"A, An, The" definite and indefinite articles in English

Read the following description

I am from Seattle, Washington. Seattle is a city in the United States. It is near the border
of Canada in the northwest corner of the USA. I live in a town called Olympia which is on
the Pudget Sound. I live in a house in a street in the countryside. The street is called
"Bear Street" and the house is old - more than 100 years old! I am an English teacher at
a school in the center of the town. I like books and taking photographs. I usually have
lunch at school. I usually go home by car. We have all kinds of food in Olympia. I like
Italian food very much. Sometimes, I go to an Italian restaurant in Seattle. The restaurant
is called "Luigi's". Italian food is great!

Here are the rules for when to use "A, An or The":

 a = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects)
with consonants
She has a dog.
I work in a factory.
 an = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects)
with vowels (a,e,i,o,u)
Can I have an apple?
She is an English teacher.
 the = definite article (a specific object that both the person speaking and the
listener know)
The car over there is fast.
The teacher is very good, isn't he?
 The first time you speak of something use "a or an", the next time you repeat that
object use "the".
I live in a house. The house is quite old and has four bedrooms.
I ate in a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant was very good.
 DO NOT use an article with countries, states, counties or provinces, lakes and
mountains except when the country is a collection of states such as "The United
States".
He lives in Washington near Mount Rainier.
They live in northern British Columbia.
 Use an article with bodies of water, oceans and seas -
My country borders on the Pacific Ocean
 DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about things in general
I like Russian tea.
She likes reading books.
 DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about Meals, places, and transport
He has breakfast at home.
I go to university.
He comes to work by taxi.

PUT A, AN OR THE WHERE NECESSARY

1. William wrote .......... letter to his bank yesterday but he forgot to post it.
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2. This morning, he saw ......... letter on the kitchen table
3. ............... first bus in the morning leaves at 5:30 a.m.
4. When Eva White was younger she wanted to be ....... musician. Now many
people think she .............best trumpet-player in ..........world.
5. I´ve got .......... idea. Let´s go to ............ the greek restaurant in Main Street
tonight.
6. Julia arrived at ............ station at 7 o´clock and took ........ taxi to ......... city
centre
7. We usually eat our meals in ......... kitchen. But if we have ........ guest, we eat
in ........ dining room.
8. Bern is ......... capital of Switzerland. It´s ............. small city with about
133,000 inhabitants
9. Martin lives in ............ a large town in ............. middle of Germany but he
wants to live in ........... country. He has got ......... dog and he would like to
take ........... dog for long walks.
10. Pat watched ............. science fiction movie on TV last night. .......... beginning
of ............. film was fantastic but ........ end was terrible.
11. I´ve known my husband, Sam, since I was six. We lived in ............ same
street when we were children. Sam had ......... older brother, Frank. I thought he
was ......... most handsome boy in the world!
12. A: Excuse me, where´s the nearest bookshop?
B: It´s at .......... end of this street, on ......... left. There´s ........... bus-stop in front
of it.

PUT A(N) OR THE WHERE NECESSARY

Last night, moon was shining brightly. Clare´s train arrived at the station and she
got off. She went up to the station manager and asked “Do you know if there´s
Italian restaurant near here?” “Yes, it´s very near, just about 200 metres on left,
opposite Information Centre”. “Thank you” said Clare and she started walking.
She found restaurant and went inside. There was woman playing piano, and
there, in the corner of the room next to kitchen, was Ron Allen - just man she
wanted to see. He was eating dinner, but when he saw Clare he stopped. He
thought she looked exactly same - beautiful and calm. “Have you got papers?”
he asked. “No,I haven´t. I´ve given them to police” she replied. “I hope they will
arrest you and send you to prison.” When he heard her words, Ron jumped up,
took knife from the table and ran out. But outside.....

