Tell Me About Articles 1
A and An
A and an are articles. They signal singular nouns and noun groups
as in a book, an elephant. We never say a books or an elephants.
Nouns name people, animals,
places and things such as dog,
pen, egg. Nouns can be
signalled by saying or writing a
dog, a pen, an egg.
Noun groups are groups of
words relating to or built
around a noun such as fluffy
dog or extra sharp pencil.
Noun groups can be signalled
by saying or writing a fluffy
dog or an extra sharp pencil.
A is used before words starting
with a consonant sound as in a
flower. It doesn’t matter if the
first letter of the word is a
vowel as in a uniform for
example, it only matters
whether the first sound
pronounced is a consonant
sound. Uniform starts with the
vowel u saying its name. The
first sound we say is the
consonant sound y, as in yooh.
An is used before words
starting with a vowel sound as
in an apple. It doesn’t matter
if the first letter of the
word is a consonant as in an
hour for example, it only
matters whether the first sound
pronounced is a vowel sound.
Hour starts with the consonant
h but the h is silent. The first
sound we say is the vowel
sound ou.
© Amanda Dixon PhD www.ireadwrite.com.au May be reproduced for classroom and home use. Level 2+
A and An
Write a or an in the blanks to signal the nouns or noun groups.
1.
2.
3.
4.
_____
_____
_____
_____
igloo
teacher
brown bat
large, round object
5. _____ egg
6. _____ angry child
7. _____ kind lady
8. _____ island
9. _____ happy baby
10. _____ oven
11. _____ bright, red light
12. _____ cricket ball
13. _____ truck
14. _____ overripe banana
15. _____ empty glass
16. _____ sweet pie
17. _____ open cage
18. _____ pretty flower
19. _____ muddy shoe
20. _____ pink shirt
21.
22.
23.
24.
_____
_____
_____
_____
emu
apple
orange
warm, sunny day
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
unicorn
epic tale
only child
honest girl
umbrella
tasty meal
dirty table
amazing time
lovely party
funny story
infant
snake
fast car
hot bun
unit
axe
© Amanda Dixon PhD www.ireadwrite.com.au May be reproduced for classroom and home use. Level 2+
Tell Me About Articles 2
A, An and The
There are three articles in the English language: a, an and the. All
three articles signal nouns and noun groups.
A and an are used only with singular nouns and are indefinite,
referring to something that is not known by the reader or listener.
For example: I would like a new toy. The speaker is not talking
about a specific toy, just any toy as long as it is new.
The is used with singular and plural nouns and is definite, referring
to something that is known or has been made known to the reader or
listener. For example: The sun is bright. We have only one sun and
it is known by all of us.
Using Articles in Oral and Written Texts
There are rules about using articles when speaking or writing texts.
A character, setting or major event in a story, for example, is
usually introduced with the article a (or an) such as a girl, a
friendly parrot, a mansion, a large town, a marathon. Once the
character, setting or major event has been introduced it can be
referred to as the girl, the friendly parrot, the mansion, the large
town, the marathon, because it has been made known to the reader.
© Amanda Dixon PhD www.ireadwrite.com.au May be reproduced for classroom and home use. Level 2+
A, An and The
Write a, an or the in the blanks to signal the nouns or noun groups.
1. _____ bright sun
6. _____ lights
2. _____ tall trees
7. _____ loud storm
3. _____ cold pool
8. _____ pants
4. _____ octopuses
9. _____ sand
5. _____ hills
10. ____ dirty window
Complete the passage below with a, an or the.
I have written _____ story about dogs. Dogs are
my favourite pets. In _____ story _____ main
character, Dave, can talk. Dave is _____ smallest dog in Australia
and also _____ cleverest. He lives in _____ huge house. _____
house has three storeys and six bedrooms. Dave has _____ large
sailing boat and often goes sailing on _____ weekends. _____ boat
is bright blue. Dave has _____ pet of his own. His pet’s name is
Max. Max is _____ cat. _____ cat can talk too. Max is even
smaller than Dave and almost as clever. Dave and Max both enjoy
going out on _____ sailing boat whenever _____ sun is shining.
© Amanda Dixon PhD www.ireadwrite.com.au May be reproduced for classroom and home use. Level 2+
Answers: A and An
1.
2.
3.
4.
an igloo
a teacher
a brown bat
a large, round object
21.
22.
23.
24.
an emu
an apple
an orange
a warm, sunny day
5. an egg
6. an angry child
7. a kind lady
8. an island
9. a happy baby
10. an oven
11. a bright, red light
12. a cricket ball
13. a truck
14. an overripe banana
15. an empty glass
16. a sweet pie
17. an open cage
18. a pretty flower
19. a muddy shoe
20. a pink shirt
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
a unicorn
an epic tale
an only child
an honest girl
an umbrella
a tasty meal
a dirty table
an amazing time
a lovely party
a funny story
an infant
a snake
a fast car
a hot bun
a unit
an axe
© Amanda Dixon PhD www.ireadwrite.com.au May be reproduced for classroom and home use. Level 2+
Answers: A, An and The
Note: Singular nouns and noun groups could be signalled by a, an or
the except for the sun, which is known to everyone, as they could be
referring to something that has been made known to the reader if
they were part of a complete text. All plural nouns and noun groups
are signalled by the.
1. the bright sun (definite, known)
2. the tall trees (plural)
3. a | the cold pool (indefinite or definite, known)
4. the octopuses (plural)
5. the hills (plural)
6. the lights (plural)
7. a | the loud storm (indefinite or definite, known)
8. the pants (plural)
9. the sand (plura/)
10. a | the dirty window (indefinite or definite, known)
© Amanda Dixon PhD www.ireadwrite.com.au May be reproduced for classroom and home use. Level 2+
Answers: A, An and The
Note: A signals new characters and settings. The signals definite
characters and settings known by everyone or those already introduced
to the reader.
I have written ___a___ story about dogs. Dogs are
my favourite pets. In __the___ story __the___ main
character, Dave, can talk. Dave is __the_ smallest dog in Australia
and also __the_ cleverest. He lives in __a__ huge house. _The_
house has three storeys and six bedrooms. Dave has __a__ large
sailing boat and often goes sailing on __the_ weekends. __The_ boat
is bright blue. Dave has __a__ pet of his own. His pet’s name is
Max. Max is __a__ cat. __The__ cat can talk too. Max is even
smaller than Dave and almost as clever. Dave and Max both enjoy
going out on __the__ sailing boat whenever __the__ sun is shining.
© Amanda Dixon PhD www.ireadwrite.com.au May be reproduced for classroom and home use. Level 2+