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Table of Contents Using the 2

Using a or an 4

When no articles are used 5

Exercise 1:

Choose the correct article. 6

Exercise 2:

Pay close attention to the sound at the beginning of the word and choose “a” or “an”. 7

Exercise 3:

Lakes, rivers, mountains, deserts, and oceans – Place “the” or “/” for no article before the nouns. 8

Exercise 4:

Plural nouns at the beginning of the sentence. Place “the” or “/” for no article before the nouns. 9

Exercise 5: Error Correction. Use the article charts in the Quick and Handy Grammar Review 10

to analyze each sentence. Underline the mistakes, then write the sentence correctly.

Exercise 6:

Using articles with time expressions. Choose the correct article. 11

Exercise 7:

Insert the correct form of the articles “the”, “a”, “an” or “/” in the story. 12

Exercise 8:

Insert the correct form of the articles “the”, “a”, “an” or “/” in the story. 13

Answer Key 14

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Articles!Grammar Practice Worksheet



with time periods:

in the morning, in the summer.

Bob skis in the winter.

Mary sleeps in the afternoon.

Note: Do not use an article with

‘night’. My sister works at night.

when the noun has already been

mentioned:

I saw a cat. The cat was tiny.

The police chased a man. The

man robbed a bank.Jon read a book. The book was

good.

when the noun that follows is

obvious or understood:

His hat fell on the floor.

There is no one in the house.

I walked to the other side of the

room and turned the tv on.

when the noun is made definite by

a prepositional phrase:

The woman in the blue suit is the

manager of the office.

The back of the car has fast food

bags all over it.The bottom of the vase has the

manufacturer’s name.

when the noun is made definite by

an adjective phrase or an

adjective clause:

The person standing over there

comes from Israel.The book that John is reading is

long and interesting.

with the superlative degree of

adjectives:

Bill Gates is the richest man in

America.

Bo is the most intelligent man.

Note: Do not use the with thecomparative degree.

Beer is cheaper than wine.

Quick and Handy Grammar Review Articles:

When you first learn vocabulary words in English, you are pleasantly surprised to know how simple articles are.

There are only three. “A” and “an” are indefinite articles, and “the” is the only definite article. Because there is

no gender in nouns in English (no masculine, feminine, or neuter forms), it is not difficult to choose an article.

If you have studied German, Italian, French, or Spanish, you probably remember how complicated articles are.

However, while the forms of the articles are easy, the use of articles in English is very complex. It is one aspect

that must be memorized. Fortunately (or unfortunately), there are many rules to follow. You must become

familiar with the rules. Articles are part of almost every sentence in the language. The charts below show the

rules for how and when – and when not – to use articles.

Using the





with the names of oceans, seas,deserts, and rivers:

The Amazon is longer than the

Mississippi.

The Pacific is the largest ocean.

The Dead Sea is between Israel

and Jordan

with musical instruments:

Ken plays the piano.

Marta is learning the guitar.

I can play the accordion.

The flute is a wind instrument.

with inventions:

The radio was invented in 1920.

Marconi invented the telegraph.

The ipad was invented in 2009.

The electric light bulb was

invented by Edison.

with ordinal numbers and ranking

words:

I fell in love the first time I saw

her.

The next time you see John, tell

him I miss him.

That was the second book he

bought for the course.

with theatres, bridges, hotels, and

buildings:

The Chrysler Building is tall.

The Golden Gate Bridge was built

in the 1930’s.

The Mia Hotel is in Miami.

The Loew’s Theatre in Jersey City

was built in 1934.

with museums, gardens, and zoos:

The San Diego Zoo is great.

The Metropolitan Museum is on

museum mile in New York.

The Botanical Gardens has

hundreds of kinds of flowers.

with abstract adjectives (to form

nouns describing people):

The poor live on the west side.

This program is for the aged.

The young should help the old.

with historical periods of time:

The Ice Age lasted many years.There were two terrible wars in

the twentieth century.

