson Mandela is an Abraham Lincoln in his ideals.
An Abraham can save the American from the war. He is an Omar in his ideals.
7. An is placed to describe the position man by noun.
As-: He had an opportunity to do the work.
8. ‘An’ is used before each noun to compare between two nouns.
As-: He is neither an engineer nor an architect.
9. ‘An’ is placed before common noun to mean race.
It is an ant. It is an inkpot. He is an old man.
10. ‘An’ is placed before singular common noun with vowel.
As: That is an owl.
11. ‘An’ is placed before adjectives while too, so are available in sentence as vowel.
As: The horse is too faithful an animal.
The dog is so faithful an animal.
12. An is placed with singular common noun before quite, many, rather, but, more, not etc. for vowel.
As: Gulliver’s Travels is quite an interesting book.
13. An is placed before some phrase.
As: She came to take an interest.
Use of The
1. ‘The’ is placed before particular or definite things or animals.
As-: The cat follows the rat. The novel is good. The book is mine.
The man is pious. The boy is running. Let us start the play.
The rat is always aware of the dog.
2. ‘The’ is placed before singular common noun.
As-: The goat lives on grass.
The rose looks fine.
The sunflower faces to the sun.
The rose is the sweetest of all flowers.
The Arabian can speak Arabic well.
3. ‘The’ is placed before river, gulf, islands, desert, bay, mountains, sea, ocean, plain high land and ship
As-: The Nile is a large river. Dhaka stands on the Buriganga.
The Bay of Bengal is the south side of Bangladesh
An Egyptian ship sank in the Red Sea .
The Surma is the longest river of Bangladesh
The Baikal is the largest lake in the world.
The Pacific is the deepest ocean.
The Mediterranean is situated in the Middle East
The Himalayas is a large mountain.
The Himalayas are in Nepal
The Andamans is under India
The Banglar Mukh is a famous Bangladeshi ship.
The Sahara is the biggest desert.
4. ‘The’ is placed before newspaper, pure religious or sacred book and famous poem.
As-: I read the Ittefaq daily. The Quran is a holy book.
He reads the Inqilab daily. The Morning Star is a daily newspaper.
He reads the Holy Quran everyday.
John Milton wrote the paradise lost.
Michel Modhusudan Dutta wrote the Meghnad Bod.
The Ramayana is a sacred book for the Hindu.
5. ‘The’ is placed before a country, place or meaningful geographical name.
As-: The Punjab is a land of five rivers. The USA
He starts for the USA USSR
6. ‘The’ is placed before historical events, well - known institution and goods.
As-: The Battle of Panipath held between Humayan and Shersah.
The Tajmahal is a beautiful monument.
The New Market is situated near Dhaka University
7. ‘The’ is placed before unit thing as planet, sub-planet, star etc.
As-: The earth is round.
The moon shines at night.
The sun is floating on its orbit.
The earth, the sun, the moon are familiar to all.
8. ‘The’ is placed before selection of a comparative degree.
As-: Between Anne and Jane, Anne is the better.
9. ‘The’ is placed before superlative degree but sometimes before comparative degree.
As-: She is the best of all girls in the class. He is the oldest man in the village.
He is the best boy in the class. He is the better of the two.
10. ‘The’ is placed before comparative degree of Adverb.
As-: The sooner, the better.
11. ‘The’ is placed before compared noun or pronoun,
As-: Nazrul is the Byron of Bangladesh.
Narayangonj is the Dundee of Bangladesh.
Kaikobad is the Milton of Bangladesh.
Barishal is the Venice of Bangladesh.
12. ‘The’ is placed before cast or class.
As-: The rich are not always happy.
The poor lived from hand to mouth.
The virtuous are happy.
The poor are unhappy.
13. ‘The’ is placed before Abstract idea to mean common Noun.
As -: The mother rose in her piteous sight.
Check the beast in you.
14. ‘The’ is placed before that noun which indicates occupation or profession.
As-: She joined the bar yesterday.
