What are Articles ?


1. What are Articles ?


Articles are words used before nouns. They show whether the noun is general or specific.


Article āĻšā§ˆāϛ⧇ āϏ⧇āχ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ āϝāĻŋ noun (āύāĻžāĻŽāĻĒāĻĻ) ā§° āφāĻ—āϤ āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤ āχ āϏāĻžāϧāĻžā§°āĻŖ (general) āύ⧇ āύāĻŋā§°ā§āĻĻāĻŋāĻˇā§āϟ (specific) āĻŦāĻ¸ā§āϤ⧁/āĻŦā§āϝāĻ•ā§āϤāĻŋ āĻŦ⧁āϜāĻžāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


1. Article: A


Rule:



  • "A" is used before singular countable nouns that begin with a consonant sound.

  • "A" āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āϕ⧰āĻž āĻšāϝāĻŧ āĻāĻ•āĻŦāϚāύ āĻ—āĻŖāύāĻžāϝ⧋āĻ—ā§āϝ āύāĻžāĻŽāĻĒāĻĻā§° āφāĻ—āϤ, āϝ⧇āϤāĻŋāϝāĻŧāĻž āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻŸā§‹ consonant sound ⧰⧇ āφ⧰āĻŽā§āĻ­ āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


Examples : a boy → āĻāϜāύ āϞ’ā§°āĻž, a pen → āĻāϟāĻž āĻ•āϞāĻŽ,  dog → āĻāϟāĻž āϕ⧁āϕ⧁⧰, a book → āĻāĻ–āύ āĻ•āĻŋāϤāĻžāĻĒ


Special Examples : a university, a European country


Reason (āĻ•āĻžā§°āĻŖ): University āφ⧰⧁ European āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ “yu” sound ⧰⧇ āφ⧰āĻŽā§āĻ­ āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤ āϏ⧇āϝāĻŧ⧇āĻšā§‡ A āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


2. Article: AN


Rule :



  • "An" is used before singular countable nouns that begin with a vowel sound.

  • "An" āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āϕ⧰āĻž āĻšāϝāĻŧ vowel sound ⧰⧇ āφ⧰āĻŽā§āĻ­ āĻšā§‹ā§ąāĻž āĻāĻ•āĻŦāϚāύ āĻ—āĻŖāύāĻžāϝ⧋āĻ—ā§āϝ āύāĻžāĻŽāĻĒāĻĻā§° āφāĻ—āϤāĨ¤


Examples: an apple → āĻāϟāĻž āφāĻĒ⧇āϞ, an egg → āĻāϟāĻž āĻĄāĻŋāĻŽ, an orange → āĻāϟāĻž āĻ•āĻŽāϞāĻž


Special Examples : an hour, an honest man


Reason (āĻ•āĻžā§°āĻŖ): Hour āφ⧰⧁ honest āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāϤ h silent, āϏ⧇āϝāĻŧ⧇āĻšā§‡ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻŸā§‹ vowel sound ⧰⧇ āφ⧰āĻŽā§āĻ­ āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


3. ARTICLE: THE


Rule :



  • "The" is used for a specific person, place, or thing that both the speaker and listener know about.

  • "The" āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āϕ⧰āĻž āĻšāϝāĻŧ āύāĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻĻāĻŋāĻˇā§āϟ āĻŦā§āϝāĻ•ā§āϤāĻŋ, āĻ¸ā§āĻĨāĻžāύ āĻŦāĻž āĻŦāĻ¸ā§āϤ⧁ āĻŦ⧁āϜāĻžāĻŦāϞ⧈, āϝāĻžāĻ• āĻ•āĻĨāĻž āĻ•ā§‹ā§ąāĻž āφ⧰⧁ āĻļ⧁āύāĻž āĻĻ⧁āϝāĻŧā§‹ āϜāĻžāύ⧇āĨ¤


Examples : the sun → āĻ¸ā§‚ā§°ā§āϝ, the moon → āϚāĻ¨ā§āĻĻā§ā§°, the book on the table → āĻŸā§‡āĻŦ⧁āϞ⧰ āĻ“āĻĒā§°ā§° āĻ•āĻŋāϤāĻžāĻĒ, the teacher → āϏ⧇āχ āĻļāĻŋāĻ•ā§āώāĻ•


Important Point: Articles depend on sound, not spelling. : Article āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° spelling āύāĻšāϝāĻŧ, sound āĻ…āύ⧁āϏāĻžā§°ā§‡ āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


Example


1. a university : Correct, an university : Wrong


Reason: “University” begins with the /yu/ sound (a consonant sound). So we use A, not AN.


