Articles 'The' 'A' and 'An'

Articles 'The' 'A' and 'An'

Articles are pre-modifiers normally used before noun. We have two types of articles: the definite article and the indefinite article.

Definite Articles (The)

A definite article is used with specific names of people, animals, places or things. It is used with nouns that we are familiar with. That is, the noun should be what we were talking about previously. For example:

• I saw a boy yesterday; the boy gave me some money.

It is called the definite article because it is used specifically.

Observe this dialogue!

First speaker: The boy came here

Second speaker: Oh! You mean John?

First speaker: Yes!

In the dialogue above, you will observe that 'John' being the subject matter, is not new in the conversation.

Article 'The' is used in the following areas:

- With Names of Countries

Examples:

i. The Federal Republic of Nigeria

ii. The United State in America

iii. The People's Republic of China

- With Geographical Location

Examples:

i. The Pacific Ocean

ii. The River Niger

iii. The Red Sea

iv. The Sahara desert

v. The Atlantic Ocean

- With Family Names

Examples:

i. The Ayanwoles

ii. The Babalolas

iii. The Dangotes

Note: When article 'the' is used with family names, 's' is added to that family name as seen in the examples above.

- With Names of Popular Figures

Examples:

i. The Soyinka of Nigeria

ii. The Miss Sanda of the United Africa Organization

Note: Article 'the' is used with names of popular figures when we want to differentiate between them and other people bearing the same name as seen in the examples below.

i. I saw Mr Buhari, not the Buhari of Nigeria.

ii. I saw Mr Oyetola, not the Oyetola of Osun State.

- With names of Associations, Clubs and Unions

Examples:

i. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta

ii. The Ife Descendants Association

iii. The Lions Club

- With Designations/Titles

Examples:

i. The Inspector General of Police

ii. The Chairman of NURTW

- With Musical Instruments

Examples:

i. He is good with the piano

ii. She enjoys playing the saxophone

But not that article 'the' will not be used with modern musical instruments. For instance, you do not say:

He enjoys the jazz music

She plays the bass in our band

But:

He enjoys jazz music

She plays bass in our band

The Indefinite Articles

There are two indefinite articles: Articles 'a' and 'an'. The indefinite articles are used with nouns requiring unspecific information. That is, they are not specific. They are used when we are not referring to any particular person or things. For example:

i. A man came here.

ii. An orange was stolen.

The difference between article 'a' and article 'an' is that, article 'a' is used with nouns that begins with a consonant (sound) while article 'an' is used with nouns that begins with a vowel (sound).

For example:

An orange, an egg

A car, a table

Note: Articles 'a' and 'an' are used only with singular countable nouns.

Examples:

1. She came from a good and an honest family.

2. The boy is a European.

3. We spend an hour to this time.

4. John is quiet an honest man.

5. The man is planning to build a house.

6. The chairman slept over in a hotel.

7. We went to Oyo state to experience a historical event.

8. What I see is merely a utopia.

9. I saw the king riding on a horse yesterday.

Moving on to the next article: Subjunctive (Real and Unreal Future)