Grammar for IELTS Material : A, An, The (Part 1)

Courtney Miller

5 min read

Updated On Dec 21, 2021

Grammar for IELTS: A, An, The (Part 1)

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Grammar for IELTS: A, An, The (Part 1)

There are two kinds of articles in English :

indefinite (a, an)
definite (the).

They occur before

nouns (the book)
adjective + noun combinations (a big book).

Having good grammar is essential to get a high band score for IELTS Examination, especially in the speaking and writing sections. Correct and proper grammar is one of the factors on which you will be assessed on during your IELTS speaking and writing tests.

Check Your Grammar

Choose the right article:

I’d been living in the / a / None dormitory for two years and hadn’t had to buy my own food for the / a / None whole time. Then, I moved into the / a / None apartment where I needed to buy the / a / None food for myself. I went to the / a / None grocery store and put everything into the / a / None cart. When I went to pay, I found that the / a / None juice I had chosen cost $1.50, the / a / None meat $7.80, the / a / None bread $1.25, and the / a / None butter $2.00.

If you can’t do the exercise, please go through our lesson about articles.

Article Basics

“A” and “An” are called indefinite articles because they usually don’t identify any particular person or thing.

Example:

A musician, meaning any musician.

“The” is called the definite article because it refers to some specific thing.

Example:

The musician (meaning some particular musician).

This chart gives you the basic uses of articles in English

Usage of Articles
Indefinite articles (a, an)	Singular Countable Noun	Plural Countable Nouns	Uncountable nouns
Indefinite articles (a, an)	A book	Books	Milk
Indefinite articles (a, an)	An elephant	Elephants	Water
Definite article (the)	The book	The books	The milk

How to Differentiate the Usage ‘A’ and ‘An’ by Sound?

Indefinite Articles (‘a’ and ‘an’)
Vowel sound	An enemy, An umbrella
Vowel sound where consonant sound ‘h’ is silent	An Heir
Consonant sound	A reindeer
Consonant sound (Yu)	A University
Consonant sound (w)	A one-rupee coin

When to Use ‘The’?

Definite Article (‘The’)
Reference to a specific object	The book you want is out of print.
Singular noun representing a whole class	The cow is a useful animal.
Before proper nouns	The Pacific
Before names of things unique of their kind	The sky
Before proper noun when it is qualified by an adjective	The immortal Shakespeare
Before superlatives	The richest man
Before an ordinal	He was the first one to reach…

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Three Rules for Avoiding Common Article Mistakes

The following three rules are grouped here because they are the main rules that will help you avoid the most common mistakes with articles.

Rule 1.

Use a, an (or another word such as my or this) with singular countable nouns.

Incorrect: Most university students own computer.
Correct: Most university students own a computer.

Rule 2.

Use the with specific noun references, either singular or plural. Specific noun references are definite.

Incorrect: Title of this course sounds interesting.
Correct: The title of this course sounds interesting.
Incorrect: Questions in yesterday’s grammar test were difficult.
Correct: The questions in yesterday’s grammar test were difficult.

Rule 3.

Do not use the with general noun references, either singular or plural. General noun references are indefinite.

Incorrect: Our government should spend more money on the education.
Correct: Our government should spend more money on education.
Incorrect: The successful presentations require planning and practice.
Correct: Successful presentations require planning and practice.

Indefinite Articles

The indefinite articles are ‘a’ and ‘an’. Use ‘a’ and ‘an’ with singular countable nouns.

Example of a singular countable noun:

a book, an orange.

Here are the main rules for indefinite articles.

Use ‘a’ and ‘an’ to introduce a singular countable noun.

Let’s take a speech class this semester.
There is an excellent show on TV tonight.

Use ‘a’ and ‘an’ to define or classify something.

Jambalaya is a rice dish that is native to south Louisiana.
My brother is an investigator for the city health department.

Use ‘a’ and ‘an’ to show that you are talking about one (of the item).

Excuse me. Do you have a pencil that I could borrow?
I need an eraser, as well.

Do not use ‘one’ interchangeably to mean ‘a’.

“Do you have one pencil?” emphasises the number, not the pencil.

Special time expressions: One is used before the day, week, month, and so forth, to refer to a particular time when something occurred, as in “One day I visited the new museum in town.”

Use ‘a’ and ‘an’ for a general truth about a singular countable noun in a group.

A piano has 96 keys.
A teacher should plan lessons.

The Omission of the Article

There are some instances where no articles should be used. They are:

Cases	Examples
Before uncountable nouns used in a generic sense	Gold is a precious metal.
Before plural countable nouns used in a generic sense.	Children are mischievous.
Before most proper nouns.	Europe, Pakistan, Mount Everest
Before languages	They speak Spanish at home.
When places are used for their primary purpose.	My uncle is still in the hospital.
Before names of relations	Aunt wants to see you.
Before position that is normally held at one time by one person.	He was elected chairman of the board.
In cases of transitive verbs followed by its object.	To lose heart.
In cases where a preposition is followed by its object.	By night, at dinner.

Repetition of the Article

Serial No	Usage	Interpretation
1	I have a brown and white dog.	I have a dog which is brown and white in colour.
1	I have a brown and a white dog.	I have two dogs. One is brown in colour and another is white in colour.
2	The secretary and treasurer is absent.	The secretary and treasurer are the same person.
2	The secretary and the treasurer is absent.	There are two persons. One of them is a treasurer and another is a secretary.
3	He is a better mechanic than a clerk.	The two nouns mechanic and clerk refers to the same person. So, the article is used before the first noun.
3	He is a better mechanic than a clerk (would make).	There are two different persons.

Grammatical errors don’t go down well with the examiners and hence, can severely decrease your score. Our IELTS online classes make sure that you shine on every front and therefore, achieve a decent band score.

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