Gordon College
Olongapo City
College of Education, Arts and Sciences
1st Semester A.Y 2014-2015
Module in English Grammar
Articles (a, an, the)
Prepared by:
Abigail D. Cayabyab
BSEd-English III
Submitted to:
Rudy Esposo II
Instructor III
TABLE OF CONTENT
Pre Activities …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
Activity #1
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
Activity #2
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
Articles ( a, an, the ) …………………………………………………………………………………………………..…. 2-3
Drills ………….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3-4
Enhancement Activities
………………………………………………………………………………………..… 4-5
Practice #1
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…... 4
Practice #2
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……... 5
Reinforcement Activities
…………………………………………………………………………………….……. 6-7
Exercises #1
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……... 6
Exercises #2
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……... 6-7
Post Test
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……... 7
Key to Corrections and References
…………………………………………………………..………………….. 8
Articles in English are complicated, and there are many rules for their use. However,
learning a few general rules about the use of the articles is helpful; the logic of these rules can
be transferred to most uses of the article.
Pre-Activities
Activity #1
Instruction: Fill in the blanks. Complete the sentences with a/an or the.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
______ dog makes a good pet.
Janford ______ telephone is ringing.
Fordie left ______ hour ago.
Zeke put your car in ______ garage.
Kiel bought ______ jacket and ______ shirt.
Activity #2
Instruction: Fill in the blanks. Complete the sentences with a/an or the.
1. A: I can’t see you at four. I’ll be in ______ meeting then. How about four-thirty?
B: Fine.
2. What time does ______ meeting start on Tuesday?
B: Eight.
3. Ezekiel’s car ran out of gas. He had to walk ______ long distance to find ______
telephone and call his sister for help.
4. A: Was ______ lecture interesting?
B: Yes ______ speaker have ______ interesting talk.
5. A: Where should we go for ______ cup of coffee after class?
B: Let’s go to ______ café around ______ corner from the first block.
6. A: I’m hungry, and I’m tired of walking. How much father is it to ______ restaurant?
B: Just a couple of blocks. Let’s cross ______ street here.
C: Are you sure you know where you’re going?
7. A: Did Bob find ______ job?
B: Yes. He’s working at ______ restaurant.
C: Oh? Which one?
8. ______ apple a day. Keeps ______ doctor away.
9. A: We still have ______ hour to finish our tasks.
B: Yes. ______ clock is ticking fast.
10. Did you feed ______ dog?
a/an
the
Can you open a window?
Can you open the window?
There are three windows here.
There is only one window here –
the window.
a window = window 1 or 2 or 3
Indefinite Articles : a/ an
"A" and "an" signal that the noun modified is indefinite, referring to any member of a group.
A.
B.
C.
D.
I’ve got a car. (there are many cars and I’ve got one)
Can I ask a question? (there are many questions- can I ask one?)
Manila is an interesting City/ (there are many interesting cities and Manila is one)
Dane is a student. (there are many students Dane is one.)
Remember, using a or an depends on the sound that begins the next word.




a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy; a car; a bike; a zoo; a dog
an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant; an egg; an apple; an idiot; an
orphan
a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e.
begins with a consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used); a university; a unicycle
an + nouns starting with silent "h": an hour

a + nouns starting with a pronounced "h": a horse
Definite Article: the
The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or
particular. The signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular member of a group.
A.
B.
C.
D.
I’m going to clean the car. (my car)
Can you repeat the question? (the question that you asked)
Manila is the Capital of the Philippines. (there is only one capital of the Philippines)
Dane is the youngest student in his class. (there is only one younger student in his class)
Compare a and the:
I bought a jacket and a shirt. The jacket was cheap but the shirt was expensive.
= (the jacket and the shirt that I bought.)
DRILL #1
Instruction: Complete the sentences using a/an or the.
1. Can you open _____ door, please?
2. How far is it to _____ airport?
3. That’s _____ nice jewerly you have.
4. Would you turn off _____ lights?
5. It’s _____ nice morning.
6. I’d like to speak to _____ manager.
7. _____ dinner we had last night was tough.
8. _____ milk comes from cows and goats.
9. She owns _____ hour glass.
10. I saw _____ accident.
DRILL #2
Instruction: Complete the sentence using a or an
1.
2.
3.
4.
Leonardo di Caprio is ___ actor.
That's Oliver. He's ___ travel agent.
Fred is ____ electrician.
Mrs. Fajardo is ___ teacher.
5. Peter is ____ engineer.
6. I'm ____ student.
7. She's ___ baker.
8. Yna is ___ artist.
9. John is ___ existentialist.
10. Mr. Fajardo is ___ chef.
ENHANCEMENT
Practice #1
Instruction: Choose your answer from the following letters. Write your answer before the
number.
