Articles 'a', 'an', and 'the'

Article 'a'

Article 'a' is used before nouns that begin with a consonant sound.
In English, the consonants are:

B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, Z

Examples:

a boy
a home
a bus
a policeman
a driver
a teacher
a child
a school

Sentences:

1. A small girl was awarded for her bravery
2. We boarded a vehicle to go to church on Sunday

Note:

Remember that it also depends on the sound of the noun.
For example:
Consider the noun hour
We say an hour as the 'h' sounds silent. Compare the 'h' in hour and 'h' in horse. Read the two words and spot the difference in the sounds.

Article 'an'

Article 'an' is used before nouns that begin with a vowel sound.
In English, the vowels are:

a, e, i, o, u

Examples:

an orange
an egg
an aeroplane
an umbrella
an injection
an apple
an arm

Sentences:

1. Eating an orange is better than eating a sweet.
2. My aunt helped an old lady carry her heavy load.

Note:

Remember that it also depends on the sound of the noun.
For example:
Consider the noun university
We say a university as its sounds 'yuu-niversity'. Read the words university and ugly. Can you spot the difference in the sounds?

Article 'the'

Article 'the' is called a definite article. It gives a particular information about a noun.

Examples:

the president
the mountain
the River Athi
the Indian Ocean

Sentences:

1. The headmaster gave a speech in the school meeting.
2. We visited the Aberdares during the school holiday.

Practice 1: Identify the articles in the following sentences:

1. Children are not allowed to swim in the river.
2. The church offered lunch to the poor.
3. A rotten potato can spoil a whole bag of potatoes.
4. An elephant is said to be afraid of a mouse.

Answers:

1. Children are not allowed to swim in the river.
2. The church offered lunch to the poor.
3. A rotten potato can spoil a whole bag of potatoes.
4. An elephant is said to be afraid of a mouse.

Practice 2: Identify the articles in the story below:

Joe was a pupil in Grade four at Barua Primary School. One day there was going to be a chief's meeting in his village. After the meeting, there was going to be a football match between his village and a neighbouring village. The chief would present a trophy to the winning team.

Answer:

Joe was a pupil in Grade four at Barua Primary School. One day there was going to be a chief's meeting in his village. After the meeting, there was going to be a football match between his village and a neighbouring village. The chief would present a trophy to the winning team.