Nouns, articles & quantity · CEFR A1 · Starting
a / an / the — English nouns and articles
"A" when it is new or any one. "The" when both of you know which.
The shape
a / an = any one · the = that one
Stop dropping the little words English cannot do without.
In Hindi
नई या कोई भी एक चीज़ के लिए "a"। जब दोनों जानते हों कौन-सी, तब "the"।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
I am going to office. | I am going to the office. Indian English drops "the" here; standard English keeps it. |
a / an / the examples
Easiest first. Every sentence is authored, with the Hindi it comes from.
This is an apple.
यह एक सेब है।
I need a pen.
मुझे एक पेन चाहिए।
He is a teacher.
वह एक शिक्षक है।
A man is standing there.
वहाँ एक आदमी खड़ा है।
Open the door and come in.
दरवाज़ा खोलो और अंदर आओ।
I will come in an hour.
मैं एक घंटे में आ{ऊँगा|ऊँगी}।
My mother is a doctor.
मेरी माँ एक डॉक्टर हैं।
Give me the menu, please.
मुझे मेन्यू दीजिए।
The sun is very strong.
सूरज बहुत तेज़ है।
I need a room for one night.
मुझे एक कमरा एक रात के लिए चाहिए।
Easy to confuse with
Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.
- When to use no article at allA2Know when leaving it out is correct
- Talking about things in generalB2Make a general statement three different ways
- Articles: tricky casesC1Get the article right where even fluent speakers slip
Questions people ask
- What is the a / an / the used for?
- "A" when it is new or any one. "The" when both of you know which. In practice: stop dropping the little words english cannot do without.
- How do you form the a / an / the?
- a / an = any one · the = that one.
- What is the most common mistake with the a / an / the?
- Saying “I am going to office.” instead of “I am going to the office.”. Indian English drops "the" here; standard English keeps it.
Where a / an / the fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
a / an / the is a CEFR A1 structure — the starting band — and it belongs to nouns, articles & quantity. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
Practise the a / an / the →