A- a
B- an
C- the
D- no article needed
1. Are you shopping for ___ health club to join so you can get in shape?
2. Shop wisely! You could end up choosing ___ wrong club and losing more money than
pounds.
3. You may find out too late that ___ health clubs aren't for you.
4. ___ Slimmer’s world fitness experts recommend thoroughly checking out several health
clubs before you join one.
5. First, know what you want and need in ___ fitness facility, and don't pay for what you'll
never use.
6. If you only want exercise classes, ___ exercise studio without weight machines and
locker rooms may work for you.
7.
If you're looking for ___ place to only do bodybuilding, you'll be happy in a basic gym.
8.
You may be in ___ market for a full-service health club; then, make sure it offers lots of
activities.
9.
Look for a place near your house, and check out ___ exercise instructors and personal
trainers.
10. They should be educated in physical education or certified by ___ organization such as
the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) on exercise.
Practice #2
Instruction: Encircle the correct answer.
1. You should evaluate ___ equipment and make sure fitness machines are modern and in
working order.
a. a
b. an
c. the
d. no article is needed
2. Try to talk to other members of the club. Find out what they believe are ___ advantages
and disadvantages there.
a. a
b. an
c. the
d. no article is needed
3. Look in ___ locker room, workout room, and shower--everywhere should be clean.
a. a
b. an
c. the
d. no article is needed
4. ___ locker room sanitation is usually a good indication of how clean other areas are.
a. a
b. an
c. the
d. no article is needed
5. You should buy ___ umbrella.
a. a
b. an
c. the
d. no article is needed
REINFORCEMENT
Exercises #1
Instruction: Choose whether to use the definite article the or not. If you do not need the
article the, use X . Write your answer in the space provided.
1. My grandmother likes ____ flowers very much.
2. I love ____ flowers in your garden.
3. See you on ____ Wednesday.
4. I always listen to ____ radio in the morning.
5. Alex goes to work by ____ bus.
6. Don't be late for ____ school.
7. Listen! Dennis is playing ____ trumpet.
8. We often see our cousins over ____ Easter.
9. She has never been to ____ Alps before.
10. What about going to Australia in ____ February?
Exercises #2
Instruction: Supply the blank spaces using a/an or the to complete the paragraph.
One day last month while I was driving through the countryside, I saw 1. _____________
man and 2. _____________ truck next to 3. _____________ covered bridge. 4. _____________
bridged crossed 5. _____________ small river. I stopped and asked 6. _____________ man.
“What’s the matter? Can I be of help?”, “Well,” said 7. _____________ man, “my truck is about
a half-inch too tall. Or 8. _____________ top of 9. _____________ bridge is a half-inch too
short. Either way, my truck won’t fit under 10. _____________ bridge.” “Hmmm. There must be
11. _____________ solution to this problem,” I said. “I don’t know, I guess I’ll have to turn
around and take another route” he replied. After a few moments of thoughts, I said. “Aha! You
have 12. _____________ solution? What is it? Asked the man. Let a little air out of your tires,
then 13. _____________ truck won’t be too tall and you can cross 14. _____________ bridge
over 15. _____________ river. “Hey, that’s 16. _____________ great idea. Let’s try it. So 17.
_____________ man let a little air out of 18. _____________ tires and was able to cross 19.
_____________ river and go on his way.
Post Test
Instruction: Write the following words or phrases into the correct column.
expensive bike, daughter, action, aunt, apple, one- peso , wild animal, end ,
car, pilot, bike, astronaut, old car, son, airport, younger brother,
blue pencil,
old man, hour, cake, idea , ice cream, word, exotic food, existentialist
A
an
KEY TO CORRECTIONS:
Drill #1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
the
the
a
the
a
the
The
The
an
An
Drill#2
Enhancement: Practice #1
Practice #2
1. an
2. a
3. an
4. a
5. an
6. a
7. a
8. an
9. an
10. a 10. an
1. the
2. the
3. the
4. The
5. a
6. an
7. a
8. a
9. an
1. C
2. C
3. C
4. C
5. A
Reinforcement: Exercises #1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
X
the
X
the
X
X
the
X
X
X
A
daughter, pilot, bike, blue, pencil, cake, brother,
young, wild animal, word, one- peso, car, son
Exercises #2
1. a
2. a
3. the
4. a
5. a
6. the
7. the
8. a
9. the
10. a
11. a
12. a
13. the
14. the
15. the
16. a
17. the
18. the
19. the
an
exotic food, existentialist, idea, expensive bike,
apple, aunt, old man, hour, astronaut, action,
end, ice cream,
REFERENCE/S:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/540/01/
http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/rules/article.htm
http://www.grammarbank.com/articles.html
Fundamentals of English Grammar 3rd Edition by Betty Schrampfer Azar and Stacy Hagen
Essential Grammar In Use 2nd Edition by Raymond Murphy