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ভিডিও ক্লাস

০৭ আগস্ট, ২০২০ ০৪:২৩ অপরাহ্ণ

Article

An article is a word that is used before a noun to show whether the noun refers to something specific or not. As they are used before noun, we can call them adjectives. A, an and the are articles.

Article take their position in front of nouns or noun equivalent words. They are used before nouns to show whether the noun is definite or indefinite. Definite words take ‘the’ and indefinite words take ‘a’/ ‘an’ in front of them. The definite article tells us that the noun is specific. The indefinite article tells us that the noun is not specific. So a/an are indefinite article and the is a definite article.

Before knowing about the use of a/an/the, we should know before which types words we cannot use article. We only use article before nouns or noun equivalent words.

1.    We don’t use article before pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection.

2.    Before proper noun of person and place. Except the USA, the UK.

3.    After possessive form like my, our, your, his, her, their, it’s, Apon’s.

4.    Before the names of language, sports, subjects, types of music, meals, .

Rules about the use of a, an and the.

1.    We use a/an before any singular countable noun to talk about something for the first time.
A field, a continent, a word, a bat, a district, a box.

2.    We also use a/an to refer to something unspecified; not particular or specific.
I bought rice from a shop in the market. I live in a village.

3.    We often use an adjective after a/an before noun.
I bought a cheap ticket.
He is an honest man.

4.    a/an is used in certain exclamatory sentences that begin with ‘what’ to determine the noun of that sentence.
What an honest man he is! What a splendid picture you have drawn!

5.    Some phrases have a/an.
in a hurry, a great deal of, a good number of, at a great speed, at an early date, in a temper.

6.         a/an is used to denote likeness when a proper noun is used as common noun.
He is a Shelly of Bangladesh. You are a Nazrul I see. He is an Ernest Hemingway of India.

7.    A is used before consonant sound.
a girl, a boy, a pen, a ball, a school, a country, a teacher, a student.

8.    A is used before vowel ‘u’/‘ew’/‘eu’ when it is pronounced as ‘you’.
a university, an ewe, an European, a useful thing, a unit, a unique opportunity.

9.    A is also used before vowel ‘o’ when it is pronounced as ‘wa’.
a one-eyed man.

10.         A is used before the abbreviation word when the first letter of abbreviation pronounces as a consonant.
He is a B.A.

11.         An is used before vowel sound.
an ox, an apple, an umbrella, an orange, an ass, an independent country, an interesting film, an eye, an enemy.

12.         An is used before consonant if the first ‘h’ of a word is silent’.
an hour, an honest man, an heir.

13.         A is used before the abbreviation word when the first letter of abbreviation pronounces as a vowel.
He is an M.A.

14.    We use ‘the’ when we refer to something for the second time.

15.    We can use ‘the’ before uncountable noun.
the food, the curry.

16.    We use ‘the’ before plural nouns.
the students, the birds.

17.    We also use ‘the’ refer to something that has no alternative.
the sun, the earth, the moon

18.    The is used before singular common noun to represent the whole classes of these common nouns.
The cow, the camel, the dog, the elephant

19.    The is used to denote the name of a nation.
The Bengalis, the English, The French

20.    The is used before adjectives to mean the whole of a particular class.
The rich, the poor, the industrious, the virtuous

21.    The is placed before the superlative degree words. The adjective with ‘est’ at the end or followed by ‘most’ is superlative form.
the largest, the best, the worst, the most beautiful, the most wonderful.

22.    The is placed before an ordinal number.
the first, the second, the third,

23.    Collective nouns take ‘the’ before them when they represent a definite group of people or thing.
the crowd, the team, the flock, the mob.

24.    The is placed before adjectives to mean the particular part of things.
the yellow of an egg, the thick of the forest, the small portion of the cake, the deeper part of the Indian Ocean.

25.    The before the name of mountains, holy books, the name of a newspaper, the name of an ocean, the name of a group islands.
the Himalayas, the Alps, the holy Quran, the Geeta, the Bible, the Daily Star, The Herald Tribune, The Atlantic Ocean, The Pacific Ocean, The Indian Ocean, The Andamans, The Philippines, the West Indies.

Now let’s do an exercise:

Rajshahi is a) ------ old city. It stands on b) ---- Padma. In c) ---- village called Bausa in Rajshahi there is d) ----- man who is recognized as e) --- book lover. He is Polan Sarkar. Polan Sarker is f) ---- old man. He g) ----- buys books with his h) ----- own money. He lends villagers books. i) ---- villagers become delighted with books they borrow from Sarker. They have found that reading is j) ----- good habit.

Ans: a) an, b) the, c) a, d) a , e) a, f) an, g) × h) × i) the, j) a

 

Let’s do another exercise:

This is Asma Ahmed’s bed room. a) ---- room is very neatly made. It has b) ---- bed with pillows, cushions and c) ---- colorful flowery bed-cover. There’s d) ----- rug in front of e) ------ bed with another big cushion. f) ----- excellent painting of the sea is hanging from the wall while another small painting is kept on the top of g) ------ right side-table. The room has h) ---- rocking chair and i) ---- sofa at j) ---- left corner.

a. the, b. a, c. a, d. a, e. the, f. an, g. the, h. a, i. a, j. the.