Indefinite Definite

A/AN THE A book (any one book) The book (a particular book)

An inkpot (any one inkpot) The inkpot (a particular inkpot)

An apple/An IAS/An umbrella

An x-ray/An idea

The (apple/IAS/umbrella/x-

ray/idea)…specific.

A European/A useful idea/A

university/A year

The (European/useful

idea/university/year)…specific.

A hotel/An ear/An MP/AN

MLA

The (hotel/ear/MP/MLA)

An NCC officer The NCC officer

Conclusion

A/An/The can be used before any common/countable noun, A/An for

singularity and the for specificity.

Fixed rules of article The: There are a number of things before which article

“the” is used as a fixed rule or general acceptance.

Chapter 2: ARTICLE S

At least these rules should be taken into account...

The used before… Omitted before….

Himalayas/Alps (chain of mountains)

Proper Nouns (Ram/ Shyam/ India etc.)

Superlative Adjectives (best/most/intelligent)

Abstract Nouns (Honesty/charity/mercy)

Rivers (Ganga/Nile)

Asia (continents)

Oceans (Pacific/Indian)

Countries (India/Pakistan)

Heavenly bodies (Earth/Moon/Stars )

States (UP/Bihar)

Deserts (Sahara/Thar)

Localities (Hazaratganj/ civil lines)

Revolutions (Freedom struggle/French revolution)

Names of seasons (summer/winter/autmn/spring)

Dynasties (Mughal/Slave)

Names of diseases/medical conditions (Flu/Anxiety/Coma/Death)

Musical Instruments (Table/Guitar)

Names of conditions (illness/life/old age/absence/ presence)

Ordinals (1st/2nd)

Names of metals(gold/copper/iron)

Names of countries with union states(USA/USSR/UAE/UK)

In general/universal sense (society/man/woman) Man is mortal. Society has corruption.

Bay/gulfs (The bay of Bengal/Gulf of Mexico)

Individual peaks(Mt. Everest/Mt. Abu)

Imaginary lines dividing the globe (The equator/The tropic of Capricorn)

Geographical directions(the east/the west)

Religious books/epics (The Veda /The Geeta/The Mahabaharata etc.) The branches of Government (The executive/legislature etc.)

Historical monuments (The Taj/The Lal kila)

The + NOUN + of + NOUN (The Bay of Bengal)

Exercises

Q1. Ganga is one of the most sacred rivers of the world.

Q2. I want you to return from your office before the sunset.

Q3. He is very weak in geography and you can very well figure it out

from this fact that he doesn’t even know where Himalayas lie.

Q4. People in this area are not at all interested in studying English.

Q5. Economic development of our country is slow because of the vast

population of our country.

Q6. Out of all the oceans, Arctic Ocean is the least explored.

Q7. He has been elected the president by the board.

Q8. The Life is a very complex process and that’s why it is very hard to

understand its nature.

Q9. He came to my residence at nine pm by the taxi.

Q10. The dinner we had at the Taj was really good and I still remember

the taste of the food.

Answers

Ans 1 : Add “the” before Ganga.

Ans 2 : remove “the” before sunset.

Ans 3 : add “the” before Himalayas.

Ans 4 : add the before people here.

Ans 5 : add “the” before economic.

Ans 6 : add “the” before arctic.

Ans 7 : remove “the” before president.

Ans 8 : remove “the” before life.

Ans 9 : remove “the” before taxi.

Ans 10 : No Error.

Vocabulary Help: Sentences uses

The government’s bank bailout program was a real help to the automobile industry. (Fund given by govt.to help at the time of recession)

Most of the banks are not eco-friendly and they leave an enormous

carbon footprint. (Impression).

GREEN BANKING IN INDIA with Sustainable development has

emerged as a new paradigm (new class/example) of development in

response to the current discourse (expression/discussion) of

development that over-exploits natural environment for economic

prosperity.

Encouraging environmentally responsible investments and prudent

(careful and sensible) lending should be one of the responsibilities of

the banking sector.

Further, those industries which have already become green and those,

which are making serious attempts to go green, should be accorded

(granted/allowed) priority to lending by the banks.

www.bankersguru.org