The milk in this pot is not sweet. uncountable noun + phrase
The boy who is wearing a red cap is my brother. singular countable noun + clause
The boys who are talking in class are talkative. plural countable noun + clause
The milk which I drank was very sweet.The adjectives a, 'an', and 'the' are usually called articles. They are always followed by a noun or noun phrase. 'a' and 'an' are called indefinite articles and they are called finite articles.
Use of 'a'
(i) Before a countable noun beginning with a consonant sound:
a bag, a girl, a hat, a pilot, a hotel, a book, a house
(ii) In most cases 'I ' and 'us are pronounced as a consonant:
a eucalyptus, a one rupee note, a one-way ticket a university girl, a union, a user, a unit, a useless car, a utensil,, a useful article, a European, a unicorn
(iii) Abbreviation whose first letter has a consonant sound:
a BA, a TOEFL score
Use of 'an'
(i) Before a countable noun beginning with a vowel sound:
an egg, an uncle, an elephant, an orange, an untidy girl, an insect
(ii) In most of the cases 'he is pronounced as a consonant:
an hour, an heiress, an honest man, an heirloom, an heir, an honorable man
(iii) Abbreviation whose first letter has a vowel sound:
an SOS message, and MBS an LLB
Use of 'a' or 'an'
an MA, an HA, an MD
(i) To mean each or every:
Rita earns twenty thousand She visits her aunt once a week.
a month.
(ii) In the sense of one:
Ravi has a computer. She purchased a new house, a SEE candidate, an MLA, an NGO, a VIP
a WHO officer, a BBC reporter, an SAT score, a one-eyed man, a ewe, a unique creature, a U-turn
a UFO, a CA
an owl, an hourglass, an MP, an FM, an MBA
(iii)with job or profession!
Oasis is a doctor. He is an engineer.
(iv) In 'such+ singular noun':
I want such a pen. Such a girl is laborious.
(v) With singular exclamation: What a beautiful house!
Such fair work!
(vi) With units of uncountable nouns: a bottle of milk
a piece of chalk
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Use 'the':
Before celestial body:
the Earth, the sky, the universe, the Moon, a lump of sugar, a pinch of salt, the Sun
Note: except for the earth, no article is used for other planets.
When a noun is repeated the second time:
DI saw a dog. The dog was shabby. He bought a cake. The cake was stale.
Before superlative degrees:
the best. , the worst, the highest the most, the least
4. Before ordinal numbers:
the first, the second, the third, the forth
Before names of musical instruments:, the drum, the piano, the guitar, the key-board
6. Before names of rivers, seas, and oceans:
the Nile, the Narayani, the Thames the Bagmati, the Red sea, the Dead seaBefore names of groups of islands and Gulf:
the British Isles O the Isle of Man, the Laccadive Islands, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Guinea
Before names of mountain ranges:
the Mahabharat range, the Himalayas, the Alps, the Rockies, the Andes
Before plural names of countries: the United States
the Philippines, the UK, the USSR, the UAB
Before names of canals and peninsulas:
the Suez canal, the Gandaki canal, the Panama canal, the Iberian Peninsula, Before names of deserts, the Sahara, the Gobi, the Thar
12. Before names of newspapers:
the Times, Rising Nepal, the Gorkhapatra, the Kantipur, Washington
Post Before a period of decades:
the twenties, the fifties, the sixties
14. Before names of directions and poles and Geographical area:
the west the east, the North Pole, the South Pole, the Middle East
Before names of the periods of history and historic event:
the Modern Age the Victorian Age, the Renaissance, the Martyrs Day, the Independence Day
16. Before family names and castes:
the Dakotas
the Limbus the Rais
the Bramins
the Smiths
Before names of religious books:
the Ramayan the Bible
D the Tripitaka
the Kuran
18. Before names of political parties:
D the CPN-UML
O the Conservative
Q the Republican
O the Nepali Congress
the Communist
19. Before names of nationalities' adjectives:
the Chinese 0 the Japanese
the English
Before a noun modified by a 'phrase' or 'clause':
The man in jeans seems to be rich. The water in this glass is fresh.
The girl who stood first is my daughter.
21. Before a singular noun that represents a particular class: D The donkey is stupid. (All the donkey)
D The tiger eats meat. (All the tiger)
O The wild elephant is in danger of extinction (All the wild elephants)
Before special meals: the farewell party
the wedding party
the birthday party
But not before ordinary meals:
dinner a lunch
supper a breakfast
3. Before daybreaks:
in the morning in the afternoon
in the evening
But not before
D noon
Q midnight
dawn night
22.
17.
2
16. Before family names and castes:
the Dakotas, the Limbus the Rais, the Bramins, the Smiths
Before names of religious books:
the Ramayan, the Bible , the Tripitaka , the Kuran
18. Before names of political parties:
the CPN-UML, the Conservative, the Republican, the Nepali Congress, the Communist
19. Before names of nationalities' adjectives:
the Chinese, the Japanese, the English
Before a noun modified by a 'phrase' or 'clause':
The man in jeans seems to be rich. The water in this glass is fresh. The girl who stood first is my daughter.