āĻ•āĻžā§°āĻŖ: “University” āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻŸā§‹ /yu/ āĻ§ā§āĻŦāύāĻŋ⧰⧇ āφ⧰āĻŽā§āĻ­ āĻšāϝāĻŧ, āϝāĻŋ consonant soundāĨ¤ āϏ⧇āϝāĻŧ⧇ A āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


Example: She studies at a university. : āϤāĻžāχ āĻāĻ–āύ āĻŦāĻŋāĻļā§āĻŦāĻŦāĻŋāĻĻā§āϝāĻžāϞāϝāĻŧāϤ āĻ…āĻ§ā§āϝāϝāĻŧāύ āϕ⧰⧇āĨ¤


2. an hour : Correct, a hour : Wrong


Reason: In “hour”, the H is silent, so the word begins with a vowel sound. Therefore we use AN.


āĻ•āĻžā§°āĻŖ: “Hour” āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāϤ H silent, āϏ⧇āϝāĻŧ⧇ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻŸā§‹ vowel sound ⧰⧇ āφ⧰āĻŽā§āĻ­ āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤ āϏ⧇āϝāĻŧ⧇ AN āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


Example: I waited for an hour. : āĻŽāχ āĻāϘāĻŖā§āϟāĻž āĻ…āĻĒ⧇āĻ•ā§āώāĻž āϕ⧰āĻŋāĻ›āĻŋāϞ⧋āρāĨ¤


Important Rule : Articles depend on sound, not spelling. : Article āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° spelling āύāĻšāϝāĻŧ, sound āĻ…āύ⧁āϏāĻžā§°ā§‡ āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


Point for Students :



  • Correct use of articles makes sentences clear and grammatically correct. : Article āϏāĻ āĻŋāĻ•āĻ­āĻžā§ąā§‡ āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āϕ⧰āĻŋāϞ⧇ āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ āĻ¸ā§āĻĒāĻˇā§āϟ āφ⧰⧁ āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāϕ⧰āĻŖāĻ—āϤāĻ­āĻžā§ąā§‡ āϏāĻ āĻŋāĻ• āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāϕ⧰āĻŖā§° āϗ⧁⧰⧁āĻ¤ā§āĻŦāĻĒā§‚ā§°ā§āĻŖ āĻŦāĻŋāώāϝāĻŧ : SSC / HSLC / Banking āĻĒā§°ā§€āĻ•ā§āώāĻžā§° āĻŦāĻžāĻŦ⧇ āĻ…āϤāĻŋ āϗ⧁⧰⧁āĻ¤ā§āĻŦāĻĒā§‚ā§°ā§āĻŖ :  View Paper


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20 Tricky Article Examples (A / AN)  


1. a university : Correctan university : Wrong
Reason: university starts with “yu” sound. : university āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻŸā§‹ yu āĻ§ā§āĻŦāύāĻŋ⧰⧇ āφ⧰āĻŽā§āĻ­ āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


2. an hour : Correct, a hour : Wrong
Reason: h is silent, so vowel sound. :  hour āϤ h āύāĻŋāσāĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĨ¤


3. an honest man : Correct, a honest man : Wrong
Reason: honest → h silent. : honest āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāϤ h āωāĻšā§āϚāĻžā§°āĻŖ āύāĻžāĻĨāĻžāϕ⧇āĨ¤


4. a European country : Correct, : an European country : Wrong
Reason: European begins with yu sound. : European = yu āĻ§ā§āĻŦāύāĻŋāĨ¤


5. an MBA degree : Correct, a MBA degree : Wrong
Reason: M pronounced “em” (vowel sound). : M āωāĻšā§āϚāĻžā§°āĻŖ āĻāĻŽāĨ¤


6. an MLA : Correct, a MLA : Wrong


Reason: The letter M is pronounced “em”, which begins with a vowel sound. Therefore, we use AN. :  M āφāĻ–ā§°āĻŸā§‹ āωāĻšā§āϚāĻžā§°āĻŖ āĻšāϝāĻŧ “āĻāĻŽ”, āϝāĻŋ vowel sound ⧰⧇ āφ⧰āĻŽā§āĻ­ āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤ āϏ⧇āϝāĻŧ⧇āĻšā§‡ AN āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āϕ⧰āĻž āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


7. a one-rupee coin : Correct, an one-rupee coin : Wrong
Reason: one starts with “w” sound. :  one = ā§ąāĻžāύ (w sound)āĨ¤


8. a uniform : Correct, an uniform : Wrong


Reason: “Uniform” begins with /yu/ sound, which is a consonant sound. So we use A. : “Uniform” āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻŸā§‹ /yu/ āĻ§ā§āĻŦāύāĻŋ⧰⧇ āφ⧰āĻŽā§āĻ­ āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤ āχ consonant sound, āϏ⧇āϝāĻŧ⧇ A āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


9. an umbrella : Correct, a umbrella : Wrong


Reason: “Umbrella” begins with a vowel sound. : “Umbrella” āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻŸā§‹ vowel sound ⧰⧇ āφ⧰āĻŽā§āĻ­ āĻšāϝāĻŧ, āϏ⧇āϝāĻŧ⧇ AN āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


