1. Articles Prepared By: - Nityanandesh Narayan Tripathi PGT English
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya

2. First the good news articles There are only three articles in English
Definite A An
Indefinite
The

3. Article What are articles
An article is a limiting word, which cannot be used alone to denote a particular thing, or a group or class of things, or any individual of a group or class.
Article

4. Origin of articles
The article the comes from an old demonstrative adjective –
(sē, sēo, ðat, later thē, thēo, that) which was also an article in Old English. In Middle English the became an article, and that remained a demonstrative adjective.
An or a came from the old numeral ān, meaning one.

5. A/ An Article – Indefinite
A and an are the indefinite articles. They refer to something not specifically known to the person you are communicating with.

6. Article – Definite
The
You use the when you know that the listener knows or can work out what particular person/thing you are talking about

7. General chart of using articles
Noun
Proper
Living X
No Article
Non Living
The
Common
Singular
A/ An
Plural
Material
Abstract

8. Where to use definite article – A/ An
B,C,D,F,G, etc.
A, E, I, O, U
With Singular Nouns starting with Vowel Sound
With Singular Nouns starting with Consonant Sound
Note: -
Remember that a vowel sound does not necessarily mean beginning with a vowel, nor does consonant sound mean beginning with a consonant, because English spelling does not coincide closely with the sound of words.
For Example – If a word starts with ‘Yoo’ sound then we should use article ‘A’ . Like – University, Union, Europe, etc.

9. Example – A/ An I have An apple in my bag. She has A mango in her bag.
The union leader is protesting against the low wages.

10. Pronunciation of article - The
If the following word begins with a vowel, we speak /ði/
if the following word begins with a consonant
we speak
/ð∂/

11. With Holy and Classical Books
Where to use Definite article 1 – The
With Holy and Classical Books
With Mountain Range
With names of Rivers
The Himalaya
The Aravali
The Alps
The Ganges
The Nile
The Thames
The Gita
The Hamlet
The Quran

12. With Geographical Locations
Where to use Definite article 2 – The
With Superlative
Nouns
With Island Groups
With Geographical Locations
The Tallest Boy
The Longest River
The Most Beautiful
The Andaman Nikobar
The Great Britain
The North Pole
The Equator

13. Where to use Definite article 3 – The
With Names of countries with more than one words
With Particular/ Unique Things
With Name of News Paper
The United States of America
The Republic of India
The Painting of Monalisa
The Tajmahal
The Shillong Times
The Tribune
The Guardian

14. Where to use Definite article 4 – The
With Common Noun that represent the whole class
With Something Already Referred
With Proper Noun as Common Noun
The Cow
The Man
The Star
Hello, I am the person who met you yesterday
Kalidas is the Shakespeare of India

15. With the names of Deserts
Where to use Definite article 4 – The
I am at the 6th no. in this queue
With the names of Deserts
With Ordinal Numbers
With Names of Oceans
The Sahara
The Thaar
The Gobi
The Fifth
The second
The Third
The Arab Ocean
The Red Sea

16. Where not to use Definite article 1 – The
With Countable Nouns
With Material Nouns
With Institutions
Computer
Chocolate
Gold
Diamond
Hospital
School
Church

17. Where not to use Definite article 2 – The
With Abstract Nouns
With Names of Meals
With Languages
English
Hindi
Bengali
Love
Help
Charity
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

18. Where not to use Definite article 2 – The
With Names of Continents, Cities, Countries, Mountains
With Names of Relations
With Proper Names
Father
Son
Sister
Sonia Gandhi
Ramesh
Roshini
Asia
Mumbai
Mount Everest

19. Exercises: - This coat was designed by ___ famous New York artist.
___ city museum is closed today.
He is one of ___ smartest people I know.
I recommend you eat ___ apple pie at this restaurant.
___ milk is good for you.
Would you like to see ___ movie?
Do you have ___ dictionary that I can borrow?

20. Thanks