Indefinite Articles
Indefinite articles are used when we are referring to an unspecified thing or quantity. We use them when we don’t know which thing we were talking about. There are two types in indefinite articles. They are ‘a’ and ‘an’.
‘A’ indefinite article:
We use article ‘a’ before a word begins with a consonant sound. E.g: a book, a bag, a table, a cot, a glass, a mango etc.
- I was born in a town.
- She ordered a book.
- He put a pen on his bag.
- I saw a star last night.
- He brought a pink colour shirt.
‘An’ indefinite article:
We use article ‘an’ before a word beginning with a vowel sound. E.g: an apple, an egg, an ink pot, an onion, an ox etc.
- He ate an omlette for dinner.
- We want to carry an umbrella.
- They sold an apple in the market.
- I choose an orange colour shirt.
- She saw an elephant in the temple.
Exceptions:
While we are using article we must focus ont on the beginning letter but on the pronunciation. Some students will observe only beginning letter of the word to find out correct article to use. But this is not a good method. To find out correct article you need to observe pronuncitions of the word whether it is beginning with vowel sound or consonant sound. Then only you can easily find out correct articles to use.
Example: 1
an honour, an hourglass, an honest, an hour, an historical place etc
Observe the above given examples. These all words begin with consonant letters but not consonant sounds. That is why we used article ‘an’. So always give importance to the pronunciation rather than the letter.
Example: 2
a university, a one eyed man, a union, a European, a useful etc.
Observe the above given examples. These all words begin with vowel letters but not vowel sounds. That is why we used article ‘a’. So always give importance to the pronunciation rather than the letter.
To know more explanation about articles and omission of articles watch the following video. In this video we explained in detail. Click on the photo to watch the video.