Dante lived in the Middle Ages.

with police, fire department, and

branches of the military:

The police are coming right now.

Barbara is in the army.

The navy and the air force are

attacking the port.

with country adjectives to describe

people:

The French drink a great deal of

wine.

The Spanish love soccer.The Chinese invented pasta.

with eye, ear, nose, and face when

hit by a foreign object:

A rock hit him in the ear.

Hank punched Jeb in the face.

The ball hit Lester in the nose.The door hit Luisa in the eye.

Note: do not use the with There

+ to be

There is a cat in the closet.

There are people in the mosque.

Continued: Using the





when a singular noun is indefinite

(not already known or mentioned):

a. use a before a consonant sound

b. use an before a vowel sound

They bought a new car.

Vancouver is a beautiful city.

Ms. Han is an energetic woman.That is an unusual pair of shoes.

Note: It is the sound, not the

letter, that determines a or an

Mina is in a union. [union begins

with /y/, a consonant sound]

There is a hair on the plate. [hair

begins with /h/, a consonant

sound]

Ken in an honest person. [the /h/ at

the begin of honest is silent]That is an ugly car . [ugly begins

with a vowel sound]

with numbers and letters:

a. use a before a consonant sound

b. use an before a vowel sound

Hal got an A on the exam.

Lee got a B on the exam.

You must put an L in that word.

Maria earned an 8 out of 10.

The figure skater received a 7. New begins with an N.

to mean “each” or “per”:

My father was driving 55

kilometers an hour.

Victoria makes $120 a day.

The hotel costs $200 a night.

The minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

after there + to be (in the

singular):

There is a car in the driveway.

There was a woman looking for

you.

Note: Do not use the with there +to be

with little or few (with a positive

meaning):

Maya has a few close friends.

She wants to have a little fun.

Note: Do not use an article with

little or few for a negative

meaning:Han has very few friends.

Dr. Co has little free time.

Do not use a or an with plural

nouns:

He has cousins in Australia.

She has friends in China.

I love books.

Do not use a or an with non-

count nouns:

My father drinks coffee in the

morning.

We need air to breathe.

Love will keep them together.

Use a with count nouns to quantify

non-count nouns:

a glass of milk, a cup of tea, a can

of soda, a teaspoon of sugar, a

pound of coffee, a bottle of wine,

a gallon of water

Using a or an





with indefinite non-count nouns:

Mona loves to drink tea.

Bill puts sugar in his coffee.

I have to put flour, butter, and

water in the cake.

with a general abstract noun:

Love is a powerful emotion.

Jealousy is the cause of problems.

Note: Use the when the abstract

noun is definite:

The wisdom of that woman is

amazing.

with the names of roads,

boulevards, streets, avenues, and

lanes:

She lives on 27th street.

King Boulevard is a mile away.

The White House is on

Pennsylvania Avenue.

Dr. Dolce lives on Kingsbridge

Lane.

when generalizing in the plural:

Cats will not come when you call

them.

People are generally honest.

Taxi cabs are usually yellow.

Tigers are ferocious animals.

with the name of colleges and

universities:

She studies at Rider College.

Nan lives at Miami University.

Walter goes to Burlington

Community College.

Note: When the name includes

the word of , use the:

Vic’s daughter goes to the

University of Pennsylvania.

with the names of cities, countries,

and states:

Texas has many oil wells.

Japan is located in Asia.

Note: Use the with country

names containing Union,

Republic, or Kingdom

The Republic of South Korea

The Kingdom of Morocco

The Soviet Union

with forms of “go” in certain

expressions:

go to church, go to bed, go to jail,

go to college, go to school, go to

class

I went to bed early last night.

with individual lakes, islands, andmountain peak:

Lake Chad is in Africa.

We took a boat ride on Lake

Como.

Bermuda is a beautiful island.

Sicily is in the Mediterranean.

Mount Everest is the tallest

mountain in the world.

with languages and religions:

Islam is the second largest religion

in the world.

