Articles in English Grammar: A Complete Guide (with Rules, Charts, Tips & Exercises) – Practice Test

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📌 What Are Articles?

Articles are words used before nouns to define whether something is specific or unspecific.
They are a type of determiner and are essential in forming correct English sentences.

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🧩 Types of Articles

Type of Article	Article(s) Used	Description
Definite Article	the	Refers to something specific or already known.
Indefinite Articles	a, an	Refer to something general or non-specific.

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🔍 Usage of Articles with Examples

🔹 Indefinite Article – ‘a’

• Used before words beginning with a consonant sound.
• Example:
  • She adopted a cat.
  • He is a doctor.

🔹 Indefinite Article – ‘an’

• Used before words beginning with a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u).
• Example:
  • I saw an eagle.
  • He gave me an honest answer. (‘h’ is silent)

🔹 Definite Article – ‘the’

• Used to refer to a specific person, place, or thing.
• Also used with unique things, superlatives, rivers, mountains, and well-known institutions.
• Example:
  • The sun rises in the east.
  • She met the doctor you recommended.

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📊 Usage Chart of Articles

Usage Category	Article Used	Examples
First mention (general)	a / an	I saw a bird in the garden.
Second mention (specific)	the	The bird was building a nest.
Before unique nouns	the	The moon, the sky, the Earth
Before superlatives	the	She is the best player.
Before acronyms (based on sound)	a / an	An MBA degree, a USA tour
Before plural/general nouns	no article	Books are useful.

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🧠 Tips and Tricks to Master Articles

✅ Use “a” before consonant sounds, not just consonants.
✅ Use “an” before vowel sounds, not just vowels.
✅ Use “the” when both speaker and listener know what is being referred to.
✅ Don’t use articles before proper nouns (unless modified).
✅ Use “the” when referring to something unique or specific in the context.

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🚫 Common Errors with Articles

Incorrect Sentence	Correct Sentence
He is an European.	He is a European. (‘European’ starts with a ‘y’ sound)
I saw the elephant in the zoo. (first mention)	I saw an elephant in the zoo.
She is a honest woman.	She is an honest woman. (‘h’ is silent)

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🏁 Quick Practice Exercises

🔹 Fill in the Blanks

1. I bought ___ umbrella yesterday.
2. He is ___ honest man.
3. We visited ___ Red Fort during the trip.
4. My mother is ___ engineer.
5. She gave me ___ orange.

Answers: 1. an 2. an 3. the 4. an 5. an

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🔹 Identify and Correct the Error

1. He is a MBA graduate.
2. She adopted an dog.
3. The Mount Everest is the tallest mountain.
4. I have a idea.
5. The sun is a star.

Answers:

1. a → an
2. an → a
3. The Mount Everest → Mount Everest / the Everest
4. a → an
5. Correct

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📚 Advanced Usage Notes

• No Article with General Plural Nouns:
  ✅ Dogs are loyal. (Not The dogs unless referring to specific ones)
• With Geographical Names:
  ✅ the Himalayas, the Netherlands, the Amazon
  ❌ the India, the Mount Everest (No article with most countries and mountains)

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🎯 Who Should Learn This?

✅ Students from Classes 6 to 12
✅ Competitive exam aspirants
✅ English learners building strong sentence structures
✅ Content writers and bloggers

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📘 Conclusion

Mastering articles builds clarity and precision in your English. From “a student” to “the top student”, articles guide the reader’s understanding of what is being referred to.

✨ “Using articles correctly is a small step in writing, but a giant leap in fluency.”