Errors in use of Articles

Errors in the use of Articles

• Articles are of two types

1. Indefinite (a, an)
2. Definite (The)

• Use of ‘An’:
  1. Before vowel sounds (a, e, i, o, u):– an egg, an apple, an insect
  2. Before silent ‘h’:– an heir, an hour, an honourable man, an honest man
  3. Before abbreviations beginning with A, E, I, O, U and F, H, L, M, N, R, S, X:– an M.L.A., an R.A.F., an N.P.C. officer, an L.L.B., an X-ray plate.
• Use of ‘A’:
  1. 1. In the sense of one:- He couldn’t speak a word to save himself.
     2. with ‘one’ (‘one’ begins with the sound of ‘w’ not to be confused with a vowel):- a one-man show, a one-eyed man
  2. Before consonant sound:- a boy, a box, a dog
  3. With vowel letters having consonant value:- a university, a unique article, a euphemism, a unit, a European guy ( begins with consonant sound ‘yu’)
  4. With units and rate (per):- He earns rupees five hundred a month. Rice sells ten rupees a kilo. Give me a metre length of the cloth.
  5. In exclamatory expressions before singular countable nouns:- What a pretty girl! How sunny a day!
  6. When two subjects or articles are thought of as a single unit:- He was ready with a cup and saucer. A cigarette is made of a paper and tobacco.
  7. With certain expressions of quantity:- a lot of, a dozen, a great deal of, a couple.
  8. With a person’s name to indicate that the person is perhaps unknown to the person addressed:- A Mr. Ojha is at the door. A Mr. Koirala died at the party last night.
  9. With a special meal (to celebrate something or in someone’s honour):- I called my friends to a lunch to celebrate my success. A day was arranged to welcome the Prime Minister Mr. Oli.
  10. To make a common noun of a proper noun:- This man is ‘a second Newton’. ‘A Daniel’ came to judgement. (The phrase means ‘a wise man’).
• Use of ‘The’
  1. When we speak of a particular person or thing already referred to: I dislike the follow. The boy near the tower is my brother.
     1. When a singular noun represents a whole class: The mango is considered the king among fruits. The donkey is used as a beast of burden. Note: The nouns ‘man’ and ‘woman’ do not take ‘the’ before them. Man is the greatest of God’s creations.
     2. With names of:
        • gulfs, rivers, oceans, islands and mountains:- the Himalayas, the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Red Sea, the Koshi river, the Philippines
     3. Certain books:- the Vedas, the Mahabharata, the Bible, the Quoran,
     4. Musical Instruments:- the flute, the trumpet, the madal
     5. The inventions:- I hate the telephone for its constant ringing. The television is a gift of science.
     6. Parts of the body:- He was wounded in the leg. They hit him on the hands.
     7. Religious groups:- the Sikhs, the Hindus, the Muslims
     8. Names enforcing the law:- the Police, the Navy, the Air Force
     9. Political Parties:- the CPN UML, the Nepali Congress, the CPN ML, etc
     10. Air services, ships, trains, etc. :- the Buddha Air, the Lufthansa, the Titanic, the Mechi Express, etc.
     11. Before names of an empire, dynasty or historical events:- the Stone Age, the Shah dynasty, the French Revolution, the Kot Parva, the People’s movement for democracy of Nepal 2007
     12. Clubs, foundations, etc.:- the Lion’s Club, the Nepal Red Cross Society, the Kopila Foundation
     13. Before common nouns denoting unique things:- the sun, the sky, the stars, the world, the earth, the universe
     14. With superlatives:- He is the best boy in the class. She received the most outstanding performance award.
     15. With ordinals:- He took the first bus that came his way. Our class is on the second floor.
     16. Before the comparative degree:- The more they get, the more they want. He is the cleverer of the two.
     17. Before an adjective when the noun is understood:- The poor would favour him. We must not shun the disabled.