Articles:

If you want to say about ANY item, you should use the articles A / An. If you
want to say about a SPECIFIC item, you should use the article THE.

A : A European, A One Eyed beggar, A University, A Useful Website

An: An hour, An Honest Man, An honorable person, an M.P, an NRI. an S.D.O

Name of professions: a teacher

Expression of quantity: a lot of, a couple of , a great many, a dozen, a great deal of
A salman khan is suspected by the police. – a certain name
Common noun of a proper noun: A Daniel came to judgment. A Daniel – a wise man
With certain numbers: a hundred, a thousand, a half dozen

A / an should not be used in front of the uncountable noun but there are some exceptions
An average, an interest, a warning, a short time, a temper, a wrong use of, a good guess at, a
headache, a pain, a cold, a cough, a bath, a drink, a talk, a rest, a walk, a meal, a bear, a shame, a
shave, a conservation, a good education, a knowledge, a diagram, a rule, a sleep, a dream, a
quarrel, a chat, a fight, a swim, a ride, a bad day, a disagreement, a try, a go, a mistake, a hurry, a
wrong use of

Omission a or an:
a) Before Plural noun
b) Before proper noun
c) To show a single item of uncountable noun – a cup of milk, a bottle of tea
d) Before name of the meals except adjective usage
e) Double expressions – with wife and fork, with hat and folk, from top to bottom

The Definite Article:

I like the book – a particular book
The cow is a useful animal. Cows are a useful animal.
Before the names of certain material noun: the water of the ganges

Before superlative forms: The Tallest

Before double comparatives

✔ The higher you go, the colder you gets
✔ The harder you work, thebetter rank you get in Bank
✔The more you earn, the more you want
When the comparison is between the two and either of the subjects is Highlighted
Ex:
✔ Sachin is the greater of the two cricketers
Note :
☓ Sachin is the greater than lara

The Alexander, the great Manmohan Singh, the prime minister etc
Before musical instruments
The Guitar,The Tabla,The voilin etc
Before rank or title:
The captain, the chairman
With newspaper / organization / community
Before name of the political parties, armed forces, physical positions (thel toop)
With appositions – Modi, the prime minister
With the branch of the government
Before a Proper noun when used as a Common noun
Nelson mandela is The Gandhi of South Africa
Kalidasa is The Shakespeare of India
Before some adjectives to make them nouns
The Blind, The Dead, The Rich, The Poor,
Usage :
The doctor restored sight to the blind (Here
there is no need to mention "The Blind Person" because, the term Blind itself
represents the Blind person, so it’s the adjective which is used as the noun.)
The rich should not mock at the poor
✔ Jesus rose from the Dead
☓ Jesus rose from Dead
Before some Languages, to make them PEOPLE.
☓ English ruled over India for many Years
✔ The English Ruled over India for Many Years
When a noun's quality is STRESSED
☓ We cannot remove warrior in him
✔ We cannot remove the warriorin him
☓ Mother in her aroused when she saw a Crying Baby
✔ The mother in her aroused when she saw a Crying Baby

Before Ordinal numbers

The First, The Third, The Tenth, etc

Before the names of Oceans, Seas, Rivers, Canals, Deserts, Groups of Mountains and Groups of
Islands
Note : Dont use "The" for single mountain or single Island (That’s the reason why we've
underlined these two statements)
Ex :
✔ The Pacific, ✔ The Red Sea ✔ The Sahara ✔ The Himalayas
Usage :

☓ Kolkata is on the banks of the River Hoogli

✔ Kolkata is on the banks of river Hoogli
✔ Kolkata is on the banks of the Hoogli river

Before the names of the Things, which are unique in nature

The Sun, The moon, The Sky,
Before the names of Planets and Satellites
The Mars, The Earth

Before Holy Books: The Ramayana, The Quran, The Bible

Note :
Little clarification for those people who confuses between the words Planet and
Satellites
Planets rotates around the Sun
Satellites rotates around Planets
In apposition, when name precedes the position (Important)
Manmohan singh, the prime minister is on a two day tour to srilanka.

Before the names of News Papers

The Indian Express, The Hindu etc
Before the names of some countries
The U.S.A, The UAE, The Netherlands, The Congo etc

Rule 1 : The indefinite article 'A' should be used before the word 'Half' when it
follows a whole number.
I stayed in Madras for one and half years. ☓
I stayed in Madras for one and a half years. ✔

Rule 2 : The definite article 'THE' should be used with a comparative adjective if the phrase 'of
the two' is used.
She is better of the two sisters . ☓
She is the better of the two sisters. ✔
This is the best of the two books. ☓
This is the better of the two books. ✔

Rule 3 : With the names of meals such as Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner / Supper,
no article should be used in a general way except in particular causes.
I have the breakfast at 8 hrs in the morning ☓
I have breakfast at 8 hrs in the morning ✔

Rule 4 : The + Positive Adjective represent the whole class, and take a plural verb.
The rich is responsible for the lawlessness in the country.☓
The rich are responsible for the lawlessness in the country. ✔
Say 'The poor are / The young are / The old are' etc....

