Article

An Article is a short word that generalizes or particularizes a Noun.

Examples:

1. A boy is standing there.
2. Give him an apple.
3. The doctor is not at home.

The Article is, sometimes, regarded as a distinct Part of Speech. But, properly speaking, it is merely an Adjective. There are only three Articles "a", "an" and "the" in English.

Kinds of Articles

The Article, properly speaking, is not a distinct part of speech. It is merely an Adjective. However, the Demonstrative Adjectives "A" "An" and "The" are usually called Articles. Articles are of two kinds:

1. Definite Articles
2. Indefinite Articles.

"A" and "An" are called Indefinite Articles, because they only generalize a Noun. Examples:

A doctor leads a busy life. (A doctor = any doctor).
Twelve Inches make a foot.

"The" is called the Definite Article, because it points out some particular person or thing.  Examples:

I saw the doctor. (The doctor = not any doctor but some particular doctor).
She was the first one to arrive here.

Indefinite Articles

The Use of "A". "A" is used before a word beginning with a consonant sound. Examples:

• A boy.
• A horse.
• A useful book.
• A European.
• A one-rupee note.

The Use of "An". "An" is used before a word beginning with a vowel sound.  Examples:

• An ass.
• An inkpot.
• An hour.

"A" or "An" is used;

1. In its original numerical sense of "one". Example:
     A hundred paisa makes a rupee.

2. In the vague sense of "a certain". Example:
    One morning a beggar came to my door.

3. In the sense of "any". Example: 
     I want a pen.

4. To make a common noun of a proper Noun.  Example:
     A Daniel came to judgment.

Definite Article

The Use of "The". The Definite Article "The" is an abbreviated form of "this" "That" "these" or "those". It is used;

• When we speak of a particular person or thing.  Examples:

  1. Has he returned from the club?
  2. Let us go to the canal.

• When we speak of a person or a thing already referred to. Examples:

  1. The pen you want to buy is good-for-nothing.
  2. I dislike the fellow.

• When a singular Noun is meant to represent a whole class. Examples:

  1. The dog is a faithful animal.
  2. The cow gives milk.
     But no article is used with the Nouns "man" and "woman" when they denote the whole class. Examples:
     
     1. Man is mortal.
     2. Woman is man's mate.

• With the names of rivers, seas, oceans, gulf groups of islands and mountain ranges. Examples:

  1. The Ravi, the Chenab, the Jhelum, and the Indus fall in to the Arabian Sea.
  2. These passengers are bound for the British Isles.
  3. The Himalayas lie to the north of Bharat.

• Before the names of books and newspapers. Examples:

  1. I read the Holy Quran in the morning.
  2. The Dawn is published from Karachi and Lahore.

• Before Common Nouns which are names of things unique of their kind. Examples:

  1. The earth revolves round the sun.
  2. The moon shines in the sky.

• Before an Adjective used a Noun. Examples:

  1. The rich do not like the poor.
  2. The lot of the blind is very miserable.

• Before a Proper Noun used as a Common Noun. Examples:

  1. Gama was the Rustam (the strongest man) of his age.
  2. He is the Nelson (the greatest naval commander) of his time.

• Before Superlatives; as,

  1. Aslam is the best boy in the class.
  2. The darkest cloud has a silver lining.

• As an Adverb before Adjectives in the Comparative Degree. Examples:

  1. The more we get, the more we desire.
  2. The sooner you come, the better.

• Before words denoting natural phenomena. Examples:

  The day follows the night.

• Before the names of directions. Example:

  The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

Omission of the Article

The omission of the use of "A" "An" and "The".

The article is omitted:

• Before a Common Noun used in its widest sense. Examples:

1. Man is mortal.
2. What kind of flower is it?

• Before Abstract, Material and Proper Nouns. Examples:

1. Honesty is the best policy.
2. Gold is a precious metal.
3. He was transferred to Karachi.

• When a Common Noun is used in the Plural Number and is not particularized. Examples:

1. Boys play football.
2. Horses neigh.

• Before titles used in apposition to a Proper Noun or as the complement of a sentence. Examples:

1. M. Muhammad Ayyub Khan, ex-President of Pakistan, passed away on April 20, 1974.
2. Jamshed Hashmi became captain of the cricket eleven of his college.

• When a Common Noun goes as one of a pair with another Common Noun. Examples:

1. Both husband and wife caught cold.
2. Boy after boy came out of the school.

• Before a Collective Noun used in an indefinite sense. Examples:

1. Parliament will meet again in April.
2. Government has sanctioned the proposal.

Some Important Points About the Use of Articles

Here are some important points about the use of the Articles. These will be of great help to you in using them correctly.

• The Article is placed before the noun to which it belongs; as,
  

  A horse and an ass were in the field.

  But if the noun is qualified by some Adjective, it is placed before the Adjective; as,
  

  Alexander the great was riding a white horse.

• The indefinite Article comes after "many" and "such"; as,
  

  It was such a fine day that many a man went to the river.

• It also comes after the adjectives preceded by "too" "so" and "how". Examples:
  

  1. How great a mistake I have made!
  2. It is too small a house to accommodate us all.

• The Definite Article is placed after the Adjectives "all" and "that". Examples:
  

  1. All the students are in hall.
  2. Both the birds were shot dead.

• When two or more Adjectives qualify the same Noun, the Article is used before the first Adjective only; as,

  I saw a black and red cow. (The cow is only one).

  But if they qualify different Nouns, expressed or understood, the Article is used before each Adjective; as,

  I saw a black and a red cow. (The cows are two).

• If two or more connected Nouns refer to different persons or things, the Article is used before each; as,
  

  The headmaster and the inspector were sitting in the office.

• In expressing a comparison, if two nouns before to the same person or thing, the Article is used only before the first; as,
  

  He is a better teacher than scholar.

  But if they refer to different persons or things, the Article must be used with each Noun; as,

  He is a better teacher than a scholar.