Achieving Fluency: Dynamic Exercises for University Students to Master Article Usage
Articles
Articles – a, an, the
- I am a teacher,
- she is a student,
- he is also a student,
- I went for a coffee,
- have a nice day
Wrong: “I have car“
Correct: “I have a car.”
Definite article is ‘the’, indefinite articles are ‘a’ and ‘an’
- Fill in the blanks with ‘a’, ‘an’, or ‘the’: I have _____ cat and _____ dog.
- Which is the correct article in the sentence: I want the apple / I want an apple.
we use ‘a’ or ‘an’ before a noun, or, we use ‘the’ before the noun
- Choose a number 1 2 3 4 5 (any number)
- Choose the number a 2 u Q ! (the number)
Choose a country that you have lived (answer could be any country – that you have lived)
- e.g. Ireland, England, Thailand
Choose the country that you live (answer could only be one country – that you live)
- e.g. Thailand
sentences
SVO subject – verb – object is used in Thai, Chinese and English
- The boy kicked the ball
- The boy (S) kicked (V) the ball (O)
nouns – boy, ball, verb – kicked
noun phrases
These are the noun phrases
- Article + noun (the boy, the ball)
- Article + noun (a boy, a ball)
- Article + noun (an artist, an apple)
Articles with Plural Nouns
Plural nouns have the article ‘the’ before them and are not used with either ‘a’ or ‘an’.
- Wrong: An apples
- Wrong: An cars
Correct:
- the chairs
- the buses
- the babies
- the men
- the boxes
- the buses
- the brushes
Using 'an' article
- A University
- A user
- A unit
- An hour
- An FBI agent
- An honorable man
- Articles an with a U-sound: An umbrella
- Articles an with a Yu-sound: A unicorn
- Articles an with a N-sound: nut
- Articles an with a En-sound: An NBA program
Article Exercises
Exercise 1
complete the sentences using the correct article:
this is (a| an| the) good example -> this is a good example
- (a| an| the) cat is sleeping on the couch.
- I saw (a| an| the) elephant at the zoo yesterday.
- We waited for (a| an| the) hour for the start.
- We stayed in (a| an| the) apartment near the city center.
- Let’s choose (a| an| the) university to visit.
- He is (a| an| the) intelligent student.
- (a| an| the) sun is shining brightly today.
- She ate (a| an| the) oats for breakfast this morning.
Exercise 2
complete the sentences using the correct article:
- (a|an|the) cat is sleeping on the couch.
- I saw (a|an|the) elephant at the zoo yesterday.
- We waited for (a|an|the) hour for the start.
- We stayed in (a|an|the) apartment near the city center.
- Let’s choose (a|an|the) university to visit.
- He is reading (a|an|the) interesting book right now.
- (a|an|the) sun is shining brightly today.
- She ate (a|an|the) oats for breakfast this morning
Exercise 3
Correct the sentence or put a tick (✓) if the sentence is correct
All students should go to the classroom – ✓
if an student is late then they will have to catch up – if a student is late then they will have to catch up
- I need to buy some milk from the store.
- Could you pass me a salt, please?
- He is studying to become the doctor.
- Could you pass me the remote control, please?
- I saw the interesting movie last night.
- She bought the beautiful dress for the party.
- I found the old book in the attic.
