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Why is the article 'the' used before

Punjab?

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All related (38) Recommended

Birbal Ram Kumawat

Knows English · 2y

It's just a folly to apply ‘the' before Punjab. We

should come out of the false usage. It's our duty
to rectify tradition and give refined knowledge to
the coming generation. ‘Punjab' denoes a
separate state, not five rivers. Name of all states
or nations are on some particular noun but it
doesn't mean that they can take ‘the'. India is also
made of several states, the term ‘Shekhawati' is
applied to SIKAR, Junjhunu and Churu, and India
itself is after the name of the Indus Valley . If
these nouns are not preceded by ‘the', why
should ‘Punjab'or USA. Come out of foolish
ideologies.
6

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Monika Rai
Grammar nerd · Author has 582 answers and
5.6M answer views · Updated 3y

Punjab means five rivers so we always use “the”

before Punjab. As it conveys a sense of plural, it
could justify an article.

As a rule of thumb, you could theorise that when

several entities are grouped together, an implicit
plural is present in the place name, so we say The
Punjab not Punjab.

“The”is also used with the countries consisting

many islands. For instance : The Maldives, The
West Indies, The Philippines.

Hope it helps.
92 1 4

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Tirlochan Singh
Student · Author has 940 answers and 2.3M
answer views · 5y

In Punjabi (a language spoken in north India and

in parts of Pakistan), Punjab means the land of
five rivers (punj = five; aab = water). The five
rivers are: the Sutlej, the Beas, the Ravi, the
Jhelum, and the Chenab. The land between the
Sutlej and the Beas is called Doaba (do = two; aab
= water). Before the Partition, the state comprised
of lands between the five rivers;
So, we have ‘the’ before the name of the state:
the Punjab.
7

Pushp Dev Singh Gill

Lives in Punjab, India · Author has 1.9K answers
and 12.3M answer views · 5y

“Punjab” in Indian language means Five Rivers.

Word “The” is used as a prefix to the said word

‘Punjab’ to denote and explain ‘The Land Of Five
Rivers’ “Punj - means Five and “aab” means
rivers. That is how and why Punjab was named as
such

As a personal opinion of mine, that is why ‘The’ is

used as a prefix before ‘Punjab’.
4

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Anas Mushir Siddiqui

Since school · Author has 844 answers and
2.8M answer views · 4y

The is an article which used for particular nouns

and Punjab is a state in India so this is the reason
why you must use ‘The' before Punjab.

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Vartika Mishra
Teacher · 4y

Because punjab is the name of a city (noun) .

That's why article ‘the’ is placed before punjab.
1

Jeevan Prakash Belani

Have been teaching English since 30 years ·
Author has 345 answers and 186.2K answer
views · 4y

The is used before plurals.

And it is five rivers that the Punjab is derived
from.
Punk means five
An means water.

Vishvendra Pareek
1y

Punjab is the combination of five rivers

so whenever we are talking about entities

together we should use the before it.

Lynn E.
Lived in Greater Boston Area (1952–1977) ·
Author has 38.2K answers and 30.6M answer
views · 3y

Related Why we use ‘the’ before ‘Punjab’

when this is not written anywhere? The
article ‘the’ is not used before states, so
why is it used before Punjab? Where’s it
written in grammar rules?
When we refer to an area, a region, that is not
considered to be a nation or a state, we usually
use the: the Midwest, the American South. It used
to be used for the Congo, the Ukraine, and a few
other regions, including the Punjab. But since
Congo and Ukraine became recognized countries,
it is no longer considered correct.

I don’t know what the politics are concerning

Punjab/the Punjab. If it is a region that was once
considered to be one region and is now divided
between two countries, then it may make a
political statement to refer to it as a region.

Dr.Kanwaljit Kaur Kingra

Lives in Punjab, India · Aug 6

Related Is Punjab a name?

Yes , it's Punj + Aab= punjab. Means land of 5
water. Here 5 rivers flow at the previous times, so
it named after the 5 rivers.
4

Nagashree KC
Former CA Articled Assistant · Author has 173
answers and 202.7K answer views · 5y

Related Why don’t we use 'the' before

India?
‘India' is a proper noun.

