Table of Contents
What is Article :
The article is a word that points out a person, thing or place spoken of. Thus article refers to the noun. [ Articles noun কে চিহ্নিত বা সনাক্ত করতে ব্যবহৃত হয়। ]
Types of Articles :
There are two types of articles –
1. Definite article (The)
2. Indefinite article (A/An)
Definite Article
Definition: Definite article tells us about a specific person or thing. [ Definite article একটি নির্দিষ্ট ব্যক্তি বা জিনিস সম্পর্কে বলতে ব্যবহৃত হয়। ]
‘The’ is called the Definite Article, as it normally points out some particular person or thing. [ The হল Definite article কারণ এটি নিদিষ্ট কোনো ব্যক্তি বা বস্তুকে চিহ্নিত করে। ]
Example:
He saw the doctor.
I can see the man.
In the sentences, ‘the’ is pointing out ‘doctor’ and ‘man’ respectively.
Some Uses of the Definite Article :
1. When we talk about a particular person or thing, or one already referred to earlier [ যখন এমন কোন নির্দিষ্ট ব্যক্তি বা বস্তু কে চিহ্নিত করা হয় যার সম্পর্কে আগেও কিছু বলা হয়ে গেছে ] – I bought a book. The book has a special design.
2. Decades [ দশককে বোঝাতে ] – He was born in the 1920s.
3. Currencies [ কোনো মুদ্রাকে চিহ্নিত করতে ] – The dollar is getting stronger against the pound.
4. Superlatives and ordinals [ Superlative ও Ordinal এর ক্ষেত্রে ] – The second book in the series is the best.
5. Oceans, seas and many rivers [ নির্দিষ্ট কোনো নদী, সমুদ্রের নাম এর আগে ] – The Nile flows into the Mediterranean.
6. Plural or ‘united’ countries [ যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের ক্ষেত্রে ] – The Maldives are much smaller than the United States of America.
7. Adjectives used as nouns [ কোনো বিশেষণ বিশেষ্যের রূপে ব্যবহৃত হলে ] – The poor will always be a challenge for the rich in any country.
8. Many organisations [ কোনো সংস্থা কে চিহ্নিত করতে ] – The World Health Organization has a detailed definition of health.
9. A scientific categorisation [ কোনো প্রজাতি কে চিহ্নিত করতে ] – The zebra is native to Africa.
10. A symbol [ কোন প্রতীক এর ক্ষেত্রে ] – The Merlion is a symbol of Singapore.
11. Unique people, places or things [ বিশেষ ব্যক্তি, বস্তু বা স্থান এর ক্ষেত্রে ] – The prime minister said she would call a conference on changes affecting the earth’s climate.
12. Unique adjectives [ বিশেষ কিছু বিশেষণ এর ক্ষেত্রে ] – The same people always take the only parking spaces available.
Indefinite Article
Definition: Indefinite article speaks of any person thing or place. [ Indefinite article যেকোনো ব্যক্তি, বস্তু বা স্থানকে চিহ্নিত করে। ]
‘A’ or ‘an’ is called the Indefinite Article, as it leaves indefinite the person or thing spoken of. [ A বা an কে Indefinite article বলা হয়, কারণ এটি কোন ব্যক্তি বা জিনিসকে অনির্দিষ্ট রেখে দেয়। ]
Example: A doctor, A school, A man, A woman
Here ‘a’ points out any doctor, any school or any man or woman.