10. a UGC rule : Correct, an UGC rule : Wrong


Reason: The letter U here is pronounced “yu”, which is a consonant sound. : UGC āϤ U āφāĻ–ā§°āĻŸā§‹ āωāĻšā§āϚāĻžā§°āĻŖ āĻšāϝāĻŧ “yu”, āϏ⧇āϝāĻŧ⧇ A āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


11. an X-ray : Correct, a X-ray : Wrong


Reason: The letter X is pronounced “ex”, which begins with a vowel sound. : X āφāĻ–ā§°āĻŸā§‹ āωāĻšā§āϚāĻžā§°āĻŖ āĻšāϝāĻŧ “ex”, āϝāĻŋ vowel sound ⧰⧇ āφ⧰āĻŽā§āĻ­ āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


12. a useful book : Correct, an useful book : Wrong


Reason: “Useful” begins with /yu/ sound. : “Useful” āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻŸā§‹ yu āĻ§ā§āĻŦāύāĻŋ⧰⧇ āφ⧰āĻŽā§āĻ­ āĻšāϝāĻŧ, āϏ⧇āϝāĻŧ⧇ A āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


13. an heir : Correct, a heir : Wrong


Reason: The h in “heir” is silent, so the word begins with a vowel sound. : “heir” āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāϤ h āύāĻŋāσāĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ, āϏ⧇āϝāĻŧ⧇ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻŸā§‹ vowel sound ⧰⧇ āφ⧰āĻŽā§āĻ­ āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


14. a historical place : Correct, an historical place : Wrong


Reason: The h in “historical” is pronounced. : “historical” āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāϤ h āωāĻšā§āϚāĻžā§°āĻŖ āĻšāϝāĻŧ, āϏ⧇āϝāĻŧ⧇ A āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


15. an honourable person : Correct, a honourable person : Wrong


Reason: The h in “honourable” is silent, so vowel sound. : “honourable” āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāϤ h āύāĻŋāσāĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ, āϏ⧇āϝāĻŧ⧇ AN āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


16. a union leader : Correct, an union leader : Wrong


Reason: “Union” begins with /yu/ sound. : “Union” āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻŸā§‹ yu āĻ§ā§āĻŦāύāĻŋ⧰⧇ āφ⧰āĻŽā§āĻ­ āĻšāϝāĻŧ, āϏ⧇āϝāĻŧ⧇ A āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


17. an SBI officer : Correct, a SBI officer : Wrong


Reason: The letter S is pronounced “es”, which begins with a vowel sound. : S āφāĻ–ā§°āĻŸā§‹ āωāĻšā§āϚāĻžā§°āĻŖ āĻšāϝāĻŧ “es”, āϝāĻŋ vowel soundāĨ¤


18. a NASA scientist : Correct, an NASA scientist : Wrong


Reason: “Nasa” begins with n sound, a consonant sound. : “Nasa” āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻŸā§‹ n āĻ§ā§āĻŦāύāĻŋ⧰⧇ āφ⧰āĻŽā§āĻ­ āĻšāϝāĻŧ, āϝāĻŋ consonant soundāĨ¤


19. an FIR filed : Correct, a FIR filed : Wrong


Reason: The letter F is pronounced “ef”, which begins with a vowel sound. : F āφāĻ–ā§°āĻŸā§‹ āωāĻšā§āϚāĻžā§°āĻŖ āĻšāϝāĻŧ “ef”, āϝāĻŋ vowel sound ⧰⧇ āφ⧰āĻŽā§āĻ­ āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


20. a hotel : Correct, an hotel : Wrong


Reason: The h in “hotel” is pronounced. : “hotel” āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāϤ h āωāĻšā§āϚāĻžā§°āĻŖ āĻšāϝāĻŧ, āϏ⧇āϝāĻŧ⧇ A āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤


Important Rule


Articles depend on sound, not spelling. Use A / AN based on Sound, not spelling.
Article āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° sound āĻ…āύ⧁āϏāĻžā§°ā§‡ āĻšāϝāĻŧ, spelling āĻ…āύ⧁āϏāĻžā§°ā§‡ āύāĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤ Article āϏāĻĻāĻžāϝāĻŧ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻā§° sound āĻ…āύ⧁āϏāĻžā§°ā§‡ āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āĻšāϝāĻŧ, spelling āĻ…āύ⧁āϏāĻžā§°ā§‡ āύāĻšāϝāĻŧāĨ¤




  • āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāϕ⧰āĻŖā§° āϗ⧁⧰⧁āĻ¤ā§āĻŦāĻĒā§‚ā§°ā§āĻŖ āĻŦāĻŋāώāϝāĻŧ : SSC / HSLC / Banking āĻĒā§°ā§€āĻ•ā§āώāĻžā§° āĻŦāĻžāĻŦ⧇ āĻ…āϤāĻŋ āϗ⧁⧰⧁āĻ¤ā§āĻŦāĻĒā§‚ā§°ā§āĻŖ :  View Paper