A proper noun is a name given to places or things

or men. And 'the' is not used before a proper
noun.

For instance, my name is a proper noun as per

how proper noun is defined. And I don't use 'the'
before my name. We don't say the Sachin
Tendulkar or the Narendra Modi.

The same is the case when we are talking about

places, like say, kolkota or Bengaluru. We don't
say 'the' kolkota or 'the' Bangaluru. Because
Kolkota and Bengaluru are names of places and
they are proper nouns.

In the same way,Continue

since 'India' is the name of a
Reading
place/country, it becomes a proper name and so it
9 1

Ramesh Jha
Professor in Department of English at MLSM
College Darbhanga (1985–present) · Author has
3.9K answers and 2.6M answer views · 1y

Related What does "Punjab" mean?

Place name Punjab is a combination of Punj and
Ab. Punj is used in Persian and Pashto languages
in the sense of ' five' . Aba( आब) is a Persian word
which signifies ' water' . The आब of Persian is
equated with आप of Sanskrit. प and ब sounds
belong to the same group of letters. This phonetic
closeness shows the closeness of the speakers of
these two languages of the Indo- Iranian family.
Since, five rivers flow here, this historical place is
known as पंजाब i.e. a province of five rivers
Jhelum, Chenab, Sataluj ,Vyas, and Ravi. In
ancient time it was the centre of the Aryan
civilization.
4

Harsh Deep Singh

Lives in India · Author has 190 answers and 187K
answer views · Updated 1y

Related Which one is correct, “a India” or

“an India.”?
India is a country which makes that word a noun
thus you may use the word “The"… if you are
talking about Indian citizens then you can use an
4

Harjeshwar Singh
Works at Sri Guru Gobind Singh College,
Chandigarh · Author has 89 answers and 325K
answer views · 4y

Related Why is Punjab called Punjab?

Punjab is derived from “Punj” + “aab” .Punj is 5 in
Punjabi while “aab” is a short form of Doab which
means “land between two rivers”

Historical Punjab which included areas of both

Present day Pakistan and India consisted of these
5 doabs.

1. Bist Julandhar Doab(Between Sutlej and

Beas rivers)
Continue Reading
2. Bari Doab (Between Beas and Ravi)

10 2

Arpana Muthukrishnan
PTE & IELTS Trainer, IELTS score 8.5 · Author has
212 answers and 351.3K answer views · 3y

Related I am in Delhi looking southwards

and I say "Kerala is after Maharashtra" or I
ask “ Is Kerala after Maharashtra?” Is it a
grammatically correct statement?
You should be asking, ‘Is Kerala further down the
state of Maharashtra?’ As a piece of information,
you could say, ‘Kerala is further down the state of
Maharashtra.’

The adverb ‘Down’ when used to show directions,

usually mean southwards.
2

Sue Massaro
M.A. in Teaching and Linguistics & ESL Teaching,
Kean University (Graduated 1992) · Author has
290 answers and 68.9K answer views · 5y

Related Which article is used before any

degree?
An Associate degree

A Bachelor of Arts degree

A Bachelor of Science degree

A Masters degree

A Ph.D (Doctor of Philosophy)

Is this what you were asking?

5 1

Sunita Dube
Former Running Classes for Ielts, TOEFL, Banks
,Speaking at Quick English Learning · Author has
1.2K answers and 1.4M answer views · 3y

Related What article comes before the

word unanimous?
A unanimous,The unanimous

As it is pronounced as

Yunanimous

Ju:neInIm^s

And you(u) sound is a consonant.when u

pronounced as a like in umbrella we use an
umbrella because umbrella a is vowel sound .

Unanimous is like union ,european ,uniform ,unit

etc..here U sound is you not a or e .Here too we
write a or the ,not an because u (you) is not
vowel.
24

Michael Patrick
TEFL for a long time. · Author has 263 answers
and 361.9K answer views · 5y

Related Which article should be used

before ‘unique’?
Originally Answered: Which article should be used before
unique?