15. ‘The’ is placed before Abstract Noun to indicate particular place or kind.
As-: The rice of Barishal is fine.
The water of this pond is clear.
16. ‘The’ is placed before abstract noun to indicate or means quality of person and things.
As-: The kindness of Mohsin is known to all. The courage of Isha Khan is known to all.
The courage of Bangladeshi is known to all over the world.
17. ‘The’ is placed before unaccompanied (same), homogenous person or thing.
As-: Mr. Bhuiyan is the headmaster of the school.
The sun rises in the east.
18. ‘The’ is placed before a certain person or more person or thing.
As-: Look at the orphan boy.
The boys play cricket.
19. ‘The’ is used before singular countable noun, plural countable noun and uncountable noun.
As-: The pen is blue.
The books are read.
The tea of Sylhet is available.
The student is meritorious.
20. ‘The’ is placed before same person or thing that means before common noun.
As The dog is a faithful animal. The bird has two wings. The cow is a domestic animal.
21. ‘The’ is placed before generalize adjective class or thing.
As: The lame should be helped.
The blind should be helped.
The rich are not always happy.
22. The is placed before possessive meaning.
As: Mina struck on the head. Full out her by the ear.
23. The is placed before recognized thing.
As: Let me go to swim in the river.
He met me in the park.
They were cutting paddy in the field.
24. The is placed before unique thing.
As: The earth moves round sun. The moon looks beautiful. The sky is cloudy.
The sun rises in the east.
25. The is placed before nation.
The Bangalees are a brave nation.
The English are clever nation.
The Muslims believes, Allah is one.
26. The is placed before material noun used as common noun.
As: The water of this jug is pure.
The gold of this ring is pure.
27. The is placed before seasons and directions.
As: The Spring is the queen of season.
The wing blows from the south. It is the rainy season now.
28. The is placed month and date.
As: He was born on the 16th July 1989 .
The fourteenth February is Valentines Day.
The 26th March is our liberation day.
29. The is placed before different persons title.
As: The Headmaster and the secretary are present in the meeting.
30. The is placed before two or more adjective which qualify noun.
As: Mithu has finished the 3rd and the 4th part of the work.
She has done the 5th and the 6th part of the task.
31. The is placed before professional noun.
As: He joined the bar.
She joined the army. She joined the treachery.
32. The is placed before ordinal number.
As: George the 6th, Edward the 3rd were famous leader of ancient age.
33. The is placed for possessive pronoun.
As: I have a ball on (my) the head.
The ruffian struck me on the (my) head.
34. The is placed to mean abstract quality.
As: People love the brave.
Ladies love the smart person.
35. The is placed before famous historical name.
As: Ibrahim Lodi was defeated in the battle of Panipath. Nawab Siraj-ud- Dawlah was defeated in the battle of Palassey.
36. The is placed before adjective with proper noun.
As: The great Omar was the second Caliph of Islam.
37. The is placed before singular designation.
As: The president, the prime minister, the headmaster.
38. The is placed before plural family name.
As: The Pathans, the Mughals, the Khans.
39. The is placed before fixed common noun by adjective/ adjective phrase or adjective clause.
As: The man who came in my house is my brother. The man in white dress is known to me.
40. The is placed before epithet after a proper noun.
As: Alexander the great was a brave warrior.
41. The is placed before numerical words which means unit.
As: They sell mangoes by the hundred.
42. The is placed before musical instrument.
As: He plays guitar. I play the piano.
43. The is placed before musical groups.
As: The Miles, the Abba, the Soles.
44. The is placed before proper noun with adjectives:
As: The National zoo at Mirpur. The fort of Lalbagh. The National Science Museum
45. The is placed before some collective noun.
As: The elite, the peasantry, the audience.
46. The is placed before language when language word is placed.
As: The English language is very interesting to learn.
Omission of/ zero Articles:
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Zero article means absence of article.
1. ‘Zero Article’ is placed before man as a nation.
As-: Man is mortal.
