Articles
and Common Errors - I
Dear
readers, in the previous post we discussed some of the common errors associated
with phrasal verbs that English as non-native speakers encounter in their daily
conversation. This present post highlights the common errors that people tend
to commit when they deal with articles.
In
English, articles are categorised into two parts – Definite article and
Indefinite article. The Definite article is ‘the’, and the Indefinite articles are ‘a’
and ‘an’. This post focuses on the errors associated with Indefinite articles.
1.
Please give me book. (Incorrect)
Please give me a
book. (Correct)
Here the
speaker is asking for any book and not a particular book.
2.
A. Raja is a MP. (Incorrect)
A.
Raja is an MP. (Correct)
If ‘a’ is followed by a word that begins with a vowel sound, ‘an’
should be used instead of ‘a’. Do not go by the vowel letters alone, but
consider the vowel sounds.
3.
I want to do my PG at an university. (Incorrect)
I want to do my PG at a university. (Correct)
Here the
word ‘university’ begins with a consonant sound, and therefore ‘a’ is the
appropriate article.
4.
We have laptop. (Incorrect)
We have a
laptop. (Correct)
When we
talk about countable nouns ‘a/an’ should be used.
5.
Thangaraj is teacher. (Incorrect)
Thangaraj is a teacher. (Correct)
He is Indian. (Incorrect)
He is an Indian. (Correct)
To denote
one’s profession ‘a/an’ should be used. The indefinite articles are also used
for indicating a membership in a group.
Using of articles in
both spoken and written versions is important for every speaker of English.
Learning the correct usage of the articles makes the speakers communicate in English
with good accuracy. Let us discuss the errors associated with the usage of the
definite articles in the next post.
Author:
Dr. K. Nandhakumar
Assistant Professor of
English
Sri Ramakrishna
Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science (Autonomous)
Coimbatore- 641 020
Reference:
Saumya Sharma. (2017).
Common Errors in Everyday English.
