 GRAMMER :-

Have you ever been wondering what part of speech the articles belong to? Do you think
they are pronouns, adverbs or adjectives? Well, this article will help you with all that
you need to know. Learn what articles are, their definition, types, how to use them, and
uses, along with examples. Also, try out the practice questions given to check how far
you have understood the same.

Table of Contents
 What is an Article?

 Definition of an Article

 Types of Articles in English

 Definite Article

 Indefinite Article

 Usage and Exceptions – Points to be Remembered When Using Articles

 Examples of Articles
 Check Your Understanding of Articles
 Frequently Asked Questions on Articles in English Grammar

What is an Article?
An article is a short monosyllabic word that is used to define if the noun is specific or
not. Articles are normally used before nouns and since they are used to speak about the
noun, they can be considered as adjectives.
Look at how various dictionaries define an article to have a much clearer idea of what
they are.

Definition of an Article
An article, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is defined as “any of a small
set of words or affixes (such as a, an, and the) used with nouns to limit or give
definiteness to the application.” According to the Collins Dictionary, “an article is a kind
of determiner. In English, ‘a’ and ‘an’ are called the indefinite article, and ‘the’ is called
the definite article.” The Macmillan Dictionary defines an article as “a type of
determiner (=word used before a noun) that shows whether you are referring to a
particular thing or to a general example of something. The indefinite article is ‘a’ or ‘an’
and the definite article is ‘the’.”
Types of Articles
There are three articles in English – ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’. These articles are divided into
two types namely:

 Definite Article
 Indefinite Article

Definite Article
Among the three articles, ‘the’ is said to be the definite article. A definite article is used
to determine something that is specific or particular. It is also used before plural
nouns and to indicate the superlative degree of comparison. Furthermore, it can be
used before collective nouns as well.
For example:

 The Sun sets in the west.

In the above sentence, the nouns ‘Sun’ and ‘west’ are proper nouns and are specific and
so the definite article has to be used.

 The children are playing cricket.

In the above sentence, the definite article is used to determine the plural noun,
‘children’.

 This is the world’s longest river.

In the above sentence, the definite article is used to denote the superlative degree of
comparison.

 The crowd sang along with the band.

In the above sentence, the definite article is used before the collective nouns, ‘crowd’
and ‘band’.

Indefinite Article
The articles ‘an’ and ‘an’ are termed as indefinite articles. An indefinite article, as the
name suggests, is used to indicate something that is not definite or specific. It can also
be used before singular nouns.
Among the indefinite articles, ‘an’ is used before singular nouns that start with vowel
sounds and ‘a’ is used before singular nouns that begin with consonant sounds.
For example:

 I had an apple for breakfast.

 Do you have an eraser?
 I saw an aeroplane.
 She has a pet dog.
 My father is a doctor.
  My brother gave me a calculator.

Usage and Exceptions – Points to be

Remembered When Using Articles
Articles are used extensively by English language users, and for this very reason, it is
important to know where and where not to use them. In order to have a thorough
knowledge of how to use the right articles in the right places, have a look at the
following.

A or An?
The article ‘an’ is normally used before words that begin with vowel sounds. However,
this is often confused with the idea that it can be used before words that start with a
vowel. Look at the examples given below to understand how this works.


 I have an umbrella.

 This is an orange.

 An elephant was crossing the road.

If you see here, the words ‘university’ and ‘unique’ start with a vowel. However, it does
not have a vowel sound but a consonant sound ‘yu’ in the beginning. It is because of
this reason that the indefinite article, ‘a’ is used instead of ‘an’.


 Studying in a university will give you a lot of exposure.

 This is a unique way of communicating with birds.

In the examples given below, ‘an’ is used before ‘MBA’ and ‘hour’ though they are
words starting with consonants. This is because the word ‘MBA’ starts with ‘m’ which
has a vowel sound (em) in the beginning. Likewise, the ‘h’ in the word ‘hour’ is silent,
thus having a vowel sound in the beginning.


 I have completed an MBA degree.

 It took an hour to reach the airport.

Exceptions
Words starting with a vowel, but use ‘a’ instead of ‘an’:

 One
 University
  Unique
 Uniform
 Unit
 Eucalyptus
 Utensil
 Euro
 UFO
Words starting with a consonant, but use ‘an’ instead of ‘a’.

 Hour
 Honest
 Hourly
 MBA
 MBBS
 MA
 MSc
 MMR
 MCom
 MLA
 NCC
 Honorary
 X-ray
 Xmas

Examples of Articles
Let us look at a few more examples to find out how articles can be used.

 The English teacher is absent today.

 I saw a bird sitting on the tree in front of my house.
 Not many know how to use an oven properly.
 Tom has a cat.
 We are going to buy a dress for our daughter.
 Carry an umbrella. I am sure it will rain.
 Keren found a puppy on the road.
 The parents have been asked to attend a meeting tomorrow.
 The committee has decided to bring down the fuel rates.
 Due to a hartal, the shops have been closed.
  She placed the plates on the dining table.
 Baskar found the cat hiding under the bed.
 Will you be with Raimy or Mazeeka?
 I love sitting on the beach at night.
 Rachel met Phoebe by the lake.
 Finn stood opposite Lisa.
 The grocery store is right in front of the bus stop.
 My brother climbed onto the roof.
 It feels great to sit beneath the trees and read.
Now that you know what prepositions are and how they are used in sentences, try
working out preposition exercises, preposition of time exercises, preposition exercises
for class 10, preposition exercises for class 7 and preposition exercises for class 8.