THE / - / A/AN

1. ......... boy who is sitting opposite you is called John

2. What ........ pretty girl!
3. There are quite ....... lot of chairs in that classroom
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4. These apples are expensive. They cost ,1.50 .......... kilo
5. My father works as ............. doctor in that clinic

6. Look at ........... sky It looks like it´s going to rain

7. We always go to ......... bed at eleven o´clock
8. They go to ............. every Sunday
9. .........Mr. Smith is speaking on the phone at the moment
10. They often watch .......... TV at night
11. I would like to buy ........ bed that I saw in that shop window
12. ........... Men fear death
13. He loves playing .......... golf in his free time.
14. ............ English are very serious people
15. How many languages do you speak? I speak .......... French very well
16. ........... women are expected to have babies
17. I will be here in ........... hour
18. We have ............. breakfast everyday in the café opposite my house
19. I go jogging three times......... day
20. I have ........ few apples for you in my basket. Take some
21. ............ first week in Summer I´m going to have a holiday
22. His car hot a tree; you can still see ......... mark there
23. We were in town ............ last Monday
24. He´s on his way to ......... work
25. He goes to ............. sometimes to go lectures
26. Look at .......... stars ............. in ......... sky! What ......... wonderful night!

PUT A, AN OR THE WHERE NECESSARY

1. Martin enjoys listening to ........ music but he doesn´t really like ........ music
that his son plays on his guitar
2. ......... football is one of my favourite sports.
3. Joe wasn´t interested in .......... History when he was at ...... school but he´s
just read a book about ........ history of the South American Indians and he really
enjoyed it.
4. I must show you ............. photos of our holiday in Ireland. Pat´s really very
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good at taking ............ photos
5. ............trees opposite my house blew down in the wind last night. I don´t think
it´s a good idea to have ............... trees near houses

PUT THE WHERE NECESSARY:

1. ........... dark clouds usually bring .......... rain
2. ........ rain won ´t stop unless .......... wind blows away ........ dark clouds
3. ........... cities are .......... big towns. ........... villages are smaller than .......
towns.
4. I went to New York ........... last year. I liked it very much and hope to go back
there ......... next year
5. New York is ............ las place I would choose for a holiday
6. Is that ...........today´s newspaper? No, it´s ........ yesterday´s
7. ......... James I am talking about is not a doctor. He´s a dentist
8. ....... painting represents ......... birth, ....... life, and ....... death
9. What did you do there besides playing .......... cricket?
10. The hotel was destroyed by ........ fire. .......... fire started at night.

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING WITH “A”, “AN”, “THE” or “-“

1. What´s your job? I´m ...... dentist
2. Is ..... shop open?
3. Matrin likes listening to .... music but he doesn´t like .... music his son plays on
his guitar
4. I don´t like ...... people who smoke a lot.
5. He said that he was ........ student
6. I see ....... Mr. Smith every day
7. I ate .... apple.
8. I always drink ..... water with my meals.
9. ...... books are very expensive
10. I go to ..... school at eight o´clock

A, AN, THE or – (NOTHING)

1. This coat was designed by……….famous New York artist

2. Can you tell me how to get to………….bank from here?

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 3. ………….city museum is closed today

4. He is one of………………….smatrest people I know.

5. I recommend you eat……….apple pie at this restaurant.

6. …………….milk is good for you

7. Would you like to see……………..movie?

8. ……………apple a day keeps the doctor away

9. I can´t believe I failed…………………..yesterday´s test

10.Do you have……………..dictionary that I can borrow?

FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH “A” “AN” “THE” OR NO ARTICLE (1 MARKS)

1. We always have ……. Break in …… morning
2. Peter speaks…… English and studies French on ….. Mondays and …..
Wednesdays
3. ….. studying English is good for our marks
4. …… sun rises in …… east and sets in ……. West
5. …..Miño flows into …… Atlantic Ocean
6. There is …….. fly on the window glass
7. Do you think we ca ever come to ……. Agreement?

A, AN, THE OR A POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE IF NECESSARY

1. Let me tell you about ………town I live in. It´s ………big town with………
university……….school which I go to isn´t far from our house, but I´m very late
………most mornings because I don´t like ………..school very much

2. ……….Aunt Mary lived on………ground floor of……….old house. She was very
much afraid of ………..burglars and always locked up……..house very carefully
before she went to…………bed. She also took…………precaution of looking under
………..bed to see if …………burglar was hiding there

3. Someone threw ……..egg which struck the speaker on……….head

4 He was…………very tall man with………..dark hair and…………small beard

5 These apples are forty pence………….pound.

6 He first went to ………..sea in a Swedish ship, so as well as learning………

navigation he had to learn………Swedish.
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A, AN, THE OR A POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE IF NECESSARY
1. I´m really tired and I´m going to……………bed

2. You shoes are ………………….bed

3. John´s at…………..work at the moment

4. There´s ………splendid view of ……………..Lake Geneva from this hotel

5. …………lunch I ordered was burnt.

