Common Mistakes in Using Articles in English (3)

 

Common Mistakes in Using Articles in English

Why do We Use Articles in English? 

We use articles such A, An and The to indicate indefiniteness and definiteness. In other words, articles in English are used to show that some certain noun is Indefinite (nonspecific) or definite (specific). 

Below given are some common expressions to illustrate how mistakes are made commonly while using an article.  

This article specially deals with the nouns used with the definite article, “The” preceded by rules to explain the reason why it's is used.

Rule 1. We use ‘The’ before a specific or definite noun. 

Examples: 

Wrong: I've seen teacher you are talking about.

Right: I've seen the teacher you are talking about. 

Rule 2. We use ‘The’ before the superlative degree forms of adjectives. 

Examples: 

Wrong: He is best student in our class 

Right: He is the best student in our class.

Rule 3. We use ‘The’ with nouns used after proper adjectives in order to make them definite. 

Examples: 

Wrong: Chinese food is delicious. 

Right: The Chinese food is delicious. 

Rule 4. We use ‘The’ with ordinal adjectives of number that are used with nouns. 

Examples: 

Wrong: Third prize also has some value. 

Right: The third prize also has some value. 

Rule 5. We use ‘The’ in the better+one/noun pattern when it refers to a specific person or thing. 

Examples: 

Wrong: Of these two singers, who is better one? 

Right: Of these two singers, who is the better one? 

Rule 6. We use ‘The’ in the “The more sub + verb.........the more sub + verb.........” construction.

Examples: 

Wrong: More he gets, more he wants.

Right: The more he gets, the more he wants.

Rule 7. We use ‘The’ with the words, former and latter. 

Examples: 

Wrong: Ram and Sham are the two spoken English trainers here. Former is older than latter. 

Right: Ram and Sham are the two spoken English trainers here. The former is older than the latter. 

Rule 8. We use ‘The’ with the word, ‘truth’. 

Examples: 

Wrong: He doesn't speak truth.

Right: He doesn't speak the truth. 

Rule 9. We use ‘The’ with adjectives like poor, rich, and pious to make them noun. Thus “the poor” is a noun that means poor people and so on. 

Examples: 

Wrong: Poor really work hard.

Right: The poor really work hard. 

Rule 10. We use ‘The’ with unique things (unique of their kinds). 

Examples: 

Wrong: Moon is very beautiful. 

Right: The Moon is very beautiful. 

Rule 11. We use ‘The’ with historical events and revolutions. 

Examples: 

Wrong: Why did Green Revolution take place? 

Right: why did the Green Revolution take place? 

When did French Revolution take place?

When did the French Revolution take place?  

Rule 12. We use ‘The’ with the phrase, “The number of plural nouns” which is a singular phrase. 

Examples: 

Wrong: Number of students is increasing in our class.

Right: The number of students is increasing in our class.

Rule 13. We use ‘The’ before the names of political parties. 

Examples: 

Wrong: The agendum of BJP (Bhartiya Janata Party) is clear. 

Right: The agendum of the BJP is clear. 

Rule 14. We use ‘The’ before the names of the royal families that ruled. 

Examples: 

Wrong: Mughal ruled India during 1526-1857. 

Right: The Mughal ruled India during 1526-1857.

Rule 15. We use ‘The’ with season names like summer or winter when the word, season comes after them. 

Examples: 

Wrong: He will come in winter season.

Right: He will come in the winter season.

Rule 16. We use ‘The’ before the names of communities. 

Examples: 

Wrong: There are many communities in India. They are Muslim, Hindu and Sikh. 

Right: There are many communities in India. They are the Muslim, the Hindu and the Sikh. 

Rule 17. We use ‘The’ with the proper noun, Ganges (An Indian river). 

Examples: 

Wrong: Ganges is a river. 

Right: The Ganges is a river. 

Rule 18. We use ‘The’ before the names of the books that are of epic literature in nature. 

Examples: 

Wrong: Arabian is a series of lots of stories. 

Right: The Arabian is a series of lots of stories. 

Rule 19. We use 'The’ before the names of historical buildings that are of unique nature.                           

Examples:

Wrong: Taj Mahal is located at Agra. 

Right: The Taj Mahal is located at Agra. 

Rule 20. We use ‘The’ with the abbreviation, U.S. 

Examples: 

Wrong: He left for U.S. last night. 

Right: He left for the U.S. last night.

Exercise

Find out the errors in following sentences.

1. We have been to U.K. 

2. Ramayana was written by Valmiki. 

3. He will come in summer season. 

4. Rich lead a luxurious life. 

5. He is best student in our class. 

6. I know student you met yesterday. 

7. May the God bless you! 

8. Always speak truth.

9. Sun is very hot. 

10. Earth rotates on its own axis. 

Answer keys: 

1. We have been to the U.K. 

2. The Ramayana was written by Valmiki. 

3. He will come in the summer season. 

4. The rich lead a luxurious life. 

5. He is the best student in our class. 

6. I know the student you met yesterday. 

7. May God bless you! 

8. Always speak the truth.

9. The Sun is very hot. 

10. The Earth rotates on its own axis.