Grammar Essentials (Handbook)

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Articles (a, an, the, zero article) and determiners

⏱ 6 min read🧩 7 question types🎯 12 practice Q

The idea in one minute

Articles are the small words a, an and the. Choose a or an by the first sound of the next word, not by its spelling. Use the for a particular or unique thing. Some nouns take no article at all. Small words like few, little, each and every are determiners and also decide marks.

A or an: go by the first sound

Use an (vowel sound)	Use a (consonant sound)
an hour, an honest man, an heir, an honour	a university, a unit, a European, a useful tip
an MLA, an MBA, an SP, an X-ray, an LLB	a one-day match, a one-way street, a ewe, a union
an FIR, an NGO, an 8-year-old	a U-turn, a uniform, a hotel (the h is sounded)

Letters whose names start with a vowel sound: A, E, F, H, I, L, M, N, O, R, S, X. So we say an F-grade, an M.Sc., an S-bend.

Tip: Say the next word aloud. University begins with the sound "yu", so use a. Hour begins with a vowel sound, so use an.

When to use a or an

First mention of one countable thing: I saw a cat.
A job or class: She is a doctor.
A rate: 60 km an hour, twice a week, Rs 50 a kilo.
Fixed phrases: what a sight, such a fool, quite a crowd, half an hour, a few, a little, a lot of, in a hurry, as a rule, at a loss.

When to use the

Use	Example
Already mentioned or specific	I bought a pen. The* pen leaks.*
Unique things	the sun, the moon, the sky, the earth
Superlatives and ordinals	the best, the first, the last, the only, the same
Rivers, seas, oceans, canals, gulfs	the Ganga, the Arabian Sea, the Suez Canal
Mountain ranges, island groups, deserts	the Himalayas, the Andamans, the Thar
Holy books, epics, newspapers, famous buildings	the Gita, the Ramayana, the Hindu, the Taj Mahal
Countries with plural names or Republic, Union, States	the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, the Maldives
Musical instruments	She plays the* sitar.*
Adjective for a whole class	the rich, the poor, the blind
A whole species	The tiger is a national animal.
Double comparative	The more you read, the better you write.
A proper noun used as a common noun	Kalidas is the* Shakespeare of India.*
Directions	in the* north* (but go north)

When to use no article

Names of people, cities, most countries, single mountains and single lakes: Mount Everest, Lake Chilika, India.
Languages and school subjects: He speaks Hindi. Physics is hard.
Meals, games and most diseases: have lunch, play cricket, suffer from malaria. But: a heavy lunch, the flu, a cold.
General abstract and material nouns: Honesty is the best policy. Gold is costly. But: the gold of Kolar.
Man meaning mankind: Man is mortal.
School, church, hospital, prison, bed, college used for their main purpose: go to school. But: went to the school to meet the principal.
Fixed phrases: by bus, by train, at night, next week, last year, by chance, in time.

Determiners

Word	Goes with	Note
each	singular, a group of two or more	each side of the road
every	singular, three or more as a whole	every student
some / any	some: positive and offers; any: negative and questions	Would you like some tea?
much / little / less	uncountable	much time, less water
many / few / fewer	countable plural	many books, fewer errors

Few / a few and little / a little: few and little mean hardly any. A few and a little mean some. He is new here and has few friends.

Question types you will see

Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.

Type 1very common4 practice Q

A or an by first sound

How to spot it:

The blank sits before a word whose spelling and sound disagree: hour, honest, heir, university, European, one-, MLA, X-ray.

Method

Say the next word aloud.
Catch its first sound.
Vowel sound: an. Consonant sound: a.
Reject the option chosen by spelling.

Why it works:

The rule is about sound, and the exam words are a small fixed set.

Try this

She is ___ MLA from Bihar. (an / a / the / one)

Show solution

'MLA' is said 'em-el-ay'.
It starts with a vowel sound.
Use 'an'.

Answer

Type 2very common3 practice Q

Compulsory the

How to spot it:

The blank comes before a unique thing, a superlative, a river or range, a direction or a second mention.

Method

Check the triggers: unique, superlative, second mention, geographical name, direction, adjective for a class.
If one fires, choose the.
If none fires, think of a, an or no article.

Why it works:

'The' marks one specific thing, and each trigger names such a thing.

Try this

___ Ganga is a holy river. (The / A / An / No article)

Show solution

'Ganga' is a river.
River names take 'the'.

