Articles: a / an / the

Usage of A / An

Use of ‘A’

Words start with consonant sound take ‘a’: 

1. This is a cat.
2. It is a hut.
3. I saw a snake in the garden yesterday.
4. A number of students are absent from the class today.
5. I bought a novel last year.
6. “Hamlet” is a tragic play by William Shakespeare.
7. I have a lot of books.
8. I want to become a doctor in future.
9. A Tale of Two Cities is written by Charles Dickens. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is a nice poem by Robert Frost.   

Use of ‘An’ (a / e / i / o / u)

Words start with vowel sound take ‘an’:

1. Papa, I want an ice-cream.
2. John Keats is an English poet.
3. Robert Frost is an American poet.
4. BUET is an engineering university in Bangladesh.
5. Sailing to Byzantium is an interesting poem by William Butler Yeats.
6. Ferdowsi is an Iranian poet.
7. He is an MA / FCPS / MBBS / LLB / LLM.
8. Asha is an SSC / HSC candidate.
9. William Butler Yeats is an Irish poet.

Exceptional: ‘u’ and ‘wa’

1. Iron is a useful metal.
2. Adiba is a university student.
3. This is a one taka note.
4. Don’t take a u-turn.

Usage of ‘The’

1. Hotel: the Sonargaon, the Sheraton,
2. Restaurants: the Xinxian, the Helvetia
3. Ship: the Titanic,
4. Rivers: the Padma, the Meghna, the Nile, the Gomati, the Pasur,
5. Newspaper: the Independent, the Daily Star, the New Age, the Observer, the Guardian, the Herald Tribune 
6. Repetition: I saw a hare in the garden. The hare was very cute.  
7. Only one in the world: the sun, the moon, the world, the 
8. Musical instrument: He is playing the piano / flute.
9. Superlative degree: Norway is the happiest place on earth. Asha is one of the best girls in the class.   
10. Things we can see now: Give me the pen. Pass me the salt.  
11. The more… the more: The more you read, the more you learn. The more he gets, the more he wants.
12. Name of some countries: the USA, the UK, the KSA, the UAE, the Maldives, the Nederlands, the Philippines, the West Indies 
13. Famous books: the Iliad, the Ramayana, the Odyssey, the Tempest, the Merchant of Venice, the Lord of the Files,    
14. Famous buildings: the Taj Mahal, the Empire State Building
15. Deserts: the Sahara, the Gobi
16. Historical event: the War of Liberation, the Sepoy Mutiny, the Language Movement
17. Oceans: the Pacific, the Atlantic,
18. Seas: the Black Sea,
19. Directions: the east , the west, the north, the south
20. Holy books: the Quran, the Bible, the Gita
21. Mountain ranges: the Alps, the Himalayas
22. ‘The’ with Abstract Noun and Material Noun: The honesty of Mr. Rahman cannot be doubted.  
23. Ordinal Number: I am reading the 1^st chapter of the novel.
24. Common Noun treated as Abstract Noun: The mother rose in her. The father rose in him.
25. Abstract Noun and Material Noun when made definite by a post modifier: The wisdom of Solomon is great. The wheat of the sack is not substandard.
26. Others: the same, the Police, the Prime Minister, the President, the King,

Zero Articles

1. Games and sports: Nobody dislikes cricket. The boys are playing football in the field.
2. Diseases: Cholera is a water borne disease. My grandfather died of cancer in 2010.
3. The Creator: Allah is Almighty. God is gracious.
4. Continents: Bangladesh is in Asia. The Sahara is in Africa.  
5. Subjects: I am weak in Mathematics. I studied in laws.
6. Some Proper Nouns: Adiba (person), Satkhira (district), Canada (country),     
7. Languages: English is an international language. Bangla is the sweetest language of all.
8. Abstract Noun: Honesty is the best policy. Wisdom is the gift of heaven. 
9. Material Noun: Gold is a precious metal. Sugar is bad for your teeth.
10. Meals: He came before breakfast. Lunch is ready.
11. Family relations: Mother is not at home. Father has gone to market.
12. Institutions: (school, college, university, mosque, temple, market, prison, church, hospital): When do you go to school? School is over at 2.00. He is still in hospital. Are you ready to go to market? We go to school at 10am. We go to mosque/church to pray.
13. Mountain: Mount Everest, Mount Abu
14. Island: Java, Ceylon, Sicily
15. Cape: Cape of Good Hope
16. Lake: Lake Baikal, Lake Sambhar, Foyos Lake, Dhanmondi Lake, Lake Baikal
17. Avenue: Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, Rokey Avenue
18. Square: Rifle’s Square  
19. After possessive Case: He is my father. Why don’t you listen to your mom?
20. Days: Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
21. Months: January, February, March, April, May, June …
22. Plural Nouns: Children are happy today. There are two books on the shelf. Computers are used in many offices.   
23. Others: at home, in hand, in debt, by day, by night, at daybreak, at sunrise, at noon, at sunset, at night, at anchor, at sight, on demand, at interest, on earth, by land, by water, by river, by train, by steamer, by name, on horseback, on foot, on deck, in jest, at dinner, at ease, under ground, above ground  

Exercise – 1

1)      This is ____________ picture of ____________ elephant.

2)      Borney is reading ____________ book.

3)      Mom bought me ____________ new dress today.

4)      You will need ____________ umbrella when you go out.

5)      She eats ____________ apple a day.

6)      ____________ Bangladesh Observer is ____________ English daily.

7)      ____________ President made a speech at the conference.

8)      He can play ____________ piano.

9)      Tokyo is now ____________ largest city in ____________ world.

10)  The cow is ____________ useful animal.

11)  ____________ man is mortal.

12)  ____________ Japanese are very industrious.

13)  My ____________ uncle joined ____________ army.

14)  ____________ Punjab is a land of five rivers.

15)  My sister got her degree from ____________ UK. (United Kingdom)

16)  Mr. Mehedi serves in ____________ U.A.E (United Arab Emirates).

17)  ____________ Battle of Palassey is memorable in the history of Bangladesh.

18)  ____________ Sepoy Mutiny was against the British.

19)  ____________ more you get, ____________ more you want.

20)  He is still in ____________ hospital.

21)  Are you ready to go to ____________ market?

22)  ____________ mother is busy cooking.

23)  He came before ____________ breakfast.

24)  ____________ gold is ____________ precious metal.

25)  ____________ cats like fish.

26)  ____________ kindness is ____________ noble virtue.

27)  Nobody dislikes ____________ football.

28)  ____________ Hatiya is an island

29)  ____________ cholera is a water borne disease.

30)  ____________ Allah is Almighty

31)  ____________ Rabindranath's Geetanjalee won Nobel Prize.

Md. Saiful Alam

BA Honours and MA in English

Email: suman64924@gmail.com