Grade 6, English Olympiad (CBSE) - Articles 

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Grade 6  |   English  |   Articles, Articles and Punctuation, Olympiad, CBSE, ICSE, Maths Olympiad, Science Olympiad, English Olympiad

Articles

An article is a word which is used with and give some information about the noun about its definiteness.

There are 2 types of articles:

1. Definite articles: Definite articles means that noun being referred is unique and identifieable to the person who is talking and to the person who is listening.

We use "the" to denote a definite article.

Rules:

1. When we speak about things which are unique in this world we use "the". E.g. the earth, the sun, the moon.
2. When we speak about holy books, rivers, seas, mountains, oceans and group or kingdom of countries. E.g. the Ramayana, the Gita, the Bible
3. With superlative degree. E.g. He is the best dancer in our class.
4. With historical monuments. E.g. The Taj Mahal.
5. With the names of newspapers. E.g. The times of India.
6. To speak about someone who has been referred in the previous sentence.
7. To speak about something who is unique with reference to time, position or place.
   
   E.g.
   Narendra Modi is the prime minister of India.
   The car in my neighbouring house has broken down.
   He lost the first bag.

2. Indefinite articles:

 Indefinite articles refer to an object which is not specific and the listener is not able to identify it particularly.

We use "a" or "an" before a noun to indicate indefinite article.

"a" is used with words starting with a consonant sound.

E.g. A dog, a cow.

Tricky usage: a university and not an university because "university" has the starting sound as "yu".

"an" is used with words starting with a vowel sound. 

E.g. An apple, An umbrella.

Tricky usage: An M.A., An honest man, An hour etc.

IMP: Zero articles

When an article is not required we call it zero article.
Zero article is used :
1) with proper nouns
2) with means of transport
3) with the common expression of time and place.
E.g. at midnight, at office
4) With common nouns when we refer to a group generally e.g. Frogs are amphibians.
5) With the name of the cities and countries. If we refer to a group of countries or kingdom of a country then "the" is used. e.g. The United States of America, The Kingdom of Bahrain etc.
6) With material noun when they are used in general sense like gold is precious."

Exception: If we refer to a group of countries or kingdom of a country then "the" is used. e.g. The United States of America, The Kingdom of Bahrain etc.

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