I think you’re referring to the articles “a” or “an”.

If this is the case, a unique point will be made
here. You should use “a” because “unique” starts
with a consonant sound even though the first
letter is a vowel.

This occurs in other examples in other words

starting with the letter “u” such as: a university;
a union; a use; a utility…
8 1 1

Nandan Singh
Private Tutor (2001–present) · Author has 619
answers and 652.2K answer views · 1y

Related Can we use the article 'a' before

the word 'help'?
Yes, ‘help' is a verb as well as a noun. As a noun it
usually uncountable means action of helping. In
that case you cannot use article ‘a' before it.
When ‘help' means something or someone that
helps it is singular countable noun and can take
‘a' before it. eg:

She is more a hindrance than a help.

4

Predrag Maksimovich
Medical Doctor. Dental Surgeon. Specialist
OTOHNS. (1973–present) · Author has 6.5K
answers and 11.6M answer views · 3y

Related What is the difference between “A

university” and “An university”?
What is the difference between “A university”
and “An university”?

If I understand your question correctly you would

like to know if “a university” or “an university” is
correct.

Correct version is “a university”. The rule is to use

“an” in front of a vowel (i.e. an axe, an album and
so on).

University is pronounced “juniversiti” so the “j” i

front of the “u” requires an “a”.
15 2 5

Lynn E.
Lived in Greater Boston Area (1952–1977) ·
Author has 38.2K answers and 30.6M answer
views · 2y

Related Which article will be used before

“usual”?
There are quite a few words in English that begin
with a vowel letter but not a vowel sound. (And
some that begin with a conconant letter but a
vowel sound.)

The choice of article always goes by *sound* not

letter.

So: a usual, a uniform, a unicorn, a united front, a

unique person, etc. A European man, a
euphemism, a euphonious sound. But an
umbrella, an unusual answer, an uncle.

An hour, an honest man, an herb garden (US) .

8

Snigdha
3y

Related Which is correct, ‘an heart patient’

or ‘a heart patient’, since H is followed by
the vowels E and A?
It is ‘a heart patient’ and not ‘an heart patient’. You
pronounce ‘h’ completely when you say ‘heart’
(‘ha:t’, phonetically) as in ‘house’. When the first
letter goes silent, you should consider the second
letter being a vowel and it is then that ‘an’
becomes relevant. For example, consider the
word ‘heir’ where ‘h’ is silent. You pronounce heir
as ‘ei’ and since ‘h’ is silent, the vowel next to this
first silent letter becomes significant. Hence we
use ‘an’ before ‘heir’. Technically it is ‘an ei’.
Similarly, ‘h’ is not silent in ‘heart’ and so we use
‘a heart’ to say ‘I almost had a heart attack’
because ‘h’ is a consonant and not a vowel.

Words with first letter H being NOT SILENT and

second letter being a vowel:

A horse

A hatch

A hole

A hike

Words with first letter H being SILENT and second

letter being a vowel:

An heir

An honour

An hour

An honest individual

So the only thing you have to remember is to use

‘an’ before a direct vowel and words where the
first letter, before a vowel, is silent. I hope this
helped.
7.7K views · View upvotes

6 1

Henry Lawrence
Teaching English grammar for 42 years; authored
three books · Author has 4.7K answers and 5.7M
answer views · Updated 2y

Related Which is correct "The Indian" or

"Indian" or “An Indian”?
Originally Answered: Which is correct "The Indian" or
"Indian"?

You can use either Indian or the Indian, and of

course even an Indian. It all depends on the
context and your requirement.

Look at the examples below:

1. He is Indian by nationality.

2. She is the Indian whom I met at London

airport.

3. Are you an Indian?

14 1 2

Kiran Rauniyar
Knows Hindi · Aug 7

Related Can we use an article before

“car”?
No; because the word “car" doesn't have vowel
sound at the beginning. But here we can use 'A’
before it. A car.
2

Chris Hawkes
Grammar geek for as long as I can remember.
(Thanks to Ronald Ridout!) · Author has 12.5K
answers and 39.3M answer views · 1y

Related Which article is used before MP?

