Articles
English · Grammar · 3 min
Concept: Articles: a, an, the
Marathi and Hindi have no articles, so this is the single most common error in MPSC English papers written by Marathi-medium candidates. The rules are short.
a / an — one of many, mentioned for the first time.
Choose by sound, not spelling: an hour (silent h), a university (starts with "yoo"), an MLA (em-el-ay).
the — a specific one, or already mentioned.
Also with superlatives (the best), rivers (the Godavari), and unique things (the sun).
No article with plurals and uncountables in general statements: "Books are expensive", not "The books are expensive" — unless you mean specific books.
Formula card
Sound, not spelling → an hour, a university · Superlative → the · General plural → no article
Worked example
"She is ____ honest officer." → "Honest" sounds like "onest", a vowel sound → an honest officer.