In this topic, I am going to discuss about the usage of the two most daily use words of English - 'The' and 'A.
'A','An' and 'The' are all article determiners. These words are used to determine the type of reference made by the noun. Let me now, talk about the mistakes that we perform in their usage in daily life. Most of the people are acquainted with it. They used to read it in the old books, but as for today, finding this point in the books is likely to be rare. So I am going to contrast on these three words using only three criterion - Pronunciation, words to be described, and when to be used. So let's start.
Pronunciation of 'The' - 'The' will be pronounced as 'thee' when the first sound of the word coming after it is a vowel sound. But if the first sound of the word coming after it is a consonant sound, then it will be pronounced as 'tha'.
Please note that sounds (here) are only the sounds produced when a word is pronounced. So to understand whether a sound is a vowel sound or a consonant sound, you can pronounce them well and understand.
Words to be described - It is notable that articles are only used when to describe an improper noun or a verb derived from a noun, like 'showering' from 'shower'.
When to be used - 'An' is to be used only when the first letter of the word coming after it is a vowel letter. It is used only when describing something in that piece or passage or anything which has not been described in it till then.
'A' can be used when the first letter of the word coming after it is a consonant letter. It is used only when describing something in that piece or passage or anything which has not been described in it till then.
'The' can be used when the first letter of the word coming after it is a consonant letter. It is used only when describing something in that piece or passage or anything which has been described in it till then.
Sample Usage
Pronunciation of 'The' - Let me tell you how will 'The' will be pronounced with certain words.
The
The ant (thee)
The answer (thee)
The egg (thee)
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The ball (tha)
The cat (tha)
The mouse (tha)
Words to be described - See the examples.
A boy (correct)
A Martin (incorrect)
A keyboard (correct)
A Logitech (incorrect)
An honest person (correct)
An Harishchandra (incorrect)
An Umbrella (correct)
An K. C. Pal (incorrect)
The girl (correct)
The Mary (incorrect)
The CDs (correct)
The Sony (incorrect)
When to be used - See the example. Here I want you to think how will it be corrected.
"A honest person was named as Tarun. A Sheela loved him. Both of them married each other and lived in the Mumbai."
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