ARTICLES - 02

ARTICLES - 02

A singular countable noun usually needs an article or a word like THIS, THAT, MY, OUR, YOUR, HER, HIS, ITS, THEIR, EACH, EVERY, ANOTHER

a parrot, the cat, her husband, each school, every college, another cup, this house, 
that shop

A cow is a useful animal. [NOT _Cow is useful animal._]

The school has a good name. [NOT _School has good name._]

When you mention something for the first time, A/AN is used before a singular countable noun. When the same noun is mentioned again, THE is used:

Last month I bought a grammar book and an encyclopaedia. The grammar book cost me Rs 500 while the encyclopaedia cost me Rs 3000.

USES OF A/AN before a singular countable noun:

1. To mean EVERY or ANY to represent a group or class:

A cow is a useful animal.
A dictionary contains a large number of words.
A lion is a wild animal.
A dog is more useful than a cat.

When these nouns are put into plural no article is used:

Cows are useful animals.
Dictionaries contain a lot of words.
Lions are wild animals.
Dogs are more useful than cats.

To represent a group or class, we can also use THE instead of A/AN:

The cow is a useful animal.
The dictionary contains a lot of words.
The lion is a wild animal.
The dog is more useful than a cat.