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When Are 'A' and 'An' Used?
'A' is used when you're talking about any general thing that starts with a consonant sound.
A consonant sound is a sound like 'ka', 'kha', 'ga', 'da', 'va', 'cha', 'pa' etc. These sounds are also called 'vyanjan' sounds in Hindi.
If a noun (any object or living thing) starts with a consonant sound and you're talking about a general thing, you should use 'a' before it.
Take a look at these sentences:
There is a parrot perched on the wall.
Can you give me a glass of water?
In both these sentences, we're talking about any parrot or any glass of water - not a special, particular thing. Also, the sound which 'parrot' starts with is 'pa' and the sound with which 'glass' starts is 'ga.'
Both these sounds are consonant sounds.
'An' is used when you're talking about any general thing that starts with a vowel sound.
What's a vowel sound? It's a sound like 'Aa', 'Ee', 'Oo', 'Au' etc. These sounds are also called 'swar' sounds in Hindi.
If a noun (any thing or person or animal) starts with a vowel sound and you're talking about a general thing, you should use 'an' before it.
Here are two examples.
There's an elephant in that cage!
Shall I show you an interesting thing?
In both these sentences, we're talking about any elephant (it's not an elephant you already know) and any interesting thing (it's not an interesting thing you've already talked about). Also, 'elephant' starts with the 'ei' sound and 'interesting' starts with an 'ee' sound.
Both these sounds are vowel sounds.
Some More Difficult Cases Related to A and An
In all such cases, you should look at the 'vowel sound' - not at whether a word starts with a vowel or not.
Take a look at this example:
Monty found a one hundred rupee note on the ground.
Now, 'o' is definitely a vowel. So, should we not use 'an' before one?
No. That's because the word 'one' starts with the 'va' sound. 'Va' is a consonant sound (it's a part of the 'vyanjan' group in Hindi as well).
Therefore, we need to add 'a' before 'one.'
Here's another tricky example:
I waited for my friend for an hour.
'Hour' starts with an 'aa' sound which is a vowel sound. So, we need to add 'an' before 'hour' even though it actually starts with 'h.'
Here are some more special cases:
| An - Some Special Cases | A - Some Special Cases |
|---|---|
| An honest man | A European |
| An hour | A university |
| An honourable woman | A unit |
| A one hundred rupee note | |
| A one-eyed parrot |
The use of 'the' is more complicated than 'a' and 'an.'
The most common use of 'the' is when you're talking about a particular thing.
Of course, the big question is: what on earth is a particular thing?
Let's say you're talking about the word 'parrot.'
If you're talking about any parrot, you should say a parrot.
But if you are talking about the parrot that is yellow in colour, or the parrot which is perched on your window sill or the parrot you saw yesterday - that's when you should say the parrot.
Generally, when we talk about particular things, we use words like 'that', 'which', 'who' or 'whom'.
For example:
This is the same man whom I met yesterday.
Chintu is the boy who has stood first.
The chair that I got from the market today is black in colour.
In the first sentence, we are not talking about any man, we are talking about the same man whom I met yesterday - a very specific man. In the second case, Chintu is not just a boy, he is the specific boy who has stood first.
'The' is also used when you talk about something for the second time.
Take a look at this paragraph.
Once upon a time, there lived a boy. The boy lived in Bachu Ganj. He always completed his homework on time. The boy lived with his parents. The boy's name was Tinku.
When I talked about the boy for the first time, I used 'a.'
But the second time, third time, fourth time...I used 'the.'
So, if you refer to any person or thing again and again, you need to add 'the' before the person or thing.
'The' is used before things which are one of their kind
The Sun, the Earth, the Moon, the world, the Solar System and the Milky Way are some examples.
However, this is not an 'always true' kind of rule. There are many things which are one of their kind - but we don't add 'the' before them.
For example,
It is wrong to say 'the Jupiter' or 'the Mars.'
'The' is only used before the planet Earth but not before the names of other planets.
'The' is also NOT used before the names of people or countries. The only special cases are country names that start with words like United or Union.
So, it is correct to say the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (this no longer exists).
Also, 'the' is generally not used before the names of all stars or galaxies. For example, the galaxy nearest to ours is Andromeda not the Andromeda. And yet, we say the Milky Way.
Saying the Pole Star is correct but it is wrong to say the Sirius although both are names of stars.
English is funny, isn't it? :-)
'The' is used before 'only', 'same', 'first', 'second', 'third', 'last' etc.
There are some words which are friends of 'the.' You just need to use 'the' before these words.
The most common out of these are only, same, first, second, third, fourth (and so on), last etc.
Example:
This is the first time that you have got less marks.
'The' is used before superlative forms of adjectives like largest, thinnest, fattest etc.
It is wrong to say, 'Gajju is tallest boy in the class.'
You need to say, 'Gajju is THE tallest boy in the class.'
It's the best, the tallest, the cutest, the funniest, the most interesting, the most difficult, the cleverest, the simplest and so on.
'The' is used before the names of rivers and monuments.
I went to see Taj Mahal. Nope. Not correct.
It's I went to see the Taj Mahal. The Qutub Minar. The Gateway of India. The Eiffel Tower. The Statue of Liberty.
It's also the Nile, the Ganges, the Yamuna, the Godavari, the Volga and the Brahmaputra.
'The' is used before the names of some specific books especially religious books as well as newspapers.
It's the Panchatantra. The Guru Granth Sahib is the holy book of the Sikhs. The Bible, the Quran and the Bhagvad Gita are religious books.
However, it is NOT The Aesop's Fables. You can't just add 'the' before any book title.
Most newspaper names also start with 'the.'
For example:
The Hindustan Times
The Times of India
The Hindu
The Telegraph
The Guardian
'The' is used before the names of mountain ranges, oceans, seas, bays etc.
Remember that while 'the' is used before the names of mountain ranges, it is NOT used before the names of mountains.
For example, it is WRONG to say the Mount Everest.
But it is correct to say the Aravalli Mountains, the Rocky Mountains, the Alps, the Himalayas etc.
It is also correct to say the Bay of Bengal, the Suez Canal, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, the Black Sea etc.
'The' is used before the names of musical instruments.
Tinku is playing guitar. Correct? Nope. That's wrong!
Tinku is playing the guitar. Rohan is playing the veena. Meenal is playing the violin.
'The' is used when referring to a certain species as a whole.
Take a look at this sentence:
The leopard is the fastest animal in the world.
This doesn't mean we are talking about a particular leopard. It means we are talking about ALL leopards in general - the whole species.
The elephant is the world's heaviest land animal. This means we are talking about ALL elephants.
Well, we've talked quite a lot about articles.
Choose the correct worksheet depending on which class your child belongs to (or you belong to - if you're a student!):
Worksheet #2 on A, An and The - Classes 2 and 3
Worksheet #3 on A, An and The - Classes 2 and 3
Worksheet #1 on A, An and The - Classes 4 and 5
Worksheet #2 on A, An and The - Classes 4 and 5
Worksheet #3 on A, An and The - Classes 4 and 5
Worksheet #1 on A, An and The - Classes 6 and 7
Worksheet #2 on A, An and The - Classes 6 and 7
Worksheet #3 on A, An and The - Classes 6 and 7
Worksheet #1 on A, An and The - Classes 8 and 9
Worksheet #2 on A, An and The - Classes 8 and 9
Workheet #3 on A, An and The - Classes 8 and 9
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