Articles for Class 3

What are Articles?

Articles are short words that we use before nouns (people, places and things) to provide additional information about them.

Let's understand through some examples:

1. He has a son and a daughter.
2. Miley had an orange.
3. Please give me the red pen.

In the following examples, the usage of a, an, and the are called articles. They are classified as definite and indefinite articles.

Definite article: "The" is used when we are discussing a specific thing.

Indefinite article: "A" and "an" are used when we are discussing in general. "A" is used before consonants and "an" is used before vowels (a, e, i, o and u).

Examples of Articles

→ The cat is sleeping under the table.
→ I have a dog named Cooper.
→ Sussan wants to buy an ice cream.
→ There's a cockroach under the table.
→ John saw an owl last night.
→ They saw the Sun rising.

Uses of A, An and The

1. A

"A" is used before words that begin with a consonant sound.

For example:

→ My father drives a car.
→ I have a pet.

2. An

"An" is used before words that begin with a vowel sound.

For example:

→ Jack wants to eat an apple.
→ There is an elephant.

3. The

"The" is used when we are talking about a specific thing. It can used before both vowel and consonant sounds.

For example:

→ Can you pass me the notebook?
→ We visited the zoo yesterday.