ARTICLES

a, an and the

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 Article “a” is used with singular
countable nouns beginning with a
consonant.
a cat a knot a sharp knife
a dog a lamb a tall building
a feather a monster a vest
a giant a nest a whale
a house a policewoman a xylophone set
a jug a queen a yacht
a rabbit

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Article “a” can be used with singular
noun phrases.
a short fat cat
a very expensive sports car
a quiet evening
a fierce tiger
a grammar lesson
a sour lemon
a heavily-decorated birthday cake
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 Article “a” can also be used with
collective nouns.
• a school of fish
• a board of directors
• a band of musicians
• a troop of monkeys
• a jar of cookies
• a string of pearls
• a row of spectators

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 Article “an” is used with singular
countable nouns beginning with
vowels.
an apple an artist an igloo
an aeroplane an elephant an oar
an article an egg an oak tree
an artichoke an ice-cream an omelet
an umbrella

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 WATCH OUT..!
Use article “an” for these Use article “a” for these
words with “silent H”. words with invisible
consonant.

an hour a university student

an honest child a unit
a union

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 Article “an” can also be used with
singular noun phrases.

• an interesting ghost story

• an overly-sized wedding gown
• an unacceptable answer
• an instant cake batter
• an elaborate design

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Article “the” is used to refer back to
the noun IF the noun is mentioned
for the second time.

• Marina is eating an ice-cream. She bought the

ice-cream from Ah Pek’s shop.
• Here is a pencil. The pencil was on the floor. Is it
the pencil you were looking for?

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Article “the” is also used on unique
objects.
• the sun
• the earth UNIVERSAL TRUTHS ITEMS

• the north
• the south
• the moon Example:
The sun rises in the east.

There isn’t any other sun that rises

in the east for our planet, that’s why
we say ‘the sun’ is a universal truth item.

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 Article “the” is also used on
superlative adjectives.
“Anita is tall, but Zainab is taller than her,”
Arman said.
“But, Mr. Shaarudin is the tallest in our class,”
Jason replied.
“Mr. Shaarudin is our class teacher. We are only
eight years old, he’s an adult. Of course he’s
the tallest!” Arman replied.

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Superlatives with “the”
the biggest the least expensive
the thinnest the least beautiful
the craziest the least handsome
the prettiest the most creative
the loudest the most intelligent
the simplest the most hardworking

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