21. Before a singular noun that represents a particular class: D The donkey is stupid. (All the donkey)
The tiger eats meat. (All the tiger)
The wild elephant is in danger of extinction (All the wild elephants)
Before special meals: the farewell party, the wedding party, the birthday party
But not before ordinary meals:
dinner a lunch, supper a breakfast
3. Before daybreaks:
in the morning in the afternoon
in the evening
But not before
D noon
Q midnight
dawn night
Articles
The adjectives a, an, or the are usually known as articles
Note: The article is just before the singular countable noun.
Kinds of articles
There are two kinds of articles in English.
. Definite article
i. Indefinite article
Definite article.
The form The' is known as the definite article. It is used to point ou
Some particular person or thing. It is usually used with a singular
countable noun.
e.g The earth is round.
The boy with a red cap is my brother. etc.
Note that when we use the definite article "we presume that both
we and the hearer know what is being talked about.
The use of definite article
It is used before a noun that has become definite as a result of
being mentioned a second time.
e.g Suresh bought a TY and a radio, but he returned the radio.
first, mention the second mention
It is used before a singular and plural countable or uncountable
a noun which has been made definite by the addition of a phrase or
clause.
e.g. The boy with a red cap is my brother.
singular countable noun + phrase
The boys of this class are talkative
plural countable noun + phrase
The milk in this pot is not sweet.
uncountable noun + phrase
The boy who Is wearing a red cap is my brother.
singular countable noun + clause
The boys who are talking in class are talkative.
plural countable noun + clause
The milk which I drank was very sweet.
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It is used before a particular noun that has been already known.
uncountable noun + clause
e.g Suresh returned the radio he bought yesterday.
He is in the garden.
Please pass the butter.
It is used before the superlative degree used as adjectives.
e.g He is the tallest boy in the school.
She is the best singer in Nepal.
.It is used before the ordinary number when it has been used in
words.
eg This is the first/second boy. etc.
Note that the ordinary number can also be used in digit or Roman in
this condition the article is not used.
e.g ', 2rd rd
.It is used when the object or group of objects is unique or
considered to be the only one.
e.g the stars, the earth, the world, the sun, the moon, the
sea, the sky, the heaven, the hell, the equator, the north
pole, the south pole, the human race, the kitchen (only
one in the house), the queen, the king, the president, the
prime minister, the chief justice (only one in the state),
the roof. the toilet (only one in the house) etc.
Note that we say: a window, a room etc, because there are many
Windows and rooms in a house.
It is used before the noun when reference is made to an institution
shared by the community.
e.g. the radio, the television, The Telephone, the papers
e.g. (newspapers), the train, etc.
It is used before the date.
eg. He was born on the Ist of January.
e.g
It is used before the noun which indicates a whole class of animals
or things.
E.g. The tiger is a beautiful animal.
Here the tiger refers to the whole class of tigers, not one individual member of the class.
Note that we can also say:
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Tigers are beautiful animals.
A tiger is a beautiful animal
Thus when we are dealing with a whole class of ah Is, butlh
if the object is singula
the definite or indefinite articles can be used il the object ie ct ouh or a
countable noun, otherwise the zero article is used when the
whole class is plural countable noun or uncountable noun
e.g Water is composed of oxygen and hydrogen
When we judge in strict sense there is, however. a
difference in the fact that *the tiger refers to the spaces as a uh
while 'a tiger' refers to any member of the species. hole,
It can also be used before a member of a certain group of people.
e.g. The small farmers are finding life imcreasingly difficult
eg
It is used before the adjective to refer a class of persons.
e.g the poor, the young, the old
It is used before proper names of musical instruments
eg. the guitar, the harmonium, the piano, the madal, the flute,
e.g
the lute eic.
It is used before names of seas, oceans, rivers, groups of island,
chains of mountains, plural names of countries, deserts, regions.
(proper nouns)
e.g. the Red sea, the Pacific ocean, the British isles, the
Bagmati, the Himalayas, the Mount Everest, the
Netherlands, the Sahara etc.
It is used before the nouns wlhich refer the directions.
e.g the east, the west, the north, the south.
It is used before parts of the body which is considered to be ne
only one.
e.g. the head, the backbone, the chest etc.
e.g ody
Note that the indefinite article a or an is used before parts of the Dov
which is considered more than one.
e.g. a toe, afinger, an eye etc.
It is used before the names of renowned books, newr
e.g the Ramayan, the Geeta, the Rising Nepal, the the
temple, historical building, political parties.
Pashupatinath, the Tajmahal, the Singh Daroa the
Congress etc.
It is used before the names of ships.
