INDIAN SCHOOL AL WADI AL KABIR
ENGLISH WORKSHEET 2017-18
Articles(a, an &the)
Name ______Class VIII Sec ___ Date ______
Indefinite Articles - "a and an"
"A" and "an" are indefinite articles and act as determiners.
1.We use "a or an" when we are talking about something for the first time.
2.They refer to something not specifically known to the person you are communicating with.
3."A and an" are used before nouns that introduce something or someone you have not mentioned before.
4."A and an" are used where the precise identity may be irrelevant or hypothetical.
5. We use "a or an" to define what kind of person or thing someone or something is.
6. We use "a or an" with an adjective, or to indicate that it belongs to a particular group.
For specific "a or an" use selection depends on the following word.
- If the next word begins with a consonant sound when we say it.
For example, "university" then we use "a".
- If the next word begins with a vowel sound when we say it. For example "hour" then we use "an".
We say "university" with a "y" sound at the beginning as though it were spelt "yniversity".
Definite Article - "the"
- We use "the" when we know that the listener knows or can work out what particular person or thing we are talking about.
- We use "the" when we are talking about a specific person or thing, or if there is only one, or if it is clear which one we are talking about.
- We should also use "the" when we have already mentioned the thing we are talking about.
- We use "the" to talk about geographical points on the globe.
- We use "the" with plural names of people and places.
- We normally use "the" with buildings.
For Example: The White House, The Hilton Hotel.
7.With school, university, prison, hospital, church, work and home we use "the" when we are talking about a particular or specific item, and no article when we are talking about the idea of school, university, prison, hospital, church, work and home.
8.We use an article before the names of countries where they indicate multiple areas or contain nouns. State(s), kingdom, republic and union are nouns, so they need an article.
For Example: we use "the" - the UK (United Kingdom), the USA (United States of America)
For Example: we use "the" for multiple areas - the Netherlands, the Philippines, the British Isles.
9.We use "the" with oceans, seas, rivers and canals.
10.We use "the" with directions: north, south, east and west to talk about the location of a place within another place, but no article is used to compare the location of two places.
No article
1.We use no article to talk about things or people in general.
For Example: Inflation is rising. Crime is a problem.
2.We do not use an article when talking about sports.
For example: My son plays football.
Polo is expensive.
3.We do not use an article before uncountable nouns when talking about them generally. For example: Information is important to any organisation.
Coffee is bad for you.
4.We do not use an article before the names of countries.
For example: No article with: Italy, Mexico, Bolivia, England
5.We use no article with continents, countries, regions, cities, streets, mountains, lakes and parks.
For Example: Asia, Canada, Ontario, Toronto, Mount Everest, Lake Huron, Bloor Park
EXERCISE 1 Fill in the blanks with a, an, the or no article.
1. This coat was designed by ___ famous New York artist.
2.Can you tell me how to get to ___ bank from here?
3.___ city museum is closed today.
4.He is one of ___ smartest 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 ___ doctor away.
9.I can't believe I failed ___ yesterday's test!
10.Do you have ___ dictionary that I can borrow
EXERCISE 2Fill in the correct articles to complete the sentences.
1. ___ children knew ___ fastest way home.
2. English grammar has rules and ___ set of exemptions.
3. __ English sentence contains ___ idea or ___ complete thought.
4. She had __ house so large that __ cartographer would get lost without ___ map.
5.___ obligatory nature of English language articles makes them among ___ most used words.
6. I will visit ___ friend of mine in ___ United States.
7. At 10 this morning there was ___ phone call from your brother.
8. I watch ___ news on TV every morning.
9. I was ___ only person who had ___ umbrella at the time.
10. ___ few people will remain here until ___ end.
11. She likes to do gardening on ___ weekend.
12. We should make sure if ___ information we have is correct.
13. I bought these shoes at ___ sale.
14. I visit my grandparents at least once ___ year.