2. ‘Zero Article’ before disease.
As-: She rescued from fever.
Rahim died of cholera.
Hamida suffers from malaria.
3. ‘Zero Article’ before language.
As-: He knows French well. English is an international Language.
She is expert in English.
4. ‘Zero Article’ before an island or a mountain.
As-: Everest is a large mountain.
5. ‘Zero Article’ before familiar word family word father, Mother or nearest relatives.
As-: Mother is not at home.
Father has not yet gone to market.
Mother is busy in cooking.
Father is not at office. Baby is crying.
Uncle is coming to dinner.
Mother loves her child.
6. ‘Zero Article’ is placed before creator, God, Allah, Heaven, Hell, and Paradise .
As-: God is almighty. The devil will send into hell.
I think he is living in heaven
7. Zero Article’ is placed before countable plural common noun.
As-: Cows eat grass.
Lions are found in the forest.
8. Zero Article’ is placed before Phrase.
As-: He is quite at home in Algebra.
Don’t make a noise in the class.
9. Zero Article’ is placed before or after proper noun for any designation or class.
As-: Mr. John, Principle of this college, is an old man.
10. Zero Article’ is placed before regular meal, institutions as school and hospital.
As: I take my breakfast. He goes to school. He is now in hospital. He came before breakfast.
Lunch is ready. They had just finished dinner. When do you go to school? He is still in hospital.
School is over at 4.00. Are you ready to go to market?
11. Zero Article’ is placed before uncountable noun referring to the whole class of thing or to an indefinite unidentified amount.
As: Gold is a precious metal. Honesty is the best policy.
12. Zero Article’ is placed before uncountable nouns accompanied by an adjectival retain.
As: Human life is short. I am fond of English poetry.
13. Ordinal Number with Roman Figure:
As: Omar II was the famous Caliph when there were none to take Jakat.
14. Zero Article’ is placed before uncountable noun like water, milk, oil, ink, hydrogen, tea, paper.
As: We write on paper.
We take tea.
Milk is nutritious food.
15. Zero Article’ is placed before human being –as man, woman.
As: Man is mortal. Women are the gift of God.
16. Zero Article’ is placed before title of any name:
As: Poet Shakespeare is known to all.
Mr. Zia, President of Bangladesh was energetic and popular.
17. Zero Article’ is placed before common noun with pronominal or numerical adjective.
As: Each boy should bring his pen.
18. Zero Article’ is placed before common noun with vocative case.
As: Go home friend. Girl, do not tell a lie. Mother, give me a take.
19. Zero Article’ is placed before generally before disease.
As: Small Pox is a dangerous disease. Cholera has broken out in the village.
20. Zero Article’ is placed before home:
As: We went home. He is at home.
21. Zero Article’ is placed before street, Avenue, Square, Park.
As: He bought a shop in Park Street Bahadur Shah Park
22. Zero Article’ is placed before possessive word.
As: Boys, you are the future leaders of the country.
23. Zero Article’ is placed before lake.
As: Lake Superior , Lake Baikal Lake Caspian
24. Zero Article’ is placed before day or month.
As: Sunday is the second day of the week of our country.
January is the first month of English year.
25. Zero Article’ is placed before the complement of factitive verb.
As: We made him captain. They elected me captain.
26. Zero Article’ is placed before limbs and dress:
As: Raise your left hand. He took of his shirt.
27. Zero Article’ is placed before game:
As: He plays football. We like cricket.
28. Zero Article’ is placed before noun after possessive case.
As: It’s my book.
29. Zero Article’ is placed before vehicles of travel.
As: by bus, by train, by launch, by air, by sea, by water, by river etc.
30. Zero Article’ is placed before singular common noun used in phrase.
As: He was learned by heart. A beggar begs from door to door.
She went there on foot. Do not loose heart in the battle.
Prepared by Md. Moheb Ullah
MA(English), M.Ed.(IER DU), DCSA, B,Sc. in CSE (DUET)
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