6. Let´s have…………..breakfast on the terrace

7. I had ……….nice lunch at the Ritz

8. We took some photographs outside………..church

9. ……….Portuguese are very different from………….Spanish people

10. In many countries, ………..head of state is called………President

11. Do you know who killed…………..President Lincoln?

12. “Is this …………..book you were telling me about?” “Yes it is about……..life of
Queen Victoria. It is ……….interesting book. It gives………..wonderful picture of
what………….life was like in……….Victorian times

13. Robin Hood is ………….legendary hero that………children learn about from

………….story books. He used to take………….money from ………rich and give it to
…….poor people.

14. …………breakfast is served between eight and nine thirty

15. ………..lunch given by the Ambassador is formal

16. ………..men are always complaining about something

17. Richard has gone to………….hospital to see his uncle who has had ………
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operation

18. I met ……….Governor of ……..county prison at ………..Sinclair´s party …….last

week. He told me that he had been in……….navy until…….last June.

19. I clean my bicycle once………week

WORKSHEET NINE: A/AN... THE

1. I wrote to her but .... letter never arrived.

2. Britain is ..... island.

3. What is ..... name of this village?

4. Jane is .... very nice person. You must meet her.

5. Montreal is ..... very large city in Canada.

6. What is ..... largest city in Canada?

7. "What time is it?" " I don't know. I haven't got .... watch".

8. When I went to Rome I stayed with .... Italian friend of mine.

9. Don't sit on .... floor. It's very dirty.

10. You look tired. You need ..... holiday.

11. "Let's go to .... restaurant this evening." "That's .... idea. Which restaurant
shall we go to?"

12. Can you turn on ... radio please, I want to listen to some music.

13. Tom is in .... bathroom. He's having ..... bath.

14. This is a nice room but I don't like ... colour of ... carpet.

15. We live in .... old house near .... station. It's two miles from .... centre.

16. Rome is .... capital of Italy.

17. When we were in London, we stayed in .... small hotel.

18. Jack is in .... kitchen - he is cooking something.

19. Alan is .... best player in our team.

20. We went to the cinema yesterday but .... film wasn't very good.

WORKSHEET TEN: THE

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INSERT "THE" WHERE NECESSARY:

1. Sky is blue and sun is shining.

2. What are you going to have for lunch?

3. Our apartment is on third floor.

4. Help! Fire! Somebody call fire brigade.

5. Who was first man to walk on moon?

6. Which city is capital of your country?

7. What is largest city in world?

8. Would you like to be in army?

9. Do you live near sea?

10. After dinner we watched television.

11. "Where is your dictionary?" " It is on top shelf on right".

12. We live in country, about five miles from nearest village.

13. Ann is coming to see us at end of May or beginning of April.

14. Have you got ticket for concert tomorrow night?

15. What is name of Director of film we saw last night?

16. Yesterday I bought jacket and shirt: Jacket was cheap but shirt was
expensive.

17. Peter and Mary have two children. Boy is seven years old and girl is three.

18. We didn't enjoy our holiday. hotel was terrible.

19. I wrote to her but letter never arrived.

20. At night we always have supper at table.

ELEGIR LA RESPUESTA CORRECTA:
- Some children do not like ............. (school/ the school)
- My friend Pat is very ill and she is at ....... (hospital / the hospital)
- Walter is visiting his brother at ........... (the prison/prison)
- I do not like ......... It is very old and ugly ( the school/ school)
- Mr. Turner´s son robbed a bank and now he is in ........... (the prison/prison)
- Salesmen sometimes visit .......... to sell text books (the school/ school)
- Mum is not at home. She is at ............ visiting uncle Bobby. (The
hospital/hospital)

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING WITH AA@, AAN@, ATHE@ or A-A

