Note : Articles and possessive adjectives together are called determiners. Here, in this first chapter, we are dealing with articles only. The possessive adjective can be studied in chapter number 3.
Three words—a, an and the are called articles. They are divided in two groups.
A. The Definite Article (The)
1. Use of Definite Article
(a) Put the before the words which mean the inhabitants of a country.
The English live in England and the Indians in India.
But do not put the before the names of the language.
English is spoken in England and Hindi in India.
Exception
Plural nouns of a country’s inhabitants do not take the if they are thought of individually.
Indians are generally vegetarians.
Russians drink vodka.
(b) Put the before the names of mountain ranges.
The Alps, the Himalayas
But do not put the before the names of single mountains or hills.
Everest, Mont Blanc (not the Everest, the Mont Blanc)
(c) Use the before the names of rivers, canals, seas, oceans, valleys, deserts and forests :
Lucknow is on the Gomati. (not on Gomati)
Similarly we say—
The North Sea, The Indian Ocean, The Ganges, The Sahara.
(d) Use the before the names of ships and trains :
The Rajdhani Express runs fast.
The Titanic was a very big ship.
But do not use the before the vehicles when they indicate a means of transport :
I will go to Delhi by bus.
We are going to Mumbai by train.
2. Omission of the Definite Article
(a) Do not put the before the names of substances if they are used in a general sense.
Gold is a precious metal. (not the gold)
Bread is made from flour. (not the bread … the flour)
Lead is very heavy. (not the lead)
But the must be used if the reference is to a particular kind or type.
The thieves stole the gold from that ship.
The bread in this hotel is of poor quality.
(b) Do not put the before the names of meals if they refer to the meals generally.
When do you have dinner ?
Have you had breakfast ?
Lunch is at 2.00 p.m.
But use the when the meal is a particular one.
The dinner will be taken at Ashoka.
We enjoyed the lunch given by the school.
(c) Do not use the before plural nouns when they are used in a general sense.
Books are necessary for students.
Apples grow in Simla.
Cars can run fast.
(d) Do not use the before the names of games.
Sania Mirza plays Tennis.
Chess is a game which requires skill.
(e) Do not put the before the names of the countries unless the name denotes that it is made of parts.
India, Italy, France and China are all republics.
But
The United States is very rich.
The U.S.S.R. has broken into smaller units.
(f) Do not use the before the names of the offices if these follow the names of the officers :
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh President Dr. Abdul Kalam D.C. Miss. Rajni Kothari
But if the names are not mentioned the must be used.
The Prime Minister. The President etc.
Exercise 1
(Solved)
Fill in the blanks with the where necessary.
1. The table was made of …….. wood.
2. ……… water in that pot is not fit for drinking.
3. ………. sweets we took after meals were tasty.
4. When do you have ………. breakfast?
5. Are you attending ………. dinner tonight?
6. Why do we wear ……. clothes?
Answers:
1. x (No article)
2. The
3. The
4. x (No article)
5. the
6. x (No article).
B. The Indefinite Article (A and An)
(a) A is used before words beginning with a consonant, and an before words begin¬ning with a vowel or with a letter h which is not sounded. The following are the main words which are spelt with unsounded h.
(b) If a word begins with a vowel but is pronounced in the way as ‘y’ in yet, write a and not an before it.
a university, a European.
(c) A/an is to be used only before singular countable nouns.
a book, a city, an animal.
A/an should be used before the adjective if these singular countable nouns have an adjective before them.
a big city, a fine book, an ignorant person.
(d) Use a after the word such when it is applied to things which are countable.
I have never known such a cold winter.
Such a thing has never happened before.
(e) If instead of such, there is the word so, then put a after the adjective, just before the noun.
I have never known so cold a winter. (not a so cold winter)
(f) When a is placed before the word few. it changes the meaning. Few means a small number when more might have been expected ; a few means a small number when none were expected.
Few boys were present in the class. (i.e., I had expected more)
A few boys were present in the class.
(i.e, I had expected none, still there was a small number of them present) There is a similar difference between little and a little.
We have little time to spare.
(It means that we do not have as much time as we should like).
We have a little time to spare.
(It means that we are not so short of time that we cannot spare any).
Exercise 2
(Solved)
Fill in the blanks with a or an.
1. ………. man and ………….. woman were sitting before me.
2. During our holiday, we stayed at ………… hotel.
3. For our dinner, we went to …………. restaurant.
4. As it was raining, I took …………. umbrella.
5. On the way, I saw …………. elephant.
6. I am ……………… Indian whereas you are Chinese.
Answers:
1. A, a
2. a
3. a
4. an
5. an
6. an. a
Exercise 3
(Solved)
Fill in the blanks with a or an.
