Use of articles with Noun

(Noun is the name of a person, a place, a thing, a quality or an idea.)

Use of articles with proper nouns

• Articles never come with the names of any person or place.

Example:

1. Ram was an obedient son.
2. Rome is an ancient city.

Exceptions:

In the following cases, article A/An is used before proper nouns. (Read Articles A, an, the uses complete concept.)

Example:

1. A Mr. Saini has come to meet you.
2. This book is written by a Ramesh Mishra.

In sentences (1) and (2), The noun ‘Mr. Saini’ and ‘Mr. Ramesh Mishra’ are not known to the speaker and he knows only the name that has been conveyed to him, so A is used before ‘Mr. Saini’ and ‘Mr. Ramesh Mishra’ 

When a person or place is mentioned in a sentence for comparative purpose, ‘the’ comes before that proper noun.

Example:

1. He is the Shyam of modern India.
2.  He is a Hitler.
3. Jaipur is the Rome of India.

‘The’ comes before the names of a few places.

Example:

1. The Great Britain
2. The Netherlands
3. The Hague.

• ‘The’ does not come with the names of States. Exception – ‘The Punjab’.
• ‘The’ is not used with the name of any country.

Example: America, Russia, China etc.

However, If ‘Union’, United’, Republic’ or ‘Kingdom’ comes with the names of the country, ‘the’ is used.

Example: The U.S.A., The Soviet Union, The Irish Republic.

• ‘The’ comes before the names of mountain ranges.

Example: ‘The Himalayas’, ‘The Alps’.

Note: ‘Aravali’ is not a mountain range. Hence ‘the’ doesn’t come before it.

‘The’ doesn’t come before the names of the mountain peaks.

Example: Mt. Everest, Mt. Abu.

• ‘The’ Comes before ‘nationality’ but not with the name of any ‘language’.

Example:

The English speak English.

The English defeated the French.

• Article does not come before the name of any disease.

Exceptions: The Measles, The Rickets, The Mumps, The plague, The Flu.

When we use the with proper nouns?

Here, we have a list of 25 Examples.

• ‘The’ Comes before space only when it means ‘room’.

Example:

1. He tried to park his car but the space was not enough.
2. Many astronauts dream of going to space.

• ‘The’ is used before directions – The East, The West.

If direction comes before the name of any place, ‘the’ is not used.

Example: West Bengal

Article does not come before northern, Southern, Eastern, Western as they are adjectives and will not take any article unless followed by a suitable noun.

Example: Western India.

See more Examples:

1. The sun rises in the east.
2. He is going to North America.
3.  Rajasthan is in Western Europe.
4.  Sweden is in Northern Europe.

• Before the names of holy books: The Gita, The Bible.
• Before the names of monuments: The Taj Mahal, The Red fort.

Note: ‘The’ does not come before the names of buildings, monuments, and sacred Books if the name comprises two or more words out of which one is the name of a person or place.

Example: Delhi Airport, Victoria Place, London Zoo, Jai Singh Palace, indira Gandhi Airport, Valmikis’s Ramanayan, Banabhatta’s Kadmbiri.

• Names of movements: The Quit India Movement.
• Names of Posts: The Chairman, The director

Here A/an can also be used before the names of the posts if we are talking about one out of many similar posts.

Example:

She is a director of the company.

When not to use articles before noun

We do not use articles  in case of:

Use of articles with Common Noun

• If an object is already known to both the speaker and the listener, article ‘The’ is used before it.

Example:

1. Kindly return the book (That I gave you)
2. Can you turn off the light. (The light in the room)

• If an article comes before a singular common noun, it can represents the entire species.

Example: A dog is a faithful animal.

Note: Man doesn’t come under this rule because the word ‘man’ means a human being.

Example: Man is mortal.

• When we talk about a personality present inside a person, article comes with the name of that personality.

Example:

1. The judge (moral of judge) in him, prevailed upon the father (Love of father for his son) and he sentenced his son to death.
2. A mother (feelings of motherhood) was born in her when she saw the baby.

• If Schools, colleges, Temple are denoted in reference to their primary purpose, article is not used.

Example:

1. Children should go to school.
2. I go to temple every morning.

An article is used if school, college, temple etc. denotes a place or a building and not its primary purpose.

Example:

1. My house is behind a school.
2. The college is next to the temple.

Use of articles with Abstract Noun/Material Noun

No Article is generally used with abstract nouns. They are uncountable nouns hence  A/An cannot be used with them.

Example:

1. Gold is precious.
2. Honesty is the best policy.

Note: If nouns are followed by ‘of’ an article precedes the noun.

Article + Noun + of + …..

Example:

1. The cotton of Egypt is known for its superior quality.
2. The honesty of this boy is liked by all. 

PDF

Comment below for more information.