**Note- The indefinite article is used before singular countable nouns e.g. A book, An orange, A girl. [ Singular countable noun এর ক্ষেত্রে Indefinite article বসে। ]
When to use ‘a’ and when to use ‘an’:
Choose when to use a or an according to the sound of the noun that follows it –
1. The article a typically comes before ‘a’ word that begins with a consonant sound [ Consonant দিয়ে শুরু হওয়া শব্দের শুরুতে ‘a’ বসে ] : e.g., a book, a dog, a man
2. When the first sound is a hard “h”, the article will almost always be ‘ [ শব্দের শুরুতে h sound উচ্চারিত হলে সবসময় ‘a’ বসে ] : e.g., a horse, a home, a hat
3. Use ‘a’ before a long u that sounds like “you” [ শব্দের শুরুতে দীর্ঘ সময় ধরে উচ্চারিত হওয়া u থাকলে ‘a’ বসে ] : e.g., a union, a uniform, a unicorn
4. Use ‘a’ when o sounds like w [ শব্দের শুরুর o এর sound w এর মতো শোনালে ‘a’ বসে ] : e.g., a one-hour appointment
5. Use ‘an’ when the next sound begins with a vowel sound (except long u) [ Vowel দিয়ে শুরু হওয়া শব্দের শুরুতে ‘an’ বসে (দীর্ঘ সময় ধরে উচ্চারিত হওয়া u ব্যাতীত) ] : e.g., an asset, an essay, an index, an onion, an umbrella
6. Use ‘an’ when ‘h’ is not sounded [ শব্দের শুরুর h sound যখন উচ্চারিত হয় না তখন ‘an’ বসে ] : e.g., an honor, an hour, an heir
** Note: Take a look at these examples of acronyms in which you pronounce each letter individually [ Acronym এর ক্ষেত্রে এই উদাহরণ গুলি অবশ্যই বিবেচ্য কারণ acronym উচ্চারণ করার সময় প্রতিটি অক্ষর পৃথকভাবে উচ্চারণ করা হয় ]: e.g., an MBA (first sound is em), a GRE (first sound is gee), an SOS signal (first sound is es)
If you say the acronym as a single word, such as NATO or AIDS, refer to the first sound of the word [ কিন্তু যদি acronym একটি সম্পূর্ণ শব্দের ন্যায় উচ্চারিত হয় তবে প্রথম শুরুর অক্ষরটির sound বিবেচিত হবে ]: e.g., a NATO student, an AIDS patient
Some Uses of the Indefinite Article :
1. If the noun is singular and countable, and this is the first time you have mentioned it, then you will usually need the indefinite article [ যদি noun টি singular ও countable হয়, এবং প্রথমবারের জন্য তার সমন্ধে বলা হয় ]- I bought a book. The book has a special design.
2. Measurements and rates also take the indefinite article [ পরিমাপ ও মূল্যের ক্ষেত্রে ] – Three times a week
3. In the sense of any, to single out an individual as the representative of a class [ কোনো অনির্দিষ্ট ব্যক্তি বা বস্তু গোটা শ্রেণীর প্রতিনিধিত্ব করলে ] – for eg., A pupil should obey his teacher. A cow is a useful animal
4. To make a common noun of a proper noun [ কোনো proper noun কে common noun হিসাবে ব্যবহার করার ক্ষেত্রে ] – for eg., A Daniel come to judgement! (A Daniel – a very wise man)
EXERCISE
A) Fill in the blank spaces with the correct article.
At Cambridge University there was _____ conference consisting of some of _____ most celebrated biologists in _____ world. Most of _____ speakers had achieved success in their chosen field after many years of difficult research. However, one of _____ most famous researchers, Jane Wills, had received worldwide acclaim from ___ early age. Emma Helme, _____ chemist who has written _____ lot about biology, was also there. These scientists told _____ audience of their struggles. ____most interesting aspect was how ____ data communication via ____ internet changed _____ way they did their research. ____ email, one aspect of _____ data communications was very effective.
B) Fill in the blank spaces with the correct article.
a) I’m studying at ____ University of Technology
b) I’m studying at ____ UTS.
c) This is ____ most fun I’ve ever had.
d) ____ Most of ____students here work very hard.
e) ____ Most ____students enjoy meeting other students.
f) You can see ___ Opera House and ___ harbour from her window.
g) Did you catch ___ train into uni?
h) Frank is ____ architecture student. He is ____student who won the competition.
i) The university is on ____ George Street.
j) I go into ___ library three times ___ week.
k) She doesn’t even know how to use ____ computer.
l) ____ Prime-minister will be visiting campus next week.
m) Let’s watch ___ sunset from building 1.
n) ___French is a difficult language to learn.
o) ___ French love their food and wine.
p) _____ Pandas are under threat of extinction.
q) ____ panda is under threat of extinction.
C) Underline the articles from the below passage.
Well, I am a Science Graduate, currently a housewife and mother of two. While helping my kids with their studies I find that schools are providing very few worksheets for practice at home which is not sufficient for the kids to think beyond the boundary. For better development and depth on each subject, students should practice more and more worksheets or question papers. I am sure other parents also experienced the same problem. So through this website, I plan to provide various worksheets on different subjects to help interested kids, parents, and teachers.
What is Preposition :
A preposition is a word or group of words used to link nouns, pronouns, and phrases to other words in a sentence. [ যে সমস্ত Word কোন Noun বা Pronoun এর আগে বসে বাক্যের অন্য পদের সঙ্গে তাদের সম্বন্ধ স্থাপন করে তাদের Preposition বলে। ]
Examples: in, at, on, of, to, by, and with or phrases such as in front of, next to, instead of.