Rule 5 : After Di-Transitive Verbs like Elect / Make / Appoint, articles should
not be used except when they are used as Mono transitive verbs.
We appointed him a chairman.☓
We appointed him chairman ✔
We made him a leader ☓
We made him leader. ✔
The Govt. has appointed a Committee (mono transitive)
(As a mono transitive verb)

Rule 6 : After type of / kind of / sort of / post of / title of / rank of / articles are
not used.
He is not that sort of a man. ☓
He is not that soft of man. ✔
He was promoted to the rank of a General manager. ☓
He was promoted to the rank of General manager. ✔

Difference between the other and another:

The other – specific and another – any other
This knife is dull. Please give me another one. (not specific)
This knife is dull. Please give me the other one. (specific)
This cake is delicious. Other ones are delicious also. (not specific)
These apples are bad. I want the other ones. (specific)

Articles:
1. Let us have a dinner. A or An is not used before: Names of the meal Ans: Let us have
dinner.
2. She gave me a good breakfast at 8 a.m. No error
An indefinite article can be used before names of meals when these are preceded by an
adjective.
3. Ranjini can play piano very well. Ans: ‘the’ should be used before the musical instruments
4. All the students of first year are invited. Ans: ‘The’ should be used before ‘only’ and ordinal
numbers, such first, second, millionth etc. and adjectives of number.
5. He is only one in the class who got selected for Google.
Ans: ‘The’ should be used before ‘only’ and ordinal numbers, such first, second, millionth
etc. and adjectives of number.
6. This is the novel, I am talking about. (not any novel, but a particular novel)
7. Ornaments are made of the gold.
Before an abstract noun or a material if it is used with an adjunct (a qualifying clause) (or
when there is a particular reference to the material noun)
Ans: Ornaments are made of gold.
8. The gold you have brought from the U.S.A. is good quality. No error
9. The Gold is a precious metal. ‘the’ should not be used before material noun.
10. Nalini is more beautiful of the two girls in the class.
Before an adjective in the comparative degree, when the selection of one out of only
two persons.
Ans:Nalini is the more beautiful of the two girls in the class.
11. I bought these onions Five rupees kilo.
If we want to say something about speed or price, then ‘a’ or ‘an’ is used.
Ans:I bought these onions Five rupees a kilo.
12. He is actor (a or an must be used for noun complement which includes professions)
Ans: He is an actor.
13. He is M.Com graduate.
 an abbreviation, the first letter of which is ‘M’
an M.L.A., an M.P., an M.Com an S.D.O and F.R.C.S., an X-mas gift etc.
Ans: He is an M.Com graduate.
14. The historians study old monuments for research purposes.
Before plural nouns which are used to denote a class, should not use ‘the’.
15. This is most unfortunate event.
Before the word ‘most’ when it is used in the sense of very or much or exceedingly, a is
used. Ans: This is a most unfortunate event.
16. He is a Mr.Ram. No error if the speaker does not know him.
17. Ram is Newton of our class.
Before a proper noun to make it a common noun, A is used. Ans: Ram is a Newton of our
class.
18. Kindly provide an information. Ans: Kindly provide information.
19. Don’t strike her on head.
20. I got some great idea when I am on the bus. (No error)
We use "the” when we talk about some kinds of things that are part of everybody's lives.
Here "the bus" does not mean 'one bus that you know about'. We use "the" to suggest
that taking a bus is a common experience that we all share.
21. Do you sing in bath?
Ans: Do you sing in the bath?
22. I've stopped reading the newspaper because it’s too depressing. No error
23. Nurses mostly work very hard. No error
24. Nurses have never gone on strike.
When we generalize about members of a group, we use no article. If we talk about the group "as
a whole" as if it is a well known unit, we use "the".
Ans: The nurses have never gone on strike.
25. Stars vary greatly in size. No error
26. Stars are really bright tonight.
Ans: The stars are really bright tonight.
27. The sincerity pays dividends.
We should not use ‘the’ before an abstract noun in a general sense.
Ans: Sincerity pays dividends.
28. It's difficult for the railways to make a profit.
Ans: it is difficult for railways to make a profit (any railways).
29. The railways are getting more and more unreliable. No error
30. I want the Reddy who signed the letter. No error
The + singular noun + clause or phrase can be used to distinguish one person from
another of the same name.
31. The higher you go, the cooler you feel. No error ( in special comparatives)
32. Gandhiji, the father of the nation, lead a simple and truthful life. No error
33. Father is very angry today. No error
Before the words - father, mother, aunt, uncle etc. in general sense. But if these words are
used with reference to the society, nation, religion etc. use of ‘the’ is compulsory.
34. Shall we go to Andamans? Ans:Shall we go to the Andamans?
35. I love to stay at the Sahara or the Alps. No error
36. They are the Burmese. No error
With certain adjectives indicating nationality. The spanish means spanish people
37. The students are playing in garden.
When it is clear from the context that a particular person, place or thing is meant.
Ans: The students are playing in the garden.
38. The woman is kindhearted generally.
The is omitted before a common noun used in the widest sense
Ans: Woman is kindhearted generally.