Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation
Articles by sound and sense
Choose between a and an by the sound that follows, and use the when you mean a particular one.
Three small words do an enormous amount of work in English: a, an and the. The first two point at any one of something. The third points at a particular one.
a or an — listen, do not look
Use an in front of a vowel sound, and a in front of every other sound. It is the sound that decides, not the letter.
The two words that catch everybody
An hour, an honest answer — the h is silent, so the word begins with a vowel sound. A university, a uniform — these begin with a y sound, so they take a even though they start with u.
the — the one we both mean
Use the when your reader already knows which one you mean: because you said it before, because you are pointing at it, or because there is only one. Shut the door. The sun is bright.
First a, then the
A story usually introduces something with a and comes back to it with the. I found a coin. The coin was older than my grandfather.
Worked example
Fill both gaps: "She adopted ____ puppy. ____ puppy sleeps under her bed."
The first gap introduces the puppy. Nobody knows which one yet, so it takes a.
A introduces; it does not point.
Try it together
Let us fill three gaps.
Each answer is one word: "a", "an" or "the". Say the word after the gap aloud before you choose.
1.Write the word: I have ____ old bicycle.
Have a go
Which one is correct?
Ready to practise?
Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.