Article
Usage Example
a) The indefinite article “a” is used before singular countable nouns. A pen
A child
b) The indefinite article “an” is used before singular countable An hour
nouns when the nouns start with a vowel sound or a silent “h” An honest
such as “hour”. An ox
c) The indefinite article “the” is used: The watch
- To show a particular object or person
- For something that is mentioned for the second time
d) “The” is also used: The moon
- To refer to something which is the only one of its kind. The Pacific Ocean
- To show superlatives
- Before the special names of rivers, seas, mountain ranges
and particular places.
Exercise 1: Fill in each blank with “a” or “an”.
1. _________ trap 2. _________ angel
3. _________ laptop 4. _________ long story
5. _________ axe 6. _________annual dinner
7. _________ experience pen 8. _________ world record
9. _________ sausage 10. _________ idea
Exercise 2: Fill in each blank with “a” or “an”.
1. _________ sensitive boy 2. _________ unexpected result
3. _________ awful moment 4. _________ sweet memory
5. _________ bright idea 6. _________imaginative work
7. _________ cold day 8. _________lazy boy
9. _________ auspicious boy 10. _________old owl
Exercise 3: Fill in the blanks with either “a”, “an” or “the”.
1. Whenever I am free, I will go for ______________ walk.
2._______ Evergreen Park is a favourite place for me.
3.I saw_______owl hooting at the rooftop.
4.That is __________ nurse I saw yesterday
5.Three of us are doing __________ project
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6.The child took _________ slice of bread.
7. If you are sick, you have to see ________ doctor.
8. __________ blind man was grateful to me for helping him.
9. There is ________ ant in the cup of tea.
10. The visitor wants to see ________ headmaster.
Exercise 4: Fill in the blanks with either “a”, “an” or “the”.
1. Jessie bought ________ new laptop ________ week ago.
2. ________ picture was painted by ________ famous artist.
3.I have ________ idea. Why don't we have _________ picnic?
4.Mum baked_________ cake. It is for _________ guests.
5. ________ apple ________ day will keep ________ doctor away,
6. ________ dog is barking at ________ stranger.
7.I have read_________ book already. It is_________ interesting book.
8. We went for ________ holiday on ________ beautiful island.
9.There is_________ van at _________back of _________ house.
10.There is_________ python in ________ bush.
Exercise 5: Read the passage below. Then fill in each blank with “a”, “an” or “the”.
It was (1) ________ real experience for me, yet I was not overawed by (2)
________ occasion. I just ran in (3) ________ relaxed manner. My target was
only to complete (4) ________ race. Although I did not win any prize, I
considered that completing (5) ________ race was (6) ________ achievement.
Dad won (7) ________ consolation prize though. He said that it was only (8)
________ beginning for me. He was going to train me for (9) ________ next
marathon. It was (10) ________ crazy idea but I readily agreed.
Zero Article
Usage Examples
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No article is needed:
Cats are cute animals.
a) For plural countable nouns in general
b) For uncountable nouns in general Fruits are good for health.
c) Before the names of towns or states James was born in Macau.
d) Before the names of the road and streets Anson Road is often flooded.
e) Before the name of meals or games We shall play chess in the evening.
f) Before the names of most countries John likes to visit Japan.
g) Before the names of some diseases The patient has cholera.
Exercise 6: Fill in the blanks with either “a”, “an” or “the” where necessary. If no article is
needed, put a dash (-).
1. Is _______ dinner ready? We are hungry now.
2. We intend to have _______ picnic at _______ beach.
3. Sentosa Island is _______ tourist attraction.
4. Besides sunlight, plants need _______water.
5. Snakes are _______ reptiles.
6. I have not been to _______ France.
7. My house is situated at _______ Green Avenue.
8. I practice _______tennis three times _______week.
9. We shall have _______ outing this weekend.
10. _______ patient has _______ cancer.
11. Janice bought _______ new car when she started ___________
work.
12. I like to listen to ________ music for ________ relaxation.
13. Mother will go ________ shopping during ________ weekends.
14. ________ information can be obtained at ________ counter.
15. Bastian will be on ________ business trip to ________ Japan.
16. ________ rivers is full of ________ rubbish.
17. The incidence of ________ dengue is on ________ rise again.
18. Those are ________ tourist from ________ Middle East.
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19. When it is ________ winter, ________ snow falls.
20. We practice ________ yoga in ________ hall.
Exercise 7: Fill in the blanks with either “a”, “an” or “the” where necessary. If no article is
needed, put a dash (-).
1. We do ________ exercise at ________ park daily.
2. On the way to ________ school, I found ________ purse.
3. There is ________ owl hooting on ________ rooftop.
4. Besides doing ________ exercise, eating fruit is also good for health.
5. June was absent from ________work as she had ________cold.
6. I intend to visit ________ China at ________ end of this month.
7. There is ________old saying that ________early bird catches the worm.
8. To improve your English, write ________ essay ________ week.
9. After taking ________lunch, we resumed our journey to ________ lake.
10. If you have ________ malaria, you should seek ________ medical treatment.
Exercise 8: Fill in the blanks with either “a”, “an” or “the” where necessary. If no article is
needed, put a dash (-).
When the fire was finally brought under control, (1) ________ charred remains of
(2) ________ two children were found crouched in (3) ________ hall of their wooden
house. Rosli in between (4) ________ sobs said that there was (5) ________ blackout
prior to (6) ________ fire. He suspected that the fire was caused by (7) ________
short-circuit. He added that he could not save the children because of (8) ________
intense heat. In fact, he suffered (9) ________ burns on his right wrist. His wife was in
(10) ________ state of shock. The villagers are now passing (11) ________ hat round
to collect (12) ________ donations for the fire victims.
