Articles Examples List with Answers
An article is a word that combines with a noun/s and helps to determine whether a noun in any sentence or phrase is specific or general. Example: After the long tiring day, the cup of tea refreshed the mind and body.
In this sentence, the use of the article ‘the’ specifies the day that was tiring and that one particular cup of tea that refreshed the body and mind.
Articles Examples List with Answers
Rules of Articles PDF:-
What are the Types of Articles in English Grammar?
There are two types of articles in English, Definite article (The) and Indefinite article (A, An).
Definite Article examples:
- He threw the ball in the well.
- I saw the thieves stealing jewels.
- Where are the notes I shared with you yesterday?
Indefinite Article Example:
- She wore a pretty pink dress.
- I saw tigers in a zoo.
- He is not as good as an actor.
- An apple a day builds immunity.
Rules of Articles With Examples
The rules of articles (a, an, the) given below are divided based on the types of articles.
Rule 1 – The very basic rule of the article says that the article ‘the’ is used before a singular or plural noun, which is specific. It indicates a particular thing/s or person/s in case of a common noun.
Example:
The teacher she spoke to at the exhibition was very rude.
He lost all the money borrowed from the lender.
Rule 2 – Article ‘The’ is used when the listener knows what the speaker is talking about.
Example:
The mangoes you kept in the refrigerator last night do not taste good.
Did you complete all the homework?
Rule3 – ‘The’ is used to generalize the whole class or group.
Example:
The honest are respected.
The beggars are not always needy.
Rule 4 – ‘The’ is used for geographical points on the globe.
Example: The north pole and the south pole can never meet.
Rule 5 – ‘The’ is used for the nouns that cannot be counted.
Example:
The water in the Pacific ocean is freezing.
Two robbers stole all the money from the bank.
Rule 6 – ‘The’ is used with geographical nouns, depending on the size and plurality of the noun. ‘The’ must precede the names of oceans, rivers, group of islands, lakes, mountains, countries with United States or islands, etc.
Example:
The Ganga is a holy river.
The English Channel is the longest river channel.
However, ‘the’ must not precede the following–
- Names of continents, like Asia, South America, etc
- Names of countries, states or streets like Alaska, Bolivia, New town street, etc.
- Names of Single lakes, mountains, islands or bays, like Chilika Lake, Hudson Bay, etc.
- Names of languages like Spanish, French, etc.
- Names of Sports such as basketball, cricket, football, etc.
- Names of subjects like Economics, Mathematics, History, etc.
Rule 7 – ‘The’ is mandatorily used for things that are only one of a kind in the universe.
Example:
The Sun and the Moon shine bright in the sky.
The planet earth looks beautiful from space.
Rule 8 – ‘The’ does not mean all.
Example:
The books are my favourite (not all the books, just the books talked about)
Books are my favourite (all the books, in general, are favourites)
You can download the Articles Examples List in PDF format using the link given below.