LESSON 1. ARTICLES AND THEIR USAGE

THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE

The indefinite article is “a” or “an”. 

The form “a” is used before a word beginning with a consonant or a vowel sounded like a consonant. Vowels are “a e i o u” and all other letters are consonants.  

Eg.  a man

       a useful thing

The form “an” is used before words beginning with a vowel or words beginning  with a mute “h”

Eg. an egg

      an hour

The indefinite article “a” or “an” is used

1. Before a singular noun which is countable when it is mentioned for the first time and represents no particular person or things
• Eg. A dog is an animal
2. Before singular countable nouns which is used as an example of class of things
• Eg. A cow has horns
3. With a noun complement. This includes names of professions
• Eg. He is a doctor
4. In certain numerical expressions
• Eg. A couple, a dozen, half a dozen, a score, a hundred, a thousand, a million, a lot of , a great many, a great deal of
5. In expressions of price, speed, ratio etc.
• Eg. sixty kilometers an hour, four times a day