The words a, an and the are called articles. They come at the beginning of nouns or noun phrases. Use a/an with singular countable nouns.

When to use a/an

Use a/an with singular countable nouns when we are talking about a person or thing for the first time.

• I have a daughter.
• She is a teacher.
• It is a cat.

Use the in subsequent references to that person or thing.

• She has a son and a daughter. The boy is 15 and the girl is 12.

Learning how to use articles correctly is an important part of learning English.

Articles worksheet

Fill in the blanks with an appropriate article. In some cases, no articles are required.

1. I was born in ……………………. 1979. (a / an / the / no article)

2. I have ……………………. kid sister. (a / an / the / no article)

3. …………………… cat chased …………………….. hen. (a / an / the / no article)

4. She opened ……………………….. book. (a / an / the / no article)

5. I visited ……………………… Australia last year. (a / an / the / no article)

6. They have ……………………….. big house in the country. (a / an / the / no article)

7. ………………………. girl who won ……………………….. first prize was congratulated by all.

8. …………………….. teacher asked …………………… boy to stand outside.

9. My mother bought me ……………………… bicycle for my birthday. (a / an / the / no article)

10. Let’s meet on ……………………… Monday. (a / an / the / no article)

11. I went to ……………………….. market and bought ……………………… coconut.

12. Which is ………………………. brightest star in ………………………… sky?

13. ……………………… government should help ……………………. poor.

14. He doesn’t eat ……………………… fast food.

15. There is something under ……………………… bed.

16. Don’t throw stones into ………………………. well.

17. I heard …………………….. story in ………………………. morning.

18. ………………………. man complained to ………………………… police.

19. They will close …………………………………. shop at 8pm.

19. Who is ………………………. man in …………………….. funny hat?

20. Don’t talk in such …………………………. loud voice.

21. Somebody is waiting at ………………………… door.

22. Have you paid ………………………………… bills?

23. I couldn’t start ……………………………….. car.

24. His untimely demise was rather ………………………….. shock.

25. I was having such …………………………… great time that I didn’t want to leave.

Answers

1. no article, 2. a, 3. the, the, 4. the, 5. no article (Articles are not used before the name of countries; there are a few exceptions to this rule. For example, we say the United States of America and the United Kingdom), 6. a, the, 7. the, the, 8. the, the, 9. a, 10. no article, 11. the, a, 12. the, the, 13. the, the, 14. no article, 15. the, 16. the, 17. a, the, 18. the, the, 19. the, 20. a, 21. the, 22. the (The listener knows which bills the speaker is talking about. Hence the is used here.), 23. the (The is used here because both the speaker and the listener know which car the speaker is talking about.), 24. a, 25. a

Worksheet 2

Fill in the blanks with an appropriate article

Two-thirds of …………1……….. (a / an / the / no article) world’s polar bears will be killed off by 2050, said …………2……….. (a / an/ the / no article) US government scientists report. …………3……….. (A / An / The / no article) report added that …………4……….. (a / an / the / no article) entire population of polar bears will go missing from Alaska by 2050 because of thinning sea ice from global warming in …………5……….. (a / an / the / no article) Arctic. Only in ……………6…….. (a / the / no article) northern Canadian Arctic islands and …………7……….. (a / an / the / no article) west coast of Greenland are any of …………8……….. (a / an/ the / no article) world’s 16,000 polar bears expected to survive.

Answers

1. the, 2. a, 3. the, 4. the, 5. the, 6. the, 7. the,8. the

Worksheet 3

Fill in the blanks with an appropriate article.

…………1……………. few months later war was again proclaimed. When …………2……….. trumpet summoned …………3………….. soldier to join …………4………… army, he equipped his horse with its military trappings, and then mounted ………………5………… horse, clad in his heavy military outfit. The horse fell down straight away under ……………6………. weight. It was no longer capable of carrying …………7…………. burden and said to his master, “You must now go to …………8……… war on foot. You have transformed me from …………9…………. Horse into …………10……….. Ass. Now how can you expect that I can again turn in …………11………… moment from an Ass to a Horse?”

Answers

1. a, 2. the, 3. the, 4. the, 5. the, 6. the, 7. the, 8. the, 9. a, 10. an, 11. a

Worksheet 4

Fill in the blanks with an appropriate article.

1. We are closing ……………………… shop because we don’t have any customers.

2. Why are you talking in such …………………………. loud voice?

3. She has bought ………………………. house with ……………………. beautiful garden.

4. I am waiting for …………………………. bus.

5. Will you come and pick me from …………………………. airport?

6. I have ……………………….. exam tomorrow.

7. Don’t forget to lock ……………………….. door when you go out.

8. I don’t want my name to appear in ………………………… report.

9. His car is ………………………… biggest.

10. She danced into ……………………… room.

11. He is suffering from ……………………….. serious illness.

12. She does not understand ……………………….. gravity of ………………………. situation.

13. She said that she didn’t like ………………………… movie.

14. ……………………… man she married is ……………………. architect.

15. We want ……………………….. party to be successful.

Answers

1. the, 2. a, 3. a, a, 4. the, 5. the, 6. an, 7. the, 8. the, 9. the, 10. the, 11. a, 12. the, the, 13. the, 14. the, an, 15. the

Worksheet 5

Complete the given passage using appropriate articles.

Answers

It is true; too much time spent in front of the TV can be harmful to you. But that may not be the only reason for shortsightedness and other problems with vision. In fact, it may not be a reason at all. An Australian study suggests that it is the lack of exposure to sunlight that damages children’s eyesight.

Researchers behind the study said that children can avoid becoming shortsighted by spending a minimum of two to three hours in direct sunlight each day. Exposure to bright light helps regulate the growth of eyeball in childhood, thereby dramatically reducing the risk of myopia. The researchers substantiate their claim by pointing out the fact that shortsightedness was traditionally a problem among the highly educated who spent a lot of time indoors.

The study was conducted on a group of children of similar age. The participants were divided into two groups. Both groups spent the same amount of time playing video games, reading and watching TV. But while children belonging to the first group spent an average of 30 minutes each day outside, the other children spent at least two hours in direct sunlight. It was found that children who spent more time in the sun had better eyesight than those who stayed indoors most of the time.