@Use of Articles@ Use of Articles Indefinite articles: a/an Countable singular nouns: 1.“A” is used before consonant sounds and “An” is used before vowel sounds. Both of them are used beforecountable singular nouns. Example: I need apento sign here. She imported a newcar. Ananimaldrove him out of the Sundarbans. Remember:“O” and “U” sometimes produce consonant sounds and take “A” instead of “An”. Example- A one way ticket, a one sided argument, a university, a unique design, a united force, a European coin, a U-tern etc. Similarly, “H” sometimes remains mute and take “An” instead of “A”. Example - An hour, an honorable person, a/an hotel etc. Also remember: An MA, an MP, an “h”, an “f”, an “l”, an “n”, an “r”, an x-ray, etc. 2.When countable singular noun is preceded by a possessive pronoun (my/our/your/his/her/their/its) or a possessive noun (Rafiq’s/Sima’s) no article is used. He lived in my house. Shihab bought Rafiq’s car. Similarly, if a countable singular noun is preceded by singular demonstratives (this/that) no article is used. You need this pen to draw this picture. Her teacher asked her to buy that book. 3.No article is used before a countable plural noun. She is imported new cars. Never: she imported anew cars. First mention and afterwards: 4.When a countable singular noun is first mentioned, a/an is used before it. But “the” is used before it whenever it is mentioned in the following sentences in the same piece of writing: He has a cat and a dog. The cat’s name is Mini and the dogs name is Bhola. 5.When a countable plural noun is first mentioned, no article is used before it. But “the” is used before it whenever it is mentioned in the following sentences in the same piece of writing: Children play games. But the games often create quarrels among them. A/An in certain expressions: 6.A/an in phrases: a little, a few, many a, half a dozen, fraction of a second/minute, a pair of glasses/shoes, quarter of an hour, what a, etc. ·But the is used before ‘little’ when the whole of the little amount is meant: The little money he has is not enough for his treatment. ·Similarly, “the” is used before ‘few’ when of the small number is meant: The few books I have are all written in English. ·‘The’ is also used before other expressions of this group when they are made definite by post modifiers: The pair of shoes he has bought is made in Italy.