THE
THE USE OF ‘THE’
i. ‘The’ is used before something that is particular, or alone of its kind,
or is separated by definition from other similar things.
1)
‘War’ is terrible.
2)
‘A war’ broke out.
3)
‘The war’ ended after a month.
At no. 1: ‘War’
is used in a general sense. Therefore, we use do not use ‘a’
here.
At no.2: An
individual war is meant. It is not specified so far. Therefore, we use ‘a’.
At no. 3: The
same ‘war’ becomes particular. It is there in the mind of the speaker as
well as the listener. Therefore, ‘the’ is used.
War is
terrible. China occupied a part of our territory. Indian delegation went to
China for talks. The Chinese became very aggressive. A war started.
Many people died. The war ended after one month.
We do not
say ‘a gold’ (or ‘a snow’) because gold is not one of the things
which are all present in front of us to be talked about or pointed at. Some of
the things which are very unlike natural things are looked on as if they were
the name of substances; for this reason we do not say ‘a learning’, ‘a behavior’,
or ‘ a damage.’
ii. It is used also for something which is particular.
1) I
bought a pen. (The noun, Pen, is individual,
but not distinguished from other pens.)
2) The pen
was very useful. (Now the same pen is a particular thing or noun. Therefore,
‘the’ is used.)
Thus, ‘the’ is used
for a particular thing stated earlier :
iii. The is used also for a thing which is alone of its kind as
: the sun, the moon, the sky, the earth, the north, the south, the
east, the west.
iv. It is used also for a thing which is separated by definition from
other things.
1) ‘Boys’
play cricket.
2) ‘Boys’
is used in a general sense. Therefore, we do not use any article.
However, ‘The boys of my
class’ play cricket. The words ‘of my class’ define ‘boys’
and therefore, make ‘boys’ particular. We apply ‘the’ before ‘boys’.
Similarly:
1)
‘The money’ for charity was limited.
2)
‘The pen’ on the table is new.
3)
‘The man’ with the red bag is my brother.
4)
‘The man’ in the kitchen has two cars.
v. The is used also when we personify a person or thing as some other
person or thing.
1. Mr. L.K.Advani is the Sardar Patel
of the modern era.
N.B.: No
article is used before proper nouns because a proper noun describes itself. In
these cases the identification of the object is self-evident
Examples:
1)
Amit is my friend.
2)
Ravi is my brother.
3)
India is our country.
Also, the definite article is not used
when the individualization is self-evident:
Examples: father, mother,
uncle, after lunch, dinner, etc.
Father wants some money.
Meal is ready.
N.B.: The
quality of a specified meal:
The dinner lust Sunday was delicious.
Exercise
No. 3.2
USE: - ‘A’,
‘AN’, ‘THE’, wherever necessary. Write ‘x’ if no article is required
Example: I
saw ________girl. ________girl was reading a novel.
I saw a girl. The girl
was reading a novel.
1.
During _______ month of April, _______sky remains clear.
2.
In May_______ sun shines brightly.
3.
_______ Birds always want ________food.
4.
Amit has just left for _______ adjoining park.
5.
________good players are liked by all.
6.
Ashok is _______ distinguished player of our team.
7.
_______ Rain never comes before the month of ______ August in this
area.
8.
Look! , there is _______ letter that you wanted.
9.
This is _______ girl who won _________ third prize
10.
Many _________ youngsters live in _________ Delhi as it is ________
capital of India.
11.
Every room here needs ___________ furniture for its proper get-up.
12.
Amit went towards __________ east, and I went towards _________
west.
13.
Radhika does not know what _________ poverty is.
14.
________fierce dog bit ________ tallest boy of our class.
15.
This tablet gave him _________ comfort for two days.
16.
After directing __________ mysterious and lengthy movie one needs
_________ rest.
17.
_________knowledge lends credibility to one’s personality.
18.
Our army is responsible for__________ internal order too.
19.
_______flowers of the adjoining park are quite attractive.
20.
_______money is not everything.
Exercise
No. 3.3
Fill
in the blanks with a, an, the:
Example: (i) The sun
rises in the east and sets in the west.
1.
_____apple _____day keeps _____ doctor away.
2.
___ Rajasthan Express is ______ fastest train of our country.
3.
Anil is _____ Dara Singh of our school.
4.
All of ____ sudden, I saw ______ ugly man coming out of
_______nearby bushes.
5.
He is ____ M.A. in English and _______ lecturer in ______ Delhi
University.
6.
My father is ____ teacher in ____ Senior Secondary School of
Delhi.
7.
I saw ___ elephant, ___ stag,______ ewe, _____ram,____ ox, and
_____Australian goat.
8.
_____red and ____white goat are together in ____field below.
9.
Standing up on ___ top of my house, I saw _____ unique phenomenon.
10.
It was decided that ____ retired judge would enquire into _____
incident of the firing that happened only ___ day before yesterday.
11.
She is ____M.A. in geography and is trying for _____ appointment
of _____lecturer in any of____colleges of_______ Delhi University.
12.
_____cow is ____ sacred animal and is highly esteemed by ____
Hindus.
13.
I found ___ bag on ____ road; _____bag contained ____ knife _____
dairy and _____ one-Rupee note inside it.
14.
_____postman put ___ letter under _____ front door just _____hour
after you had left for _____ University.
15.
____man you saw here yesterday is ___ uncle of mine and ____ great
lover of the Ramayana.
16.
There was not _____ policeman at _____ site of _____ accident. I
was ____ eyewitness. I saw that ____ spectators were crowding round ____
victim.
17.
Sixty minutes or three thousand six hundred seconds make _____
hour.
18.
I prefer ___ apple to _____ orange or ____ banana.
19.
_______Indian girl is _____ good wife, but ____English girl is
____ good mother.
20.
The Taj Mahal is ___ unique building considered to be one of ____
best in ____world.
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