Hinduism is the leading religion in

India.

Spanish is the number one

language in South America.

Many writers around the world use

English.

with numbers and letters in a list:

Please do number 1, Erika.

“B” and “C” are correct.

Number 6 in the recipe tells you to

broil the fish for 10 minutes.

with the name of diseases:

Cancer is a terrible disease.

Many children get the chicken

pox.

Note: Use the with the flu, the

mumps, and the measles.

When no articles are used






/(no article)

14. ____ Taj Mahal is located in India.

15. _____ Mississippi River is very long.

16. ____ lakes are usually cleaner than ____ rivers.

17. ____ northern part of China is very cold.

18. She gave me ____ advice.

19. I ate ___ apple for lunch.

20. He was born in _____ taxicab.

21. I ate ____ breakfast at seven o'clock.

22. Chile is located in _____ South America.

23. My sister had ____ x-ray of her arm taken.

24. Not everyone can be ____ pilot.

25. I have never eaten _____ bread from Afghanistan

1. It is not difficult to play ____ guitar.

2. _____ wolves are very dangerous animals.

3. Who invented _____ light bulb?

4. Have you ever eaten _____ Indian food?

5. ______ computers are really useful tools.

6. ______ personal computer was first used in 1982.

7. The fastest animal in the world is _______ cheetah.

8. _____ Nile River is the longest river in Africa.

9. _____ river which is polluted is not safe for fishing.

10. ____ movie that I saw last night was very good.

11. I really hate _____ scary movies.

12. The conference will be held at _____ Regis Hotel.

13. The victim was taken to _____ Hackensack Hospital.

Exercise 1:

Choose the correct article.





Exercise 2:

Pay close attention to the sound at the beginning of the word and choose “a” or “an”.

1. Senator Jackson is _________ honest woman.

2. The teachers at Trinity College belong to _______ union.

3. The manager found _______ hair in her soup.

4. That is really _______ ugly bag. I can’t believe you paid $200 for it.

5. Mildred’s son attends _________ university in Houston, Texas.

6. Can you give me ________ hand. I can’t do this by myself.

7. George was driving very fast, more than 95 miles ____ hour.

8. Basil is _________ herb. It has a wonderful flavor.

9. Chemistry is ________ hard course.

10. It is very difficult to get _______ A in Physics.





/(no article)

Exercise 3:

Lakes, rivers, mountains, deserts, and oceans – Place “the” or “ / ” before the nouns.

1. ______ Lake Titicaca is located on the border between Peru and Bolivia.

2. There are three states located on _____ Pacific Ocean: California, Oregon, and Washington.

3. _________ Sahara desert is located in northern Africa.

4. __________ Rocky Mountains pass through Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado.

5. ________ Nile is the longest river in the world.

6. Many people in Chicago take boat rides on ________ Lake Michigan.

7. China has one of the largest deserts in the world: _______ Gobi desert.

8. Now that it has been cleaned up, people go swimming in ______ Hudson River.

9. _________ Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean in the world.

10. The 2006 Winter Olympics were held in ________ Alps in northern Italy.

11. _________ Greenland is the largest island in the world. It is seldom green.

12. _______ Mojave Desert is located in California, Nevada, and Utah.

13. Sochi, on __________ Black Sea in Russia, will host the 2014 Winter Olympics.

14. ________ St. Lawrence River flows through Ontario and Quebec, Canada.

15. ________ Himalayas are the highest mountains in the world.





/(no article)

Exercise 4:

Plural nouns at the beginning of the sentence. Place “the” or “/” for no article before the nouns.

1. ________ elephants that we saw on the safari were drinking water from the lake.

2. ________ lions, which are called the kings of the jungle, are very aggressive.

3. ________ compact cars, which consume less gas than SUVs, also cost less.

4. ________ dogs, which are called people’s best friends, are excellent companions.

5. ________ cats that live in Ms. Adams house are of all colors and types.

7. ________ wines that come from Chile are fresh, light, and inexpensive.