1. Have you ever seen ………… lion?
2. Does Sohan have a ……….. car ?
3. Is there ……………. bank nearby?
4. There isn’t ………….. airport nearby.
5. Ram is …………… honest man.
6. He will return in ……….. hour.
Answers:
1.a
2. a
3. a
4. an
5. an
6. an
Exercise 4
(Solved)
Insert a, an or the.
Once there was (1) ……. mouse. The mouse was always afraid of (2) ……… cat. A magician took pity on (3) ……… mouse. He turned it into (4) ……… cat. Now (5) ……… cat was afraid of dogs. So, (6) ……… magician turned (7) ……… cat into (8) ……….. dog and finally into (9) …….. tiger. (10) …… tiger began to fear hunters in (11) ……. forest. Then (12) ……… magician said, “Be (13) ………. mouse again. You are no better than (14) …… mouse at heart”.
Answers:
1. a
2. the
3. the
4. a
5. the
6. the
7. the
8. a
9. a
10. The
11. the
12. the
13. a
14. a
Exercise 5
(Solved)
Fill In the blanks with few, little, a few, a little, the few, the little.
1. Just …………… persons were present there.
2. I cannot prepare tea; there is …………. milk in the house.
3. I have consumed ………… sugar you gave me.
4. ………… water of the pond will not last the year.
5. The class was not held as …………. students were present.
6. Don’t worry. I have ………… money in the bank.
Answers:
1. a few
2. little
3. the little
4. The little
5. few
6. a little
Exercise 6
(Solved)
Rearrange the following words / phrases so as to make meaningful sentences.
1. it is easy / acquire / bad habit / to / a / very difficult / to live / bad person / with the / has it / who / but
2. I / never / a / known / have / such / bad time
3. coffee / let’s go / restaurant / into / have / the / and
4. dog / faithful animal / is / the / a
5. few pupils / right answer / only / gave / a / the.
Answers:
1. It is easy to acquire a bad habit but very difficult to live with the bad person who has it.
2. I have never known such a bad time.
3. Let’s go into the restaurant and have coffee.
4. The dog is a faithful animal.
5. Only a few pupils gave the right answers.
Exercise 7
(Solved)
In the passage given below, one word has been omitted in each line. Write the missing word along with the word that comes before and the word that comes after it in your answer sheet. Ensure that the word that forms your answer is underlined.
Answers:
(a) was a poor
(b) for a famous
(c) was a tall
(d) to a rich
(e) at the party
(f) on the occasion
Exercise 8
(Solved)
In the passage given below, one word has been omitted in each line. Write the missing word along with the word that comes before and the word that comes after it in your answer sheet. Ensure that the word that forms your answer is underlined.
Answers:
(a) see the National
(b) bought a few
(c) was a story
(d) read a story
(e) all the stories
Exercise 9
(Solved)
The following passage has not been edited. There is one error in each of the lines. Write the incorrect word and the correction in your answer book.
Answers:
(a) a — the
(b) an — a
(c) the — an
(d) a — the
(e) the few — a few
Use of ‘Enough ’
1. As determiner :
Used before plural or uncountable nouns, it means ‘as many or ‘as much’ as some¬body needs or wants i.e., sufficient.
Have you made enough copies ?
There is enough room for everybody.
I have enough clothes to last a week.
I have enough problems as it is.
2. As a pronoun :
If enough of you are interested, we shall go there.
Six bottles should be enough.
There was nowhere near enough for everybody.
3. As an adverb :
This house is big enough for us.
She is not old enough to decide for herself.
We didn’t start early enough.
It is not just good enough.
He seemed good enough to me.
Life is hard enough as it is.
Exercise 10
(For Practice)
Fill in the blanks with the where necessary.
1. Some soaps are made of ……….. oils and some of only ………. chemicals.
2 …….. iron is found in India.
3. In India more people drink …………. milk than …… wine.
4. …………. mangoes are grown in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
5. Will you play ………….. cricket ?
6. She plays ……………. basketball very well.
Exercise 11
(For Practice)
Complete the following passage by filling the blanks :
There was (a) ………… accident near (b) ………….. market, (c) …………. car hit (d) ……….. bicycle and (e) ………… man on (f) ……….. bicycle was killed on (g) ………. spot.
Exercise 12
(For Practice)
The following passage has not been edited. There is one error in each of the lines. Write the incorrect word and the correction in your answer book.
Multiple Choice Questions
The underlined words in the following passages have not been used appropriately. Replace them by choosing the most appropriate option from the ones given below the passage.
Question 1.
Have you seen (a) some elephant ? This is (b) a largest living animal on earth. It has played (c) the very important role in our economy. Over (d) a past 40 million years, more than 600 species of (e) some elephant have roamed (f) a earth.
(a)
(i) a
(ii) an
(iii) few
(iv) little
(b)
(i) the
(ii) an
(iii) few
(iv) little
(c)
(i) many
(ii) an
(iii) little
(iv) some
(d)
(i) many
(ii) an
(iii) the
(iv) few
(e)
(i) the
(ii) an
(iii) a
(iv) little
(f)
(i) some
(ii) the
(iii) an
(iv) little
Question 2.