List of Most Popular Prepositions for Everyday

Communication
Examples of Prepositions

On At In Over

Aroun Throug Opposite In front

d h to of

Behin Beneat Beside Above

d h

Below Under Undernea Down

th

Up Out With Into

Onto Across After Before

Near Amon Along Betwee

g n
 Towar Away From To
d

 She did not like the food, yet she ate it.
 I will be leaving tomorrow so I am trying to finish all the pending assignments.

List of Most Commonly Used Conjunctions in Daily

Communication
Given below is a list of most commonly used conjunctions that you can use in your daily
communication.

Examples of Conjunctions

And Or Nor

But Yet So

Because Still For

Not only…but also As When

While As soon as If

Unless In case In addition to

Whereas Though Although

Until Before After

Even if Rather than So that

Either…or As if Neither…or

Both…and Whether…or Or else

Table of Contents
 The Sentence Types in English Grammar
 The Four Different Types of Sentences
 Frequently Asked Questions on the Types of Sentences

The Sentence Types in English Grammar

The English language gives every learner the liberty to make good use of the language
in the best possible way. Using different types of sentences will make your speech or
writing sound and look well-structured and aid you in getting your thoughts and ideas
across to your target audience in a clear and effective manner. This will also allow you
to express your emotions and let your readers experience what you want them to
experience.

The Four Different Types of Sentences

There are four different kinds of sentences in English grammar and they are as follows:
Declarative or Assertive Sentence – A declarative or assertive sentence is a sentence
that is informative and ends with a period or a full stop.
Examples:

 I like fantasy novels.

 There is a white house around the corner.
Imperative Sentence – An imperative sentence is a sentence that expresses a
command, an order, or a request.
Examples:

 Please pick up the notes when you come.

 Close the door.
Interrogative Sentence – An interrogative sentence is one that is used to question
something and it ends with a question mark.
Examples:

 What is the name of the movie you were watching?

 Can I come with you to the book fair?
Exclamatory Sentence – An exclamatory sentence is one which is used to express
sudden and strong emotions, and it ends with an exclamation mark. You can also
use interjections to form exclamatory sentences.
Examples:

 Wow, how good this is!

 That was a great match!
Also explore: Simple Sentences│Compound Sentences│Complex Sentence│Simple
English Sentences│Sentence Structure

Frequently Asked Questions on the Types of

Sentences

What are the types of sentences in English?

The different types of sentences in English are:

 Declarative Sentence
 Imperative Sentence
 Interrogative Sentence
 Exclamatory Sentence

Give some examples of the different types of

sentences.
Given below are a few examples of the different types of sentences.


 Declarative Sentence – This is my house.

They are my parents.


 Imperative Sentence – Come home as soon as you finish the dance

practice.
Please lend me a pen.


 Interrogative Sentence – When are you going to the park?

Where is the attendance register?


 Exclamatory Sentence – Oh, what a beautiful dress!

What a wonderful day!
English Tenses
To improve your knowledge and usage of tenses, there are just a few things you have to
keep in mind. Take a look at the following points.

 Keep a clear mind. Be ready to unlearn and relearn.

 Understand what tenses are and how they are used.
 There are particular patterns in which each tense is conjugated. The whole
process would become a lot easier if you try to identify the patterns and
understand them. For example, the continuous tense takes a helping verb and
verb in the present participle form (verb+ ing).
 Go through as many examples as you can find. Practice as much as you can, and
you will know how exactly each tense works out in different contexts.
 There are, of course, a few exceptions. You just have to go through them keenly
and apply them. It will surely take time, but you will be able to master it with
your determination and continuous effort.
 Above all, there is one thing that you should add to your list of to-do things. Read
books (anything that is informative and interests you), watch movies, videos or
even series. Without even your knowledge, you will be able to develop your
vocabulary and learn so many different sentence structures that use various
tense forms.

Frequently Asked Questions on Verb Tenses in

English

What is tense?
In the English language, the word ‘tense’ is used to denote a characteristic of the verb
in a sentence. The tense of a verb is used to depict the particular time in which a
specific or event is taking place.

What is the definition of a tense?

According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, the term ‘tense’ is defined as “any of the
forms of a verb that may be used to show the time of the action or state expressed by
the verb.” The Merriam-Webster Dictionary provides a slightly different definition.
According to it, the word ‘tense’ is defined as “a distinction of form in a verb to express
distinctions of time or duration of the action or state it denotes.” “The tense of a verb
group is its form, which usually shows whether you are referring to past, present, or
future time”, according to the Collins Dictionary, and the Cambridge Dictionary defines
‘tense’ as ”any of the forms of a verb which show the time at which an action
happened.”

What are the 12 different English tenses?

The twelve tenses in English are as follows:
 Simple Present Tense
 Present Continuous Tense
 Present Perfect Tense
 Present Perfect Continuous Tense
 Simple Past Tense
 Past Continuous Tense
 Past Perfect Tense
 Past Perfect Continuous Tense
 Simple Future Tense
 Future Continuous Tense
 Future Perfect Tense
 Future Perfect Continuous Tense