Article - 2 - English Grammar Basic - Class 10

Use of ‘An’

1. Vowel starting nouns or words take use of ‘An’ before them.

As,
Siddharth is intelligent boy. —wrong
Siddharth is an intelligent boy. —correct
The President made appeal for the poor. —wrong
The President made an appeal for the poor. —correct

2. An is used before some H starting words in which H is not pronunciated.

As,
An honest man
An hour
An heir
An honourable person
An homage to the dead 

3. If H, L, M, N, F, R, S, X, are the first letters of abbreviations, we use An before them.
As,
An M.A.
An L.L.B. Student
An F.R.C.S. girl
An N.C.C. team
An H.S. school
An x-ray clinic

USE OF ‘THE’

The following rules are applied for using The before definite noun.

1. Definite article The is used before a noun if it is used before relative pronoun stressly.

As,
She is a girl who signs ghazal. —wrong
She is the girl who sings ghazal. —correct
This is a bird which can fly. —wrong
This is the bird which can fly. —correct

2. The is placed after one of, each of, neither of, either of, none of, everyone of etc.

As,
One of boys is absent. —wrong
One of the boys is absent. —correct
Neither of girls is intelligent. —wrong
Neither of the girls is intelligent. —correct
Either of men was present. —wrong
Either of the men was present. —correct

3. The is used before the name of commission.

As,
Verma commission is still functioning. —wrong

The Verma commission is still functioning. —correct

4. If adjective is followed by proper noun use

The before that adjective.

As,
We love immortal Gandhi. —wrong
We love the immortal Gandhi. —correct
                           ↓              ↓
                     Adjective   Proper Noun

5. Whenever common noun is used as adjective it is preceded by definite article The.

As,
When Ritesh found a boy the father came in him.
                                                ↓
                                      the love of father
When Meeta saw a girl the mother came in her.
                                             ↓
                                     the love of mother

Some Assorted Examples

1. Kamal has a good health because, he takes a fruitful breakfast every morning. —wrong

Kamal has good health because, he takes a fruitful breakfast every morning. —correct

2. One of my brothers has given the very accurate answer of the question. —wrong

One of my brothers has given a very accurate answer of the question. —correct

3. It being nice morning, I along with my wife decided to go for a walk. —wrong

It being a nice morning, I along with my wife decided to go for a walk. —correct

4. I do not want to buy a book because, I have to take either a pencil or doll at present.  —wrong

I do not want to buy a book because, I have to take either a pencil or a doll at present.  —correct

5. Sohon is not only a laborious boy, but also a intelligent student. —wrong

Sohon is not only a laborious boy, but also an intelligent student. —correct

6. The Air India announced that all the flights of that week to Nepal would be stopped because of security lapse which caused the hijack.  —wrong

Air India announced that all the flights of that week to Nepal would be stopped because of security lapse which caused the hijack.  —correct

7. I am often confused who is more beautiful Jill or Eva in my class. —wrong

I am often confused who is the more beautiful Jill or Eva in my class. —correct

8. The rose is the sweetest of all flowers, so I take it with me whenever I go out. —wrong

Rose is the sweetest of all flowers, so I take it with me whenever I go out. —correct

9. Which is the more precious silver or gold as the latter is the more useful than former. —wrong

Which is the more precious silver or gold as the latter is the more useful than the former.    —correct

10. The water of well is so dirty that no one is ready to drink it without purification.    —wrong

The water of the well is so dirty that no one is ready to drink it without purification.    —correct