Kinds of Prepositions :
The several kinds of prepositions are –
| Kinds | About | Examples |
| 1. Simple Prepositions | These are one-word prepositions [এগুলি একটি word বিশিষ্ট preposition] | at, after, by, for, from, of, off, in, on, out, over, to, under, up, with |
| 2. Complex Prepositions | These are phrase prepositions that consist of two or more words [এগুলি দুই বা তার বেশি word বিশিষ্ট preposition] | according to, because of, due to, owing to, by dint of, in front of, with a view to. |
| 3. Compound Prepositions | These are formed by prefixing the preposition to a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. [এইগুলি noun, adjective বা adverb এর সাথে preposition prefix হিসেবে যুক্ত হয়ে গঠিত হয়] | across (on + cross) a long, around, before, below, between, into, inside. |
| 4. Disguised Prepositions | These are not directly used or implemented in a sentence but is mentioned indirectly. [ এগুলো একটি বাক্যে সরাসরি ব্যবহৃত বা প্রয়োগ করা হয় না কিন্তু পরোক্ষভাবে উল্লেখ করা হয়] | “On” changed into “a”, and “Of ” changed into “o” e.g. – He comes once a week. (on) ahead, asleep, ahunting, o‘clock , etc |
| 5. Participle Prepositions | Few participles ending with -ing or -ed or -en are used as a preposition. [-ing/-en/-ed দিয়ে শেষ হওয়া participle গুলি participle preposition] | excluding, provided, regarding, failing, including saving, gone, accepting, touching, concerning, excepting, sliding, notwithstanding, counting, during, broken, barring, considering, following, owing, pending, given respecting, etc. |
| 6. Double Prepositions | These are made by combining two simple prepositions [দুটি simple preposition পাশাপাশি বসে এটি গঠিত হয়] | into, onto, inside, upon, up to, outside of, out of, without, within, from behind, because of, according to, from beneath, next to, etc. |
| 7. Detached Prepositions | A preposition that has been detached and sent to the very end of the sentence is called Detached Preposition. [এগুলি বাক্যের একদম শেষে বসে] | Whom/who did you speak to? Where are you coming from? |
Uses of Prepositions
Preposition for Time –
| Prep. | Usage | Examples |
| in | • months/seasons • years • time of day • centuries and historical periods • after a certain period of time | • in August/in the summer • in 1985in the evening • in the 19th century • Mystic Market closes in two hours. |
| at | • time of days • noon, night, and midnight • names of mealtime • age | • at 2:30 • at night • at breakfast • I learned how to use a computer at 12. |
| on | • days of the week | • on Friday |
| since | • from a period of time up to the present (when it started) | • I have been a student since 2004. |
| for | • how long a period of time has been | • I have been a student here for 2 years. |
| from…to… | • the beginning and end of a period of time | • My appointment is from 13:30 to 14:00. |
| until | • a period of time up to a specific point in time | • I cannot go dancing until I finish reading this chapter. |
| by | • in the sense of ”at the latest” due date | • You must return your book by April 21st. • My essay is due by the end of the week. |
Preposition for Place –
| Prep. | Usage | Examples |
| in | • when something is in a place, it is inside it (enclosed within limits) | • in class/in Victoria • in the book • in the car/in a taxi • You look serious in this photo. |
| at | • located at a specific place (a point) • for events • place where you are to do something typical (watch a movie, study, work) | • at the library • at a concert/at a party • at the cinema/at school/at work |
| on | • being on a surface (not enclosed) • for a certain side (left, right) • for a floor in a building • for public transport • for television, radio | • I left the keys on the table. • Go down this hall to the end, turn right, and it’s the third door on your left. • My apartment is on the fourth floor. • I forgot my phone on the bus. • You can hear my brother on the radio. |
| to | • moving toward a specific place (the goal or endpoint of movement) | • Every morning, I take the bus to campus. |
| from | • for the origin or starting point | • I used carrots from my garden. • I received a suspicious email from my bank. • I will be on vacation from July 31 for a week. |
| towards | • movement in direction of something | • I suddenly saw a dog running towards me. |
| across | • movement from one side to another | • There is a coffee shop across the street. • I swam across the lake. |
| through | • movement from one side to another but ”in something” | • I entered the room through an open window. • You have to go through the kitchen to get to the bathroom. |
| between | • a place ”in the middle” of two or more separate people or things | • I was standing between my friend and his parents. • The gap between the rich and poor keeps growing. |
| among | • a place ”surrounded” by more than two people or things together as a group (in the sense of ”included in”) | • France is among the countries of Western Europe. • Among the advantages of exercising regularly are lower risks of depression and a better quality of life. |