What article is used before MP?

The, of course, and also an.

Because although M is a consonant, when spoken

it is pronounced “Em”. So the indefinite article
used is “an”: “An MP visited my school today.”

And for the same reason, the definite article the is

pronounced “Thee”, not “thu”.

HTH!
7

Haruna Daura
Knows English · 4y

Related Which is the correct one, “a

euphemism” or “an euphemism”?
‘a euphemism’ is the correct one. The use of a/an
indefinite articles before a noun is according to
the vowel sound that begins the word; certainly
not about the first letter. In this case, the first
sound of the word ‘euphemism’ is a consonant
sound and, as such, carries the article ‘a’ even
though the first letter appears to be a vowel, at
least, idealistically.

Similarly, the word ‘honor’ goes with the article

‘an’ even though its first letter is a consonant. It is
so because the first sound of the word is a vowel
sound—the ‘h’ isContinue
actuallyReading
silent— and regardless
of how it is written, it is h
19 1 1

Atmaja Bandyopadhyay
Advanced Learner of English. · Author has 4.4K
answers and 10.4M answer views · 2y

Related Which article should be used

before Ganga, or is there no article before it
as it is a noun?
If Ganga refers to River Ganga or Ganges, the
Definite Article the should be used before it.

We use the before names of rivers, as in —

1. The Ganga,

2. The Brahmaputra,

3. The Jhelum,

4. The Nile,

5. The Congo, etc.

However, if Ganga refers to the name of a person,

then it won't take any Article before it by the rule
of Omission of Articles.

An answer to the query —

Which article should be used before Ganga,

or is there no article before it as it is a noun?

Good luck:-)
7

Sarah Madden
Writer/editor working in the gig economy
(2014–present) · Author has 6.6K answers and
32.5M answer views · Updated 3y

Related Why do we use “an” before the

word “England”?
Dear M Anonymous,

When you place an indefinite article before a

noun, you must choose between “a” or “an,” and
your choice is based on the sound of the start of
the word following the article.

If the word starts with a vowel sound (even if the

actual letter is a consonant), then the article
would be “an.” If the word starts with a consonant
sound (even if the actual letter is a vowel), then
you must use “a” before the word.

PRO TIP: A vowel sound starts in the back of the

throat and does not involve the tongue or lips.

Below are some examples:

An England (the noun starts with an “e”

sound) Continue Reading

A Europe
19 1 1

Dr R C Reddy K
Studied Grammar & English Communication
Skills · Author has 3.2K answers and 760.4K
answer views · 1y

Related Which one is correct, "He wrote a

historical book" or "he wrote an historical
book"?
He wrote a historical book is correct as per the
modern usage .

Previously, it is used as 'an 'only. But the modern

grammar books say that historical may not be
pronounced with a vowel sound .

Now , the words which start with 'h'and

pronounce with a vowel sound are..

Honest, hour, honour, heir, herbal ..

3 1

Doris Arnold
Former teacher (1970–2008) · Author has 11.2K
answers and 8.9M answer views · 4y

Related What article is used before the

word beautiful?
A2A She is a beautiful person. He has beautiful
eyes. What is the most beautiful song your know?
Today is a beautiful day. Do you know the
beautiful song, “We are One in the Spirit?” The
articles are “a”, “an” and “the.” We can never use
“an” because beautiful does not start with a
vowel. As I have shown you, we can use “a” and
“the” or neither one before the word beautiful.
2

Eveni Astrid
Knows English · Author has 65 answers and
158.4K answer views · 3y

Related Why do we use the article "a" and

not "an" for university?
Originally Answered: Which article is used before university?

“Why do we use the article "a" and not "an" for

university?”

The difference in usage of those two articles is in

pronunciation and not in the spelling.

Therefore ‘university’ has ‘a’ as an article because

you pronounce it as ‘yuhniversity’

Same applies for the word ‘hour’. Based on the

spelling you’d want to write ‘a’, but the
pronunciation is ‘our’ therefore the article ‘an’
goes in front of it.

Hope it helps.
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