'a', 'an', and 'the'. They tell us whether a noun is specific or general. Master this topic and you can score easy marks in every SSC CGL paper. --- TYPES OF ARTICLES 1. INDEFINITE ARTICLES — 'A' and 'AN' These refer to any one item from a group.
The noun is not specific. - 'A' is used before words that begin with a CONSONANT SOUND. - 'AN' is used before words that begin with a VOWEL SOUND. KEY RULE — It is the SOUND that matters, not the letter
A + Consonant Sound | AN + Vowel Sound Examples: - A university (sounds like 'yoo' — consonant sound) - An umbrella (sounds like 'um' — vowel sound) - An honest man (H is silent — vowel sound 'o') - A one-rupee coin (sounds like 'wun' — consonant sound) 2. DEFINITE ARTICLE — 'THE' This refers to a specific noun that is already known to both the speaker and listener
- Something is unique: the sun, the moon, the sky - Something is mentioned for the second time: I saw a dog. The dog was black. - A superlative is used: the best, the tallest - A musical instrument is played: She plays the guitar - Names of rivers, seas, oceans, mountain ranges, groups of islands: the Ganga, the Pacific Ocean, the Alps, the Andamans - Names of newspapers: the Hindu, the Times of India - Names of holy books: the Quran, the Bible, the Gita - Ordinal numbers: the first, the third NO ARTICLE (Zero Article) Rule: Do NOT use any article before: - Names of languages: He speaks Hindi (NOT the Hindi) - Names of sports: She plays cricket - Names of individual mountains, lakes, islands: Mount Everest, Lake Victoria - Names of meals in general: We had dinner - Plural nouns used in general sense: Dogs are loyal animals ---
— HOW IT IS ASKED IN SSC CGL - Error Spotting: One part of a sentence has a wrong or missing article. - Fill in the Blanks: Choose correct article from options. - Sentence Improvement: Replace incorrect article with correct one. The most tested areas are: silent letters, vowel sound vs vowel letter, unique nouns, and zero article rules. ---
Trick 1 — THE SOUND RULE (Most tested shortcut) Always pronounce the word in your head before choosing 'a' or 'an'. Formula: Say the word aloud → First sound = Vowel → AN | First sound = Consonant → A Example: 'An MBA degree' — M sounds like 'em' (vowel sound) → use AN Trick 2 — THE SECOND MENTION RULE First mention = 'a/an', Second mention = 'the' Formula: 1st time → A/AN | 2nd time → THE Example: I bought a pen. The pen was red. Trick 3 — RASON Formula for 'THE' R = Rivers, A = Articles (newspapers/books), S = Superlatives, O = Oceans/Seas, N = Named ranges (mountain ranges) Whenever you see these, use THE automatically. ---
Look at the word after the blank — 'honest'
Pronounce 'honest' — the H is silent, it sounds like 'onest'
First sound is a vowel sound ('o')
Vowel sound → use AN Answer: (B) an WORKED EXAMPLE 2 Question: ___ Ganga is a sacred river. Options: (A) A (B) An (C) The (D) No article
'Ganga' is a river name.
Apply RASON rule — R = Rivers → use THE
Also, rivers are unique geographical features → THE is correct. Answer: (C) The ---
— THE NUMBER 1 TRAP Students look at the LETTER, not the SOUND. - They write 'a honest man' because H is a consonant letter — WRONG - They write 'an university' because U is a vowel letter — WRONG Remember: Articles depend on SOUND, not SPELLING. This single rule causes the most errors in SSC CGL every year.
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