Articles and Determiners

Articles and Determiners (Article ও নির্ধারক)

Determiner কী?

Definition: A determiner is a word placed before a noun to identify, limit or quantify its reference.

বাংলা ব্যাখ্যা: Noun-এর আগে বসে সেটি নির্দিষ্ট না সাধারণ, একবচন না বহুবচন, কার অধীন, কতগুলি বা কতখানি—এসব নির্দেশকারী শব্দকে Determiner বলে।

• a book
• the book
• this book
• my book
• some books
• each student

Articles হলো determiner-এর একটি গুরুত্বপূর্ণ শ্রেণি।

প্রধান Determiner-গুলি

• Articles: a, an, the
• Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
• Possessives: my, our, your, his, her, its, their
• Quantifiers: some, any, much, many, little, few, enough, several
• Distributives: each, every, either, neither
• Numbers: one, two, first, second
• Other forms: all, both, half, no, another, other

A এবং An: মূল নিয়ম

A/An অনির্দিষ্ট singular countable noun-এর আগে বসে। নির্বাচনটি spelling নয়, পরবর্তী শব্দের উচ্চারণের প্রথম sound অনুযায়ী হয়।

A before a consonant sound

• a boy
• a university — /juː/ consonant sound
• a European
• a one-eyed man — /w/ sound
• a useful book

An before a vowel sound

• an apple
• an hour — h silent
• an honest person
• an MLA — pronounced /em/
• an umbrella

ভুল: an university; a hour

A/An-এর ব্যবহার

প্রথমবার উল্লেখ

• I saw a dog. The dog was injured.

profession or identity

• She is a teacher.
• He became an engineer.

one/any member of a class

• A child needs affection.

rate and frequency

• twice a day
• sixty kilometres an hour
• ₹100 a kilogram

exclamatory structure

• What a beautiful flower!
• Such an interesting story!

A/An ব্যবহার হয় না

Plural countable বা uncountable noun-এর সাধারণ অর্থের আগে a/an বসে না:

• Books are useful.
• Water is essential.

Uncountable noun গণনার জন্য unit expression লাগে:

• a piece of advice
• a glass of water
• an item of information

The: Definite Article

শ্রোতা বা পাঠকের কাছে নির্দিষ্ট বা পরিচিত noun-এর আগে the বসে।

• Please close the door.
• I bought a book. The book is useful.

The-এর প্রধান ব্যবহার

uniquely identifiable things

• the sun
• the moon
• the earth
• the sky

superlative and ordinal

• the tallest boy
• the most useful book
• the first chapter

same and only

• the same answer
• the only child

adjective representing a class

• the rich
• the poor
• the elderly

এগুলি সাধারণত plural meaning বহন করে:

• The rich are not always happy.

musical instruments

• She plays the violin.
• He plays the tabla.

inventions and species as a class

• The telephone changed communication.
• The tiger is an endangered animal.

comparative parallel structure

• The more you read, the more you learn.

Geographical Names with The

সাধারণত the বসে:

• rivers: the Ganga
• seas and oceans: the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean
• mountain ranges: the Himalayas
• deserts: the Sahara
• groups of islands: the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
• plural or descriptive country names: the United States, the United Kingdom
• canals: the Suez Canal
• newspapers: The Telegraph

সাধারণত the বসে না:

• India, Japan, France
• Kolkata, Delhi
• Mount Everest
• Lake Victoria
• Asia, Europe

Institutions: With and Without The

School, college, hospital, prison, bed, church-এর primary purpose বোঝালে সাধারণত zero article; নির্দিষ্ট building বোঝালে the।

• The child goes to school. — to study
• His mother went to the school to meet the teacher. — building
• He is in hospital. — receiving treatment (British usage)
• She visited the hospital. — specific place
• He went to bed early.
• The bag is on the bed.

Meals, Languages, Subjects and Games

সাধারণ অর্থে zero article:

• We had breakfast at eight.
• She speaks English.
• Mathematics is difficult.
• They play football.

নির্দিষ্টভাবে qualified হলে the হতে পারে:

• The breakfast served today was delicious.
• The English spoken here is different.

Titles and Proper Names

নামের আগে title থাকলে সাধারণত article নেই:

• Professor Sen
• Doctor Roy
• Queen Elizabeth

Title একা ব্যবহৃত হলে the হতে পারে:

• the principal
• the prime minister

Zero Article

Article না থাকার ব্যবহারকে zero article বলা হয়। প্রধান ক্ষেত্র:

• plural noun in general: Children need care.
• uncountable noun in general: Honesty is valuable.
• proper names: Rina lives in Kolkata.
• languages/subjects: Bengali is my first language.
• meals: Dinner is ready.
• games: Cricket is popular.
• abstract ideas in general: Freedom is precious.

নির্দিষ্ট হলে the ব্যবহৃত হতে পারে:

• The honesty of the child impressed me.
• The water in this bottle is clean.

Demonstrative Determiners

this, that, these, those দূরত্ব ও number নির্দেশ করে।

• this book — near singular
• that book — distant singular
• these books — near plural
• those books — distant plural

Determiner হলে পরে noun থাকে; pronoun হলে থাকে না:

• This book is mine. — determiner
• This is mine. — pronoun

Possessive Determiners

my, our, your, his, her, its, their noun-এর আগে মালিকানা বা সম্পর্ক প্রকাশ করে।

• my pen
• their school
• its tail

Possessive determiner-এর সঙ্গে article একসঙ্গে বসে না:

• Incorrect: the my book
• Correct: my book

Possessive pronoun আলাদা:

• This is my book.
• This book is mine.