184
eg the Mary Celeste, the Dei Gratiact
e.8
Iis used before the gcographical names of noun + of + noun.
eg. the kingdom of Nepal, the United States of America, the
eg Union of Soviet Socialist Republic etc.
Itis also used before names consisting of adjective + noun or noun
+of+noun
e.g the United Kingdom, the Arabian Gulf, the National
Gallery, the Great Wall of China, the Tower f London
The + plural surname can be used to mean 'the family'
e.g the Sharmas (i.e. Mr. and Mrs. Sharma and Children)
It is used before names of choirs, orchestra, pop groups etc.
Indefinite Article
The form a or an is known as the indefinite article. It is usually
used with singular countable nouns when we want to express indefinite
meaning without any added meaning of amount. etc.
e.g. a book, a man, a cOW etc.
The use of indefinite article
It is used before a singular countable noun
e.g. an apple, a book etc.
Note that a or an is used for the unknown object or the object which
has been mentioned for the first time and represents no particular
person or thing. But, to represent some particular person or thing the
definite article 'the' is used before a singular countable noun.
He bought an ice-cream.
e.g The ice-cream which I ate was sweet.
The choice between a and an is aetermined by sound. The form
a' is use before a word beginnng win a consonant, or a vowel
with a consonant sound.
a man, a universiy, a European, a one-eyed man, a
e.g woman, a a yard, a horse, a union, a ewe, a useful book
The form 'an' is used before a word beginning with a vowel or a
etc.
consonant with a vowel sound.
island, an emy, an orange, an hour, an
an apple, an island an.
e.g honest man, an heir etc.
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Note on usage:
In pronounce, when the first sound of a word is Nepali R
Byanjan
(275 ) or begins with Nepali Bynjan Barna Ka, Kha, Ga
the form'a' is generally used.
eg a man
In pronounce the first sound in this word (man) begins with Nenal:
Byanjan "H. So the fom 'a' has been used before it.
In prounce when the first sound of a word is Nepali Swor (
7) or begins with Nepali Swor Barna A, Aa, I, Ee., the fom
an' is generally used
e.g an umbrella
In pronounce the first sound in this word begins with Nepali
Swar Barna 37. So the form 'an' has been used.
In English a, e, I, o, u are vowel and b, c, d, f, g j, k, 1, m, n, p, q, r,
S, t, V, W, x, y, z are consonant. According to the general nule of
grammar the form 'an' has to be used before the words beginning
with a vowel and the form a' has to be used before the words
beginning with a consonant. But the form a or an cannot be used in
this way in all conditions, because the words beginning with a
vowel or consonant are not necessary to have a vowel or
consonant sound with them.
e.g. a university
Here the word 'university has begun with a vowel 'u' but the
form 'a' has been used before it, because it is a vowel but not a vower
sound. In pronounce the first sound begins with Nepali Byanjan
So it is a vowel with a consonant sound and the form 'a' has beei
used.
an hour
Here the word 'hour' has begun with a consonant 'h dut the
form 'an' has been used before it, because it is a consonant but i a
not.
consonant sound. In pronounce the first sound begins with Nep
Swor T. So it is a consonant with a vowel sound and the form an
has been used.
The fom an is also used with the words beginning witn " and
not accented on the first syllable.
e.g an hotel, an historical man etc.
.The form 'an' is used before the individual letters Spok with 3
186
vowel sound.
e.g. an MP, an L-plate etc.
The form 'a or 'an is used before a noun which is used as an
example of a class of person or things.
eg A man is a social animal (i.e. all men)
A child needs love (i.e. all children)
A cow is a domestic animal. (i.e. all cows
The form 'a or 'an' is used before the adjective or adverb when
the adjective or adverb is before the singular countable noun.
e.g. Devkota was a great poet.
eg adj. noun
She is very beautiful girl.
adv. adj. noun
Note that when more than one adjective is in the sentence, the form 'a'
or 'an' is used before the first adjective.
e.g. She is a beautiful, intelligent and smart girl.
adj. adj. adj
The form 'a' or 'an' is used before the names of professions.
e.g. ateacher, a doctor, a lawyer, an actor etc.
The form 'a' or 'an' is used before certain expressions of quantity.
e.g a pair, a dozen, a couple, a lot of, a great deal of, a great
many of., several etc.
The form 'a' or 'an' is used before certain numerical expressions.
e.g. ahundred, a million, a thousand etc.
The form 'a' is used before "half when half follows a whole
number. One and a half kilos.
But: half a kilo (we can't say a half a kilo)
e.g
Similarly we can say:
a half-holiday, a half-portion, a half-share etc
The form 'a' or "an is used betore group nouns. they may be
singular or plural.
e.g. a group of Stars, an army of soldiers a.
e.g. aherd of cattle, a flock OJ Sheep, a crew of sailors, a
gang 0f thieves, a pack of card, a constellation J Sailors of stars,
a bunch ofjlowers, a bundle ofsticks, a bevy of O women, stars,
a heap of stones, a cham of fmountains, a pack women of
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