8. ________ cups that we bought at the garage sale were made in England.

9. ________ cell phones, which are also used for text messaging, are the cause of many traffic accidents.

10. _______ people who live next door to us come from Albania.





Exercise 5:

Error Correction. Use the article charts in the Quick and Handy Grammar Review to analyze

each sentence. Underline the mistakes. Then write the sentence correctly.

1. George Washington Bridge is not as long as Golden Gate Bridge.

2. Harold puts a sugar in his coffee.

3. Uzbecki does not eat a seafood.

4. The beaches in the Cuba have the white sand.

5. Momoko goes to the Norwalk Community College.

6. His Porsche can go 100 miles the hour.

7. Personal computer was invented by I.B.M.

8. I usually work in afternoon, and my friend works in morning.

9. My counselor always gives me an advice about my courses.

10. The lions love to eat the meat.





/(no article)

1. In ______ summer, we always go to the beach.

2. I will meet you at ______ 8:00 in front of the library.

3. George loves to go skiing in _____ winter.

4. The architect scheduled the meeting for ______ Monday, July 6.

5. I can’t believe that you came at 7:00 o’clock in ______ morning. What a wild night!

6. The American Revolution took place during ___________ eighteenth century.

7. _______ last time I saw Raymond, he was working in a coffee shop.

8. Kristin does not work on ___________ weekends. She works on Mondays.

9. Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci painted in ________ Renaissance.

Exercise 6:

Using articles with time expressions. Choose the correct article.





Exercise 7:

Insert the correct form of the articles “the”, “a”, “an” in the story. If no article is required, insert “ / ”.

Snow Day

Last Tuesday was _______ first day of _______ school for _______ Spring semester. However,

when I woke up and looked out _______ window, I noticed that there was _______ lot of _______ snow

outside. _______ snow was so high that I couldn’t see _______ my car. It was covered with _______

snow. I got dressed, but I couldn’t find my boots. _______ boots were under _______ bed. I went

outside and found _______ shovel next to _______ door. There was a strange sight in front of _______

house. _______ deer was standing on _______ lawn, looking at me. _______ deer did not move, and I

did not move either. We looked at each other for _______ few minutes. Then _______ deer ran down

_______ street. I was ready to shovel and I saw two squirrels next to _______ tree. There were

_______ animals everywhere. _______ Squirrels love to run around, even in _______ snow.

I shoveled _______ driveway and found _______ car. In _______ winter, I usually park in

_______ garage, but last night I forgot. It took me _______ long time to clean the snow off _______

car. It was _______ unusual morning. After one hour of work, I was ready to go to _______ school. I

got into _______ car and drove 20 miles _______ hour down _______ street. It took me _______ fifty

minutes to get to _______ school building. I had _______ cup of coffee. They did not have _______

sugar or _______ milk because _______ delivery truck got stuck on _______ Kennedy Boulevard, so I

drank _______ black coffee. When I came into _______ room, there was _______ notice on _______

board. _______ professor was not coming to _______ school. He had _______ accident. What

_______ bad luck! Now I had to fight _______ snow and drive _______ home again.





Exercise 8:

Insert the correct form of the articles “the”, “a”, “an” in the story. If no article is required, insert “ / ”.

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is located on _______ border between _______ California and _______ Nevada. It

is _______ four-season paradise. In _______ winter, people come to ski in _______ high mountains.

_______ Sierra Nevada Mountains provide excellent skiing, and there are _______ many lifts. Squaw

Valley, _______ second largest ski area, was _______ site of _______ 1960 Winter Olympics. In

_______ spring, _______ snow begins to melt and run down _______ mountain. Much of _______

melted snow ends up in _______ lake. In _______ summer, _______ Lake Tahoe is used for swimming

and boating. _______ lake water is clean and cool.

On _______ Nevada side, there are _______ casinos. _______ casinos attract many visitors to

_______ area. Most are in _______ Stateline, Nevada, which borders _______ lake. _______

combination