A, An, The

Is everyone stumped by the riddle? Or just not interesting in playing....? OK, OK I won't keep you in suspense any further...

The answer to the riddle is:
Questions you would have to ask, to determine whether to use an article, and which one to use.

Many languages--including Tamil and Hindi--do not have an article system similar to that of the English language. In trying to explain to non-native English speakers when it is appropriate to use a, an, the, I realized just how difficult it is to do so, without resorting to well it just sounds right! Although few native English speakers have problems with articles, if you were to ask them why they used an with one word, the with another, and no article at all with a third, few would be able to do so easily. (Well unless you're an editor-type, who lives and breathes this sort of thing...)

The rules start out sounding pretty simple. Use the to indicate something specific. Use a or an with a more generic reference. But then why can't I say:

          I live in the Chennai. (It's a specific city I'm referring to, no? Not just any old city?)
          There is a water in the ocean. (I mean water in a generic sense, not any specific water)
          The pen has run out of the ink.  OR:  The pen has run out of an ink.

Most people would just say these sentences just "don't sound right." Very few could explain clearly why not.

In refreshing myself on the rules of article usage, it was amazing to realize just how many rules, exceptions and deviations we have internalized. Even before you get to deciding which article to use, you first have to decide whether you need an article at all. A rule for that would go something like this: Use an article EXCEPT when it's the name of a person, country, province, state, lake or mountain, but only when they are singular; when it refers to a meal, language, a sport, an academic subject; with titles, professions, or names of shops; with years; when it's a non-count noun (a concept which requires a lesson in itself!); when the noun is preceded by another modifier; when referring to an all-inclusive group; with the second item in a noun group, unless the two nouns call for different articles....

Whew. Can you imagine having to run through that checklist everytime you needed to decide whether to use an article or not?

And then there's the one about choosing a versus an. Most people think the rule is to use a before consonants, and an before vowels. But then:

          Why do we say a university, but an umbrella?
          Why a one-way street, but an odor?
          Why a hint, but an hour?
          Why a xylophone, but an xml file?
          Why an egg, an ESL student, but a European?

(It's because the actual rule is not vowels vs consonants, but vowel sounds vs consonant sounds - paying special attention to vowels that sound like consonants, and consonants that are hiding...)

Aren't you glad you learned English before you were too young to have to memorize all those rules?