SPI English · Grammar
Articles: a, an, the and no article
A and an point to any one of many things, the points to a particular thing both people know, and most proper names take no article at all.
Why this matters
Fifteen questions in the bank, 13 EASY and 2 MODERATE, and almost every mock paper has one or two. Each is a blank before a noun: decide first whether the noun is any one or a particular one, then listen to its first sound.
Concept 1 of 3: A or an: go by the first sound, not the first letter
A and an mean the same thing: one, any one. The only difference is ease of speaking, so an goes before a vowel sound and a before a consonant sound. Say the word aloud and listen.
Definition
- Use a or an for one countable thing that is not particular: 'I saw a film.'
- An before a vowel sound: an apple, an hour, an heir, an MLA (em-el-ay).
- A before a consonant sound: a book, a university (you-ni), a European (you-ro), a one-day match (wun).
- The letter h is silent in hour, heir, honour and their family, so they take an.
- Use a or an for a job or a member of a group: 'She is a doctor.'
| Word | First sound | Article |
|---|---|---|
| umbrella | vowel (uh) | an umbrella |
| hour | vowel (h silent) | an hour |
| heir | vowel (h silent) | an heir |
| MBA | vowel (em) | an MBA |
| university | consonant (you) | a university |
| one-rupee coin | consonant (wun) | a one-rupee coin |
| horse | consonant (h spoken) | a horse |
| engineer | vowel (en) | an engineer |
Spelling misleads: a university and an hour both break the letter rule, and both follow the sound rule.
Practice this conceptself-check · 5 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionEasy
Example 1 · Grammar · Articles
Choose the correct article for the given sentence:
Harischandra was ____ honest king.
Going by the first letter
'A hour' and 'an university' are wrong. The article follows the first sound: hour starts with a vowel sound, university with the sound 'you'.
Using 'the' for a thing mentioned for the first time
When a noun is any one of many and has not been named before, it takes a or an: 'We went to a park.' The comes later, once it is known.
Concept 2 of 3: The: a particular or a one-of-a-kind thing
Use the when both you and the listener know exactly which thing you mean. Something can be known because it was mentioned before, because the sentence tells you which one, or because there is only one of it.
Definition
- A noun made particular by a phrase or clause: 'the boy in the red shirt', 'the book that you lent me'.
- A thing already mentioned or known to both speakers: 'I bought a pen. The pen leaks.' 'Where is the station?'
- Something unique: the sun, the sky, the Taj Mahal, the Statue of Liberty.
- A superlative or an order word: the best, the tallest, the first, the last.
- One sentence can need both: 'A dog chased the cat that lives upstairs.'
| Reason for the | Example |
|---|---|
| made particular by a clause | The man who called you is my uncle. |
| made particular by an of-phrase | the roof of the house |
| known to both speakers | Please close the door. |
| one of a kind | The moon is bright tonight. |
| superlative | She is the tallest girl in the team. |
| order word | He was the first to arrive. |
If you can answer 'which one?' from the sentence or from what both people know, use the.
Practice this conceptself-check · 5 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionEasy
Example 2 · Grammar · Articles
Choose the correct articles for the below sentence:
____ lady who lives next door is ____ architect.
Leaving out 'the' before a superlative
'She is best singer' is wrong. A superlative always takes the: 'the best singer', 'the tallest tower'.
Using 'a' when a clause makes the noun particular
'A girl who won the prize is my cousin' sounds wrong because the clause tells you which girl. Use the: 'The girl who won the prize'.
Concept 3 of 3: Names: when there is no article and when there is the
A person's name, a city, a state or a country is already one particular place, so it needs no article. A small set of names (rivers, seas, mountain ranges, newspapers, famous buildings) takes the by custom.
Definition
- No article before names of people, cities, states, most countries, single mountains and lakes: Ravi, Agra, Kerala, India, Mount Abu.
- The before names of rivers, seas, oceans, mountain ranges, deserts and groups of islands: the Ganga, the Indian Ocean, the Himalayas, the Thar, the Andamans.
- The before newspapers, holy books and famous buildings: the Hindu, the Ramayana, the Red Fort.
- The before a country name that is a plural or a union: the USA, the Netherlands.
| Kind of name | Article | Example |
|---|---|---|
| city, state, most countries | none | Chennai is in Tamil Nadu. |
| person | none | Arjun is my friend. |
| river, sea, ocean | the | the Godavari, the Arabian Sea |
| mountain range | the | the Western Ghats |
| newspaper | the | the Times of India |
| holy book | the | the Gita |
| famous building | the | the Gateway of India |
| country that is a union or plural | the | the United Kingdom |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionEasy
Example 3 · Grammar · Articles
Choose the correct article for the given sentence:
This road leads to ____ Agra.
Putting 'the' before a city or a state
'The Delhi' and 'the Punjab' are wrong in modern English. Cities and states take no article: 'Delhi', 'Punjab'.
Dropping 'the' before a river or a newspaper
Rivers and newspapers take the by custom: 'the Yamuna', 'the Hindu'.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (3)
A or an: go by the first sound, not the first letter8 rows
| Word | First sound | Article |
|---|---|---|
| umbrella | vowel (uh) | an umbrella |
| hour | vowel (h silent) | an hour |
| heir | vowel (h silent) | an heir |
| MBA | vowel (em) | an MBA |
| university | consonant (you) | a university |
| one-rupee coin | consonant (wun) | a one-rupee coin |
| horse | consonant (h spoken) | a horse |
| engineer | vowel (en) | an engineer |
Spelling misleads: a university and an hour both break the letter rule, and both follow the sound rule.
The: a particular or a one-of-a-kind thing6 rows
| Reason for the | Example |
|---|---|
| made particular by a clause | The man who called you is my uncle. |
| made particular by an of-phrase | the roof of the house |
| known to both speakers | Please close the door. |
| one of a kind | The moon is bright tonight. |
| superlative | She is the tallest girl in the team. |
| order word | He was the first to arrive. |
If you can answer 'which one?' from the sentence or from what both people know, use the.
Names: when there is no article and when there is the8 rows
| Kind of name | Article | Example |
|---|---|---|
| city, state, most countries | none | Chennai is in Tamil Nadu. |
| person | none | Arjun is my friend. |
| river, sea, ocean | the | the Godavari, the Arabian Sea |
| mountain range | the | the Western Ghats |
| newspaper | the | the Times of India |
| holy book | the | the Gita |
| famous building | the | the Gateway of India |
| country that is a union or plural | the | the United Kingdom |
Watch out for (6)
- Going by the first letter→ A or an: go by the first sound, not the first letter
- Using 'the' for a thing mentioned for the first time→ A or an: go by the first sound, not the first letter
- Leaving out 'the' before a superlative→ The: a particular or a one-of-a-kind thing
- Using 'a' when a clause makes the noun particular→ The: a particular or a one-of-a-kind thing
- Putting 'the' before a city or a state→ Names: when there is no article and when there is the
- Dropping 'the' before a river or a newspaper→ Names: when there is no article and when there is the
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