Some and Any

Some

সাধারণত affirmative sentence-এ:

• I need some water.
• She bought some books.

Offer/request-এ positive response আশা করলে প্রশ্নেও some:

• Would you like some tea?
• Could I have some water?

Any

সাধারণত negative ও interrogative sentence-এ:

• I do not have any money.
• Do you have any questions?

Affirmative-এ any অর্থ যেকোনো:

• You may choose any book.

Much and Many

• much + uncountable noun
• many + plural countable noun

• much time
• many students

Affirmative everyday English-এ a lot of বেশি স্বাভাবিক হতে পারে:

• We have a lot of work.

Few, A Few and The Few

Plural countable noun-এর সঙ্গে:

• few = প্রায় নেই; negative sense
• a few = কিছু আছে
• the few = যত অল্প আছে, সব

• Few candidates qualified.
• A few candidates qualified.
• The few books I owned were useful.

Little, A Little and The Little

Uncountable noun-এর সঙ্গে:

• little = প্রায় নেই
• a little = কিছুটা আছে
• the little = যত অল্প আছে, সব

• There is little hope.
• There is a little hope.
• He spent the little money he had.

Fewer and Less

• fewer + plural countable noun
• less + uncountable noun

• fewer mistakes
• less time

Traditional formal usage-এ সংখ্যাযোগ্য noun-এর সঙ্গে fewer বেশি উপযুক্ত।

Each and Every

দুটিই singular countable noun ও singular verb গ্রহণ করে।

• Each student has a card.
• Every student has a card.

পার্থক্য:

• each সদস্যদের আলাদা করে দেখে; দুই বা ততোধিকের ক্ষেত্রে হতে পারে
• every পুরো group-কে সামগ্রিকভাবে দেখে; সাধারণত তিন বা ততোধিক

Each of + plural noun/pronoun + singular verb:

• Each of the students is ready.

Either and Neither

দুটি ব্যক্তি/বস্তুর ক্ষেত্রে:

• Either answer is acceptable.
• Neither answer is correct.

Either/neither of + plural noun/pronoun সাধারণ formal agreement-এ singular verb:

• Neither of the boys is absent.

All, Both and Whole

• all the students / all students
• both the books / both books
• the whole day

Both শুধু দুইয়ের জন্য। Whole সাধারণত singular countable noun-এর সঙ্গে the/possessive-এর পরে বসে:

• the whole class
• my whole life

Another, Other and Others

Another

আরেকটি/অতিরিক্ত একটি; singular countable noun:

• another book
• another chance

Other

Noun-এর আগে determiner/adjective:

• other books
• the other student

Others

Pronoun; পরে noun বসে না:

• Some students agreed; others disagreed.

The other / The others

নির্দিষ্ট অবশিষ্ট ব্যক্তি/বস্তু:

• One hand is injured; the other hand is fine.
• Two students came; the others stayed home.

No and None

No noun-এর আগে determiner:

• No student was absent.

None pronoun; of phrase নিতে পারে:

• None was absent.
• None of the students was/were absent.

Enough

Noun-এর আগে determiner, কিন্তু adjective/adverb-এর পরে:

• enough food
• tall enough
• quickly enough

• Incorrect: enough tall
• Correct: tall enough

Determiner Order

সাধারণ ক্রম:

Predeterminer → Central determiner → Number/quantifier → Adjective → Noun

• all my three old books
• both the first two chapters

সাধারণত দুটি central determiner একসঙ্গে বসে না:

• Incorrect: the my bag
• Correct: my bag / the bag

Such and What

Singular countable noun-এর ক্ষেত্রে a/an-এর অবস্থান:

• such a beautiful day
• what a beautiful day

Adjective + noun structure:

• Such useful information! — uncountable, no a/an
• What beautiful flowers! — plural, no a/an

Common Errors

• Incorrect: He is an university student.

Correct: He is a university student.

• Incorrect: She waited for a hour.

Correct: She waited for an hour.

• Incorrect: The honesty is the best policy.

Correct: Honesty is the best policy.

• Incorrect: Sun rises in east.

Correct: The sun rises in the east.

• Incorrect: She plays the cricket.

Correct: She plays cricket.

• Incorrect: I have many information.

Correct: I have much information / a lot of information.

• Incorrect: There are less students today.

Correct: There are fewer students today.

• Incorrect: Every students are ready.

Correct: Every student is ready.

• Incorrect: I have a little friends.

Correct: I have a few friends.

• Incorrect: This is the my notebook.

Correct: This is my notebook.

Contextual Article Choice

Article নির্বাচন করার আগে চারটি প্রশ্ন করুন:

1. Noun countable না uncountable?
2. Singular না plural?
3. General না specific?
4. পরবর্তী শব্দের প্রথম sound vowel না consonant?

• I need a pen. — singular, countable, nonspecific
• I need the pen on the table. — specific
• I need water. — uncountable, general
• I need the water in this bottle. — specific