Basic English Grammar Articles And Prepositions

English Gramar Articles And Prepositions

Articles

❐ Articles are little Adjectives. There are three articles in English- a, an, and the. They belong to two
groups Indefinite and Definite. (1) Indefinite articles― a, an (2) Definite article― the.

❍ Uses of A:

• before singular nouns beginning with a consonant― a dog; a boy; a girl.
• before singular nouns beginning with a vowel sounding as 'you'― a union, a university, a European a useful animal, a Ewe.
• before 'o' 'sounding as 'wa'― a one-rupee coin, a one-eyed deer.
• in the sense of 'any'― I need a pen.
• to mean a class as an agent― A cow is a useful animal.
• as general determiners ― a few, a little, a lot of ― He has a lot of coins in his bag.

❍ Uses of An:

• before singular nouns beginning with a vowel― an egg. 
• before a consonant having a vowel sound― an SDO, an MA, an LLB.
• before a silent 'h'― an hour, an honest man.
• in the sense of any'― Give me an apple.

❍ Uses of The:

• before the aforesaid nouns―I have a pen but the pen is old.
• before the names of rivers, seas, mountain ranges, ships, gulfs, scriptures, newspapers, etc.― the Ganga, the Arabian Sea, the Himalayas, the Titanic, the Persian Gulf, the Ramayana, the Telegraph.
• before singular nouns referring to things which are there only one in number― the moon, the sun.
• before the names of a nation, a community a political party― the Indian, the Hindu, the Congress.
• before singular common nouns to indicate a whole class― The cow gives us milk.
• before adjectives to indicate an entire class of people ―The rich (The rich people) can buy it.
• before a concrete noun denoting an abstract one― The mother in her rose, at the sight of the poor child.

❐REPETITION OF THE ARTICLE:
▻ When two or more nouns refer to the same person then the article is placed only before the first one.
Example - The headmaster and secretary of our school was present in the meeting. (the same person)
▻ When two or more nouns refer to two different persons then article is placed before each of the nouns.
Example -The headmaster and the secretary of our school were present in the meeting (different persons).

❐ OMISSION OF THE ARTICLE:
1. Before a Proper noun used in the general sense.
Example - Kolkata is the cultural heart of India. Sachin Tendulkar is a great cricketer.
Note: If the proper noun is used to compare, then the article is placed before it.
Example - Ahmedabad is the Manchester of India.

2. Before a Common noun used in the general sense.
Example - Man is mortal. Ships sail in the sea.

3. Before a Material noun used in the general sense.
Example - Gold is a valuable metal. Coal is black. Honey tastes sweet.
Note: Article is placed if the material noun is used to show a certain meaning.
Example - The coffee from Ghana is world famous.

4. Before an Abstract noun in the general sense.
Example - Health is wealth. Beauty is truth.
Note : Article is placed before an Abstract noun if that is specified.
Example - The knowledge of King Solomon is known to all.

5. Before plural countable nouns used in the general sense.
Example  - Boys like to play football. Hens lay eggs.

6. Before the names of days, festivals, holidays, months, seasons, diseases, streets, hospitals, stations,
languages, countries, etc.

• Day ― I have an invitation to attend on Sunday.
• Festival― Nuzhat will return to Mumbai after Christmas.
• Holiday ― We have a plan to visit Jaldapara during summer vacation.
• Month ― March is the month of blooming flowers.
• Season ― I was in Delhi last winter.
• Disease ― That boy is suffering from cholera.
• Street ― College Street is the place where my office is.
• Hospital ― S.S.K.M. Hospital is a super-specialty hospital of our state.
• Station ― Our train will leave Howrah Station at 10:45 pm.
• Language ― English is my mother tongue.
• Country ― Brazil is famous for football.

7. Before the name of some relations.
Example - Father gifted me those books.

Prepositions

❐ RELATIONS INDICATED BY PREPOSITIONS :

Place / Position

at	The salesman is standing at the door.
on	The book is kept on the table.
within	Is the hospital within walking distance from your house?
beside	There is a tall tree beside the pond.
up	Jack and Jill went up the hill.
down	Put down your bag.
across	The boat sailed across the river.
inside	The cat is inside the bag.
above	The Almighty is above us.
beyond	The sun is lost beyond the horizon.
about	The little boy is running about the corridor.
from	He is going to return from Goa today.
under	The old man is resting under the tree.
near	You will find a hospital near the school.

Time

after	The son got a job after his father's death.
at	The taxi will arrive at 5 o'clock.
since	It has been raining since morning.
till	I will wait for it till my last breath.
from	The classes will begin from 10 June.
for	Uncle stayed here for a month.
by	He can complete it by Monday.
before	Finish it before I return.
during	I have a plan to visit Bengaluru during this Puja vacation.
within	Father asked me to reach the Bazar within an hour.
throughout	Ranjan studied hard throughout the week.

Direction / Motion

towards	The ship sailed towards the north.
across	The dog ran across the road.
into	The frog jumped into the pond.
at	That pen was dropped at the corner of the room.
down	The paper boat is floating down the tunnel.
away	The Madhyamik examination is one month away.
upon	Their small cottage is upon a hill.
round	I shall roam round the world in 80 days.
over	Birds flew over our head.
from	The migratory birds come flying from the West.
in	Kashmir is in the north of India.
on	The Himalayas are on the north of India.
to	China is to the north of India.
Direction :	In = Inside. On = On the border. To = Outside.

Cause / Purpose

for	The dog was barking for it smelt something on the ground.
of	Hundreds of people die every year of hunger.
through	Go through the book.
from	The boys and girls of this generation are suffering from insomnia.
despite	Despite all the efforts of the doctors, the man could not be saved.

Manner

with	The army fought with courage.
by	The entire building is powered by solar energy.
through	Are you through with your homework?

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