ARTICLES
We use a to show singular countable noun, one thing, person or
Introduction To Articles
1. Articles are used before nouns. There are only 3 articles.
a) a
b) an
c) the
Articles a
1. We use a to show singular countable noun, one thing, person or
animal that begins with a consonant sound : b, c, d, etc.
Examples :
a) I have a cat.
b) Cik Aini is typing her work on a computer.
c) The postman was chased by a dog.
d) I saw a girl near the canteen yesterday.
2. When there is a descriptive word (adjective) before a noun,
with the first letter of the descriptive word that begins with a
consonant sound : b, c, d, etc, then article a is placed before
the descriptive word.
Examples :
a) There is a fierce dog at the gate.
b) My mother bought a red umbrella for me.
c) We saw a large elephant at the zoo.
d) There is a beautiful car under the tree
3.
animal that begins with the letter u and pronounced with a 'yew'
sound.
Examples :
a) My brother is studying in a university.
b) The pot is a utensil used in the kitchen.
c) He registered as a member of a union recently.
d) The boys worked as a unit to complete the project.
4. Expressions that refer to more than one thing, with the first
letter of the expressions that begins with a consonant sound :
b, c, d, etc, then article a is placed before the expressions.
Examples :
a) Only a few people came to the concert.
b) We saw a large number of sparrows on the tree.
c) There was a large group of spectators watching the games.
d) A great number of people came to the charity concert.
Article an
1. We use an to show singular countable noun, one thing, person or
animal that begins with a vowel sound : a, e, i, o, u.
Examples :
a) Azmi bought an umbrella yesterday.
b) An octopus has eight tentacles.
c) When I grow up I want to be an engineer.
d) A place where an Eskimo lives is called an igloo.
2. When there is a descriptive word (adjective) before a noun,
with the first letter of the descriptive word that begins with a
vowel sound : a, e, i, o, u, then article an is placed before the
descriptive word.

Examples :
a) Amin is an intelligent boy.
b) Salina bought an expensive dress at the mall.
c) I read an interesting book yesterday.
d) There is an ugly duckling swimming in the pond.
3. We use an to show singular countable noun, one thing, person or
animal that begins with the silent h. There are certain words
which begin with the letter h but the h is not sounded. It is
called a silent h. So, if a word begins with the silent h and
followed by the vowel sound 'o' or 'e', we will pronounce the
word beginning with the vowel sound.
Examples :
a) Yasin is an honest boy.
b) He left home an hour ago.
c) It is an honour for me to be here.
d) The King needs an heir for the throne.
4. Expressions that refer to more than one thing, with the first
letter of the expressions that begins with a vowel sound : a, e, i,
o, u, then article an is placed before the expressions.
Examples :
a) There is an enormous amount of dust on the sofa.
b) It was an extremely joyous occassion.
c) An unusually large group of people had gathered to watch the
event.
d) Saiful had an excruciatingly painful experience when both his
parents died in a tragic accident.
Article the
1. We use the to refer to a noun which is the only one of its kind.
Examples :
a) The moon shines at night.
b) The Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
c) The Sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
d) The United States of America is a very big country.
2. We use the to refer or talk about a particular person, animal,
place or thing.
Examples :
a) The lion escaped from the zoo yesterday.
b) The boy whom you talked to just now is my cousin.
c) The girl in the red dress is her sister.
d) The umbrella which I bought yesterday is kept in the
cupboard.
e) The kitchen is under repair.
3. We use the to talk about nouns we have mentioned earlier.
Examples :
a) Jugah lives in a longhouse in Sarawak. The longhouse has many rooms
for many families.
b) I bought a bag yesterday. The bag is big and beautiful.
c) Jamil saw an accident near his house just now. The accident
happened when a car skidded and hit a tree.
d) My mother bought some oranges. The oranges were very sour.
4. We use the when we use the superlative form of the adjective.
Examples :
a) Zainal is the tallest boy in his class.
b) Sungai Rajang is the longest river in Malaysia.
c) Siti Nurhaliza is the most famous singer in Malaysia.
d) The fastest way to travel is by air.
5. We use the to show a particular top post or a top position. No Articles
1. We do not write articles before the name of a person and name
Examples : of games.
a) The Prime Minister of Malaysia is on a three day official visit
to Terengganu with a team of officials. Examples 1 :
b) His Highness Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin is the King of a) This is my friend Arthur. (/)
Malaysia. b) This is my friend a Arthur. (x)
c) Barack Obama is the first black person to be elected as the c) This is my friend an Arthur. (x)
President of the United States of America. d) This is my friend the Arthur. (x)
d) The headmaster was very unhappy with the conduct of the
students during the inter-district hockey tournament. Examples 2 :
6. We use the to refer or talk about particular people, animals, a) I like to play hockey. (/)
places or things. b) I like to play a hockey. (x)
c) I like to play an hockey. (x)
Examples : d) I like to play the hockey. (x)
a) The tigers are kept in cages.
b) The girls whom you talked to just now are my classmates.
c) The apples in those boxes are for the orphans.
d) The eggs which I bought yesterday are all rotten.
e) The stalls along the road were burned down last night.