Answer

The

Type 3common2 practice Q

Zero article traps

How to spot it:

An article sits before a language, a meal, a purpose-building, or 'man' meaning mankind.

Method

Ask: is the noun used for its purpose (go to school means to study)?
Languages, meals and mankind take no article.
In a divided sentence, the part with the wrong article is the error.

Why it works:

Nouns used for their purpose behave like general ideas, not like particular places.

Try this

The man is mortal. Improve the sentence.

Show solution

'Man' here means the human race.
The human race takes no article.
Correct: 'Man is mortal'.

Answer

Man is mortal

Type 4common2 practice Q

Few / a few, little / a little

How to spot it:

The blank sits before a countable plural (friends, days) or an uncountable noun (time, hope), and the options are few, a few, little, a little.

Method

Countable plural: few family. Uncountable: little family.
Read the feeling: positive means some, so a few or a little.
Negative means almost none, so few or little.
Match the option.

Why it works:

The small word 'a' turns 'hardly any' into 'some'.

Try this

Give me ___ time to think; I am almost done. (a little / little / the little / a few)

Show solution

'Time' is uncountable.
'Almost done' is positive: you need some time.
Use 'a little'.

Answer

a little

Type 5common

Article before a rate or a fixed phrase

How to spot it:

The sentence has a rate (per hour, per week) or a phrase like in a hurry, as a rule, what a sight.

Method

Spot the rate or the fixed phrase.
Rates and these phrases use a or an.
Check the sound of the next word for a or an.

Why it works:

These are fixed phrases with the article built in.

Try this

The car travels at 60 km ___ hour. (a / an / the / no article)

Show solution

A rate takes 'a' or 'an'.
'Hour' starts with a vowel sound.
Use 'an'.

Answer

Type 6common

Geographical names

How to spot it:

The blank comes before a river, sea, mountain range, island group, desert, lake, single peak or city.

Method

Ask: is it plural, water or a chain?
If yes, use the.
If it is one peak, one lake, a city or most countries, use no article.

Why it works:

English marks groups, chains and water bodies with 'the' and single places without it.

Try this

We trekked in ___ Himalayas last summer. (the / a / no article)

Show solution

The Himalayas are a mountain range.
A range takes 'the'.

Answer

the

Type 7occasional

Each, every, some, any

How to spot it:

The blank comes before a noun and the options are each, every, some, any.

Method

Each: one of two or more, seen one by one. Every: all of three or more.
Some: positive sentences and offers. Any: negatives and questions.
Match the option to the sentence type.

Why it works:

Determiners also have fixed jobs by sentence type.

Try this

Would you like ___ tea? (some / any)

Show solution

This is an offer.
Offers take 'some'.

Answer

some

Shortcuts that save time

⚡ Say it aloud

For a or an, whisper the next word. A vowel sound (on-est, em-el-ay, ex-ray) needs an. A y or w sound (you-niversity, won-day) needs a.

Example

He is ___ one-eyed man and ___ honest worker. (a / an)

Show solution

'One' sounds like 'won', a consonant sound: a one-eyed man.
'Honest' sounds like 'on-est': an honest worker.

Answer

a, an

⚡ The geography rule of thumb

Plural names, water and chains take the: the Alps, the Ganga, the Indian Ocean, the Andamans. A single peak, a single lake, a city or most countries take no article: Mount Abu, Lake Dal, Delhi, Nepal.

Mistakes to avoid

Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.

Mistake 01

Choosing a or an by spelling: an university, a hour, an European.

Go by sound: a university, an hour, a European.

Mistake 02

Using the with meals, games and languages: play the cricket, the English is easy.

Leave out the: play cricket, English is easy.

Mistake 03

Dropping the before superlatives or same and only.

Use the: the best, the same, the only.

Mistake 04

Using the with a single mountain or lake: the Mount Everest.

Use no article: Mount Everest.

Mistake 05

Leaving out a in rates and fixed phrases: twice week, in hurry.

Write: twice a week, in a hurry.

Quick revision

Read this the night before the exam.

an hour, an MLA, an honest man; a university, a European, a one-rupee coin.
the: second mention, unique things, superlatives, rivers, ranges, directions, the + adjective.
no article: languages, meals, games, most diseases, man (mankind), general plurals.
go to school, church, hospital, bed: no article when used for their purpose.
few, little = hardly any; a few, a little = some.
each: two or more; every: three or more as a whole.

Practice: 12 questions

Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.

Topic test · 12 questions

Suggested time 5 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.

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