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1. What´s your job? I´m ...... dentist
2. Is ..... shop open?
3. Matrin likes listening to .... music but he doesn´t like .... music his son plays on
his guitar
4. I don´t like ...... people who smoke a lot.
5. He said that he was ........ student
6. I see ....... Mr. Smith every day
7. I ate .... apple.
8. I always drink ..... water with my meals.
9. ...... books are very expensive
10. I go to ..... school at eight o´clock

THE
CORRECT:
1. I started school when I was four years old
2. I´m going to university the next year
3. I hate the exams. I always fail them
4. The nearest school is only for boys
5. Teachers earn less than lawyers
6. When I was at school I had to play hockey
7. I was very good at the maths
8. She learned to play guitar
9. Do you have the breakfast before you go to the work?
10.The government isn´t spending enough money on education

PUT “THE” WHERE NECESSARY

1. Were you good at…………geography when you were at ……….school?
2. He always practises ………..piano before he has ………..dinner
3. I used to go to……church every Sunday

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 4. I like …….pop music, …..Chinese food and ……..tennis
5. I think……..women are better teachers than ……….men
6. Go straight on until you get to ……….church on …………corner
7. I like having………lunch at……….home
8. ………next Sunday I´m going to …… cinema
9.

THE DEFINITE ARTICLE

1. I met …….man called james……….last week He´s ……….dentist, and he
lives in ………..street next to ……….mine
2. Gilly´s very interested in ……education. She´d like to be ………university
teacher
3. We prefer………..classical music to ……….pop music. We often listen to
………concerts on………radio
4. ………Jim´s mother doesn´t let him go to…….school alone because she
thinks……roads near his school are too dangerous
5. When I was at ……..University I used to play ……….guitar in ……… group
6. I think ………..dogs make better pets than……..cats. When you come home
from ……..work they´re always pleased to see you
7. carol´s got……….maths exam on……Monday morning. She hates……
maths
8. Would you like to have ………..dinner with us ………next week?

Name: _________________________

Articles
a boy the boy (that I am dating)
the apple (that is on the table)
an apple

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 Remember:

 sea
 sky in the morning
the  moon in the evening
 sun

Use the when you are speaking about something you know exactly what it is.
the with proper name is very rare and is used when talking about one of many people with the
same name.
Example: The Alfred is my friend.
The Alfred I know is very kind and loving.

Write change the a to the by rewriting the sentence.

1. This is a dog.

This is the dog that bite me.

2. She is a teacher.
______________________________________________.

3. He is a student.
______________________________________________.

4. This is a fish.
______________________________________________.

5. A red apple.
______________________________________________.
Write 2 sentences using a and 2 sentences using the.
1.

2.

3.

4.

Articles a, an, or the

Fill in the blank: a, an, or the.

During weekend, Steve and Susan went to movies.

They saw movie Spiderman. movie is action flick.
It is about man that gets bitten by blue and red spider.
After movie, Steve and Susan went to McDonald’s on 5th street. Steve ate
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hamburger and Susan ate new McRib burger that her friends had told her about. After
eating Susan took bus home and Steve took taxi. taxi Steve was
in had accident it hit large van. No one was hurt, but taxi driver
got traffic ticket for running red light. And Steve had long walk
home.

Write a, an, or (nothing)

dog uniform
snow lion
eraser airplane
corn juice
apple man
ice cream water

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 UFO wheat
hour elephant
rice umbrella
teacher mouse
orange armchair
zebra cat

a,, an, the, no article

Complete the sentences use a, an, the, put if no article is needed.

1. I live in Seoul but my friend lives in London.
2. The train for Busan leaves from Seoul station.
3. My sister arrived at train station at 4:00.
4. Susan goes to school everyday.
5. Steve’s girlfriend may be ugly actress but Steve is no prize himself.
6. Alfred is millionaire but too bad it’s in Korean won and not dollars.
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 7. atom is smaller than molecule.
8. He gave her diamond ring and watch for her birthday.
9. My family and I went to Alps for our winter vacation last year.
10. His umbrella also has wooden handle but umbrella over there
is not the same color.
11. Susan’s mother went to school to talk to teacher.
12. Mary’s house is very big but bathroom is outside.

Write 5 sentences using articles. Use at least six words in each different sentence.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

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