CBSE Class 6 English Grammar Articles
Three words—a, an and the are called articles. They are divided in two groups.
A. The Definite Article (The)
1. Use of Definite Article
(a) Put the before the words which mean the inhabitants of a country.
The English live in England and the Indians in India.
But do not put the before the names of the language.
English is spoken in England and Hindi in India.
Exception
Plural nouns of a country’s inhabitants do not take the if they are thought of individually.
Indians are generally vegetarians.
Russians drink vodka.
(b) Put the before the names of mountain ranges.
The Alps, the Himalayas
But do not put the before the names of single mountains or hills.
Everest, Mont Blanc (not the Everest, the Mont Blanc)
(c) Use the before the names of rivers, canals, seas, oceans, valleys, deserts and forests :
Lucknow is on the Gomati. (not on GomatQ
Similarly we say—
The North Sea, The Indian Ocean, The Ganges, The Sahara
(d) Use the before the names of ships and trains :
The Rajdhani Express runs fast.
The Titanic was a very big ship.
But do not use the before the vehicles when they indicate a means of transport :
I will go to Delhi by bus.
We are going to Mumbai by train.
2. Omission of the Definite Article
(a) Do not put the before the names of substances if they are used in a general sense.
Gold is a precious metal. (not the golf)
Bread is made from flour. (not the bread … the flour)
Lead is very heavy. (not the lead)
But the must be used if the reference is to a particular kind or type.
The thieves stole the gold from that ship.
The bread in this hotel is of poor quality.
(b) Do not put the before the names of meals if they refer to the meals generally.
When do you have dinner ?
Have you had breakfast ?
Lunch is at 2.00 p.m.
But use the when the meal is a particular one.
The dinner will be taken at Ashoka.
We enjoyed the lunch given by the school.
(c) Do not use the before plural nouns when they are used in a general sense.
Books are necessary for students.
Apples grow in Simla.
Cars can run fast.
(d) Do not use the before the names of games.
Sania Mirza plays Tennis.
Chess is a game which requires skill.
(e) Do not put the before the names of the countries unless the name denotes that it is made of parts.
India, Italy, France and China are all republics.
But
The United States is very rich.
The U.S.S.R. has broken into smaller units.
(f) Do not use the before the names of the offices if these follow the names of the officers :
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh
President Dr. Abdul Kalam
D.C. Miss. Rajni Kothari
But if the names are not mentioned the must be used.
The Prime Minister, the President etc.
Exercise 1
(Solved)
Fill in the blanks with the where necessary.
1. The table was made of ………. wood.
2. ………. water in that pot is not fit for drinking.
3. ………. sweets we took after meals were tasty.
4. When do you have ………. breakfast ?
5. Are you attending ………. dinner tonight ?
6. Why do we wear ………. clothes ?
Answers:
1. × (No article)
2. The
3. The
4. × (No article)
5. the
6. × (No article)
B. The Indefinite Article (A and An)
(a) A is used before words beginning with a consonant, and an before words beginning with a vowel or with a letter h which is not sounded. The following are the main words which are spelt with unsounded h.
| heir | heiress | heirloom | honest |
| honesty | honorarium | honorary | honour |
| honourable | honoured | hour | hour |
(b) If a word begins with a vowel but is pronounced in the way as ‘y’ in yet, write a and not an before it.
a university, a European.
(c) A/an are to be used only before singular countable nouns.
a book, a city, an animal.
A/an should be used before the adjective if these singular countable nouns have an adjective before them.
a big city, a fine book, an ignorant person.
(d) Use a after the word such when it is applied to things which are countable.
I have never known such a cold winter.
Such a thing has never happened before.
(e) If instead of such, there is the word so, then put a after the adjective, just before the noun.
I have never known so cold a winter. (not a so cold winter)
(f) When a is placed before the word few, it changes the meaning. Few means a small number when more might have been expected ; a few means a small number when none were expected.
Few boys were present in the class. (ie., I had expected more)
A few boys were present in the class.
