Articles: a, an, the: explanation and exercises

A / an

a teacher, a university (consonant sound)

an apple, an hour (vowel sound)

The

The sun is hot. / Open the door, please.

No article

I love music. / Dogs are friendly.

• A / an: first mention, or one of many.
• The: already known, unique, or made specific.
• No article: general plural and uncountable nouns; most names of people and places.

• Not thisShe is teacher.

  Say thisShe is a teacher.

  Singular countable nouns need an article or another determiner.

• Not thisI have a apple.

  Say thisI have an apple.

  An is used before a vowel sound.

• Not thisI like the pizza. (in general)

  Say thisI like pizza.

  General statements need no article.

• Teach articles through a story: “I have a dog. The dog is brown.” First mention, then the.
• Focus on sounds, not letters, for a / an: an hour, a university.
• Correct only one article rule per activity. Trying to fix every article at once overwhelms students.

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