Preposition of Connections –
| Prep. | Usage | Examples |
| of | • between two noun phrases to show that the first belongs to or is part of the second • to say how people are related | • The keyboard of my computer is pink. • Richard is the son of Audrey/He is a good friend of mine. |
| with | • Between two noun phrases when the second is a particular feature of the first • to say that people or things are together • for the specific thing used to perform an action | • I spilled coffee on the computer with a pink keyboard. • I think Sarah is studying with Tara/I went to a workshop with my friend. • My roommate killed a spider with a book. |
| by | • when we want to describe an action in a more general way | • My roommate saved my live by killing the spider. |
Preposition of Direction/ Movement –
| Prep. | Usage | Examples |
| across | • On, at, to, or from the other side | • across the street; lines across the paper |
| through | • from one end or side to another | • through the tunnel; a tour through France |
| to | • In a direction toward a person I think toward a (given) state | • go to bed; move on to; face to face • back to health; all the way to; to die for |
| into | • movement to the inside I interior of to the condition, state, or form of | • went into the kitchen; crashed into a tree • breaking into pieces; go into banking |
| out of | • from the inside to the outside no longer in the condition, state, or form of | • drag myself out of bed; out of nowhere • out of town; out of order; out of fashion |
| onto | • movement to the top | • jumped onto the table |
| towards | • movement in the direction of; or closer to | • towards the house; toward the future; toward peace |
| from | • a starting point; movement away from • a source, a cause; a distinction | • walked home from the station; traveled from NY to LA • a note from the teacher; know right from wrong |
Other Prepositions –
| Prep. | Usage | Examples |
| of | • originating from, composed of, associated with, belonging to | • men of the north; a cup of coffee; the hand of God; that friend of yours |
| by | • in the name of; through the agency or action of | • a book by Mark Twain; by myself; played by the rules; killed by a bullet; one by one they left; by car, by bus |
| about | • estimation of quantity • on the subject of • ready to do sth. | • about ten people; about two miles • a book about English • the chorus is about to sing |
| for | • indicates the object, aim or purpose | • happy for you; eager for fame; for one thing, …; for heaven’s sake |
| with | • in the presence or use of | • with a friend; with cheese; with confidence; with a lot of …; will be with you shortly; from Russia with love |
EXERCISE
A) Choose the appropriate preposition and rewrite.
1. We accept your kind invitation (by, with) pleasure.
2. I should like to read that book (by, of) Ernest Hemingway.
3. These oranges are sold (of, by) the dozen.
4. The door (of, at) the house is painted red.
5. He says he can communicate (by, of) mental telepathy.
6. Always sign important papers (by, in) ink.
7. Would you rather write (by, with) a pen or pencil?
8. Over one-third (of, in) the oranges are spoiled.
9. The first speech will be given (by, of) Mr. Steele.
10. Do you like to travel (by, in) bus?
11. He toured the country (in, by) a station wagon.
12. How would you like to go (by, with) us (by, in) our car?
13. This liquid smells (like, as) turpentine.
14. This cake is (for, to) lunch.
15. We always buy olive oil (of, by) the gallon.
B) Fill in the blanks with the appropriate preposition in the following paragraph.
Would you please tell me how to get_________the baseball park? Certainly. You go down Arch Street two blocks and turn left__________King Street. Stay__________King Street_________about two miles. You will go________a bridge and_________a tunnel. You will come to Ocean Avenue about four blocks after you leave the tunnel. Turn right_______Ocean Avenue, and________the middle of the block you will see the main entrance________the ball park. I would suggest that you drive your car_______the block and park_______the parking lot behind the field
C) Underline the prepositions from the below passage.
In 1950 film Rashomon, Akira Kurosawa establishes ominous mood by opening with scenes of fog and rain. A camera tracks characters like woodcutter into leafy forests, across bridges, and up the hills and mountains. However, it not only follows behind these characters but tilts upward, pans around, and zooms closely into their faces. In addition to camera movement, Kurosawa often makes the image like the painting, using triangular compositions and golden ratio. For example, in a scene with wooden cottage, a house is placed near left side of the frame instead of the center. Altogether, Kurosawa’s cinematography consistently provides a viewer with multiple perspectives to convey message that all sides of the story must be examined. In other words, the truth can change according to the person’s point of view.