(i..e., I had expected none, still there was a small number of them present)
There is a similar difference between little and a little.
We have little time to spare.
(It means that we do not have as much time as we should like).
We have a little time to spare.
(It means that we are not so short of time that we cannot spare any).
Exercise 2
(Solved)
Fill in the blanks with a or an.
1. ………. man and ………. woman were sitting opposite me.
2. During our holiday, we stayed at ………. hotel.
3. For our dinner, we went to ………. restaurant.
4. As it was raining. I took ………. umbrella.
5. On the way, I saw ………. elephant.
6. I am ………. Indian whereas you are ………. Chinese.
Answers:
1. a, a
2. a
3. a
4. an
5. an
6. an, a
Exercise 3
(For Practice)
Fill in the blanks with ‘a’ or ‘an’.
1. Have you ever seen ………. lion ?
2. Does Sohan have ………. car ?
3. Is there ………. bank nearby ?
4. There isn’t ………. airport nearby.
5. Ram is ………. honest man.
6. He will return in ………. hour.
Exercise 4
(For Practice)
Insert ‘a’, ‘an’ or ‘the’.
Once there was ………. mouse. The mouse was always afraid of ………. cat. A magician took pity on ………. mouse. He turned it into ………. cat. Now cat was afraid of dogs. So, ………. magician turned ………. cat into ………. dog and finally into ………. tiger ………. tiger began to fear hunters in forest.
Then ………. magician said, “Be ………. mouse again. You are no better than mouse at heart.
Exercise 5
(For Practice)
Fill in the blanks with a few, a little, the few, the little.
1. Just ………. persons were present there.
2. I cannot prepare tea ; there is ………. milk in the house.
3. I have consumed ………. sugar you gave me.
4. ………. water of the pond will not last the year.
5. The class was not held as ………. students were present.
6. Don’t worry. I have ………. money in the bank.
Exercise 6
(For Practice)
Fill in the blanks with the where necessary.
1. Some soaps are made of ………. oils and some of only ………. chemicals.
2. ………. iron is found in India.
3. In India more people drink ………. milk than ………. wine.
4. ………. mangoes are grown in India. Pakistan and Srilanka.
5. Will you play ………. cricket ?
6. She plays ………. basketball very well.
Multiple Choice Questions
Read the statements given below and tick the correct option :
I. Identify as directed :
Question 1.
Identify the definite article
(i) a
(ii) an
(iii) the
(iv) it
Question 2.
Identify the indefinite articles
(i) a, the
(ii) an, the
(iii) a, an
(iv) both (i) and (ii)
II. Fill the correct option :
Question 3.
………. English is spoken in England
(i) A
(ii) The
(iii) An
(iv) None of these
Question 4.
Such ………. thing has never happened
(i) a
(ii) the
(iii) an
(iv) none of these
Question 5.
The tourist is ………. European
(i) a
(ii) the
(iii) an
(iv) none of these
Question 6.
………. ignorant person needs to learn
(i) A
(ii) The
(iii) An
(iv) None of these
Question 7.
………. money was in my purse
(i) A
(ii) The
(iii) An
(iv) None of these
III. Choose the correct option :
Question 8.
(i) A water in the pot is unfit
(ii) The water in the pot is unfit
(iii) An water in the pot is unfit
(iv) Its water in the pot is unfit
Question 9.
(i) The table is made of the wood
(ii) The table is made of wood
(iii) The table is made of a wood
(iv) That table is made of a wood
Question 10.
(i) It is great honour for me
(ii) It is a great honour for me
(iii) It is some great honour for me
(iv) It is more great honour for me
Question 11.
(i) I went to its university
(ii) I went to an university
(iii) I went to the university
(iv) I went to this university
Question 12.
(i) We have little time to spare
(ii) We have least time to spare
(iii) We have a little time to spare
(iv) We have the little time to spare
Answers
1. (iii)
2. (iii)
3. (iv)
4. (i)
5. (i)
6. (iii)
7. (ii)
8. (ii)
9. (ii)
10. (ii)
11. (iii)
12. (iii)