Smoking is (a) a single largest preventable cause of death all over (b) an world. This is (c) a alarming fact. In spite of this (d) much and more people are taking to smok¬ing in India. According to (e) an studies, India. Indonesia and China are (f) a only countries where the incidence of smoking is going up.
(a)
(i) the
(ii) an
(iii) some
(iv) few
(b)
(i) some
(ii) a
(iii) the
(iv) more
(c)
(i) a
(ii) an
(iii) the
(iv) more
(d)
(i) a
(ii) some
(iii) more
(iv) few
(e)
(i) the
(ii) an
(iii) some
(iv) few
(j)
(i) an
(ii) few
(iii) some
(iv) the
Question 3.
What starts as (a) a experiment, soon turns into (b) an habit. There is (c) a nicotine in cigarettes which brings structural changes in (d) a brain. Smoking has (e) a associational aspect as well. People smoke while reading or with (f) an cup of tea.
(a)
(i) an
(ii) the
(iii) some
(iv) few
(b)
(i) the
(ii) a
(iii) some
(iv) few
(c)
(i) the
(ii) a
(iii) some
(iv) few
(d)
(i) some
(ii) an
(iii) a
(iv) the
(e)
(i) an
(ii) some
(iii) few
(iv) many
(f)
(i) the
(ii) a
(iii) some
(iv) many
Question 4.
(a) Some Mohwa tree has (b) an large grey bark. Most of (c) an leaves fall from February to April. During that time (d) a scented flowers hang in close branches of (e) some dozen or so. At dawn (f) a short-lived flower falls.
(a)
(i) The
(ii) An
(iii) Some
(iv) Few
(b)
(i) the
(ii) a
(iii) some
(iv) few
(c)
(i) a
(ii) an
(iii) the
(iv) som
(d)
(i) some
(ii) an
(iii) each
(iv) the
(e)
(i) some
(ii) a
(iii) the
(iv) each
(j)
(i) an
(ii) the
(iii) some
(iv) each
Question 5.
(a) A plaving of games is (b) some worthy activity. It is worthy in the sense that (c) an team spirit can be created in (d) a individual only if he has learnt to participate in (e) a playing of games. It is also true that a player does (f) more for the society.
(a)
(i) An
(ii) The
(iii) Some
(iv) Much
(b)
(i) more
(ii) any
(iii) much
(iv) a
(c)
(i) little
(ii) a
(iii) few
(iv) much
(d)
(i) an
(ii) little
(iii) some
(iv) much
(e)
(i) much
(ii) any
(iii) the
(iv) an
(f)
(i) the
(ii) an
(iii) a
(iv) much
Question 6.
Nobody knows exactly where (a) a orange originated. Today it is grown in most of (b) an warmer parts of the world, (c) a orange a day can give you (d) some sufficient supply of vitamin C. In India (e) a orange grown in Nagpur is famous for its quality. (f) a orange juice is a famous drink loved by Indians.
(a)
(i) an
(ii) the
(iii) some
(iv) few
(b)
(i) a
(ii) the
(iii) some
(iv) few
(c)
(i) The
(ii) Some
(iii) An
(iv) Few
(d)
(i) a
(ii) an
(iii) few
(iv) the
(e)
(i) an
(ii) some
(iii) the
(iv) few
(f)
(i) Some
(ii) An
(iii) A
(iv) The
Question 7.
(a) A great wall of China is said to be one of (b) an structures which would be visible from (c) an moon. There are (d) a little things which are considered to be (e) an wonders of the world . This wall is i one of them. (f) A man who did most to build it was General Meng Tien.
(a)
(i) The
(ii) An
(iii) A few
(iv) Some
(b)
(i) a
(ii) the
(iii) the few
(iv) little
(c)
(i) a
(ii) the
(iii) few
(iv) little
(d)
(i) a
(ii) few
(iii) little
(iv) a few
(e)
(i) a
(ii) the
(iii) some
(iv) little
(f)
(i) Some
(ii) The
(iii) An
(iv) few
Answers
1.
(a) an
(b) the
(c) some
(d) the
(e) the
(f) the
2.
(a) the
(b) the
(c) an
(d) more
(e) some
(f) the
3.
(a) an
(b) a
(c) some
(d) the
(e) an
(f) a
4.
(a) The
(b) a
(c) the
(d) the
(e) a
(f) each.
5.
(a) The
(b) a
(c) a
(d) an
(e) the
(f) much
6.
(a) the
(b) the
(c) An
(d) a
(e) the
(f) The
7.
(a) The
(b) the
(c) the
(d) a few
(e) the
(f) the
Either way the teacher or student will get the solution to the problem within 24 hours.