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Grammar Articles and their effective use in IELTS writing task

You might have come across people blundering while trying to speak English fluently. Unfortunately, for the sake of following a good style of speaking and writing English, some people often skip or forget to use grammar articles wherever required. However, if you are going to take any international English exam like IELTS, then it is necessary to use grammar articles appropriately. Remember, the correct use of IELTS grammar will help you achieve eight bands in the IELTS exam.

Do you know what it is that can surely impress your IELTS examiner? Following the appropriate grammatical structures in IELTS writing and speaking tasks can grow your chances of getting good bands. For example, consider grammar articles like a, an, and the that bring completeness and accuracy to English sentences. ​​

Articles and their types
To begin with, articles are words showcasing some essential characteristics of the noun they are used with. There are two types of articles. Definite and indefinite.
A definite article is "the," while indefinite articles are "a" and "an ." The choice of these will help decide if the noun is countable or uncountable or whether you are using it precisely. Using such articles can change the entire context and meaning of the sentence.

For example, "A cup of coffee in the morning refreshes one's mind." Here, article (A) represents a single cup of coffee generally taken by anyone in the morning, and (the) represents the specific time of the day when one takes coffee.

However, replacing the determiner ‘a with ‘the’ can change the sentence's entire meaning. For example, "The cup of coffee in the morning refreshes one's mind." In this sentence, (the) refers to a particular cup of coffee made by someone or purchased from a specific cafe in the morning on that day.


Importance of IELTS grammar articles for your IELTS advantage
It is often the most challenging task for non-native English speakers to use definite or indefinite articles in the writing module. Also, these are the frequently used words in every line of writing or speaking tasks. So if you are good enough to use them, then there are few chances of making grammatical mistakes in the exam.
So make sure to use them as required because it will make you look more professional and fluent in the language. Hence, the chances of getting good bands will be more.

Articles with nouns (countable and uncountable)
An uncountable noun is always singular. Therefore, you cannot use 'a' and' an' with an uncountable noun. For example, since liquid items like tea, coffee, milk, etc. are uncountable nouns, you cannot use 'a' and' an' with these kinds of stuff. Check the example below:

  • Give me milk. (Here, since milk is an uncountable noun, so no article has been used
  • Please give me a glass of milk. (Here, a glass of milk is taken as a defined countable noun, so 'a' has been used with it).
  • Please give me a glass of milk. ( Here, 'the' signifies any specific glass of milk that's being asked for by someone)
Can you use articles with Noun Phrases?
Noun phrases are just the combination of article + adjective + noun, and the use of an indefinite/definite article is based upon the adjective that follows it. For example,
  1. An unreliable story
  2. A trustworthy man
  3. An executed strategy
  4. The diamond power
  5. The most effective idea
However, certain conditions require nouns to take the definite article "the." In brief, if an object or collection of things is unique or considered unique, the article "the" is preferred. For instance,
  • Historical Monuments
English speakers always use ‘the’ before the name of any historical building since it is considered unique and particular. Like 'the Statue of Liberty, 'the Qutubminar', the Taj Mahal, etc.
  • Holy Books
Since every religion has its own holy book which signifies its unique religious texts and knowledge, hence the article 'the' is always used before sacred texts like 'the Gita’, 'the Bible,' 'the Upanishads, ‘the Guru Granth Sahib, etc.
  • Geographical Bodies
Native English speakers usually use the article 'the' before natural entities like deserts, rivers, hills, forests, oceans, etc. Examples are the Himalayas, the Ganga, the Yamuna, the Pacific Ocean, the Sahara, the Thar, the Amazon, etc.
  • Countries
A few countries use the article 'the' before them such as `The United States of America,' 'The United Kingdom, and 'The United Arab Emirates.
We hope that we have walked you through the in-depth knowledge about articles and their uses. It is advised to the IELTS candidates to develop a habit of using articles through reading and listening to English speakers. Also, they can prepare themselves at the best level by watching English TV channels, news with subtitles, and podcasts. To bring it to your attention, you can pause English movies wherever articles have been used and speak out the entire sentences. 

This activity is called "active listening” and you can take on that on daily basis. Furthermore, you can notice how definite and indefinite articles have been used in newspaper articles, stories, magazines, and novels. This is how you can improve your grammar for IELTS and augment your chances of pursuing nine bands.


For practice

Fill in the blanks by choosing appropriate articles (a/an/the).

  1. Ramesh is a boy.
  2. You are the shortest of all.
  3. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
  4. Are you in for the summer camp?
  5. The plate is on the brown table.
  6. Please give me a single scoop of ice cream.
  7. She ate a packet of chips.
  8. Let's take an umbrella along.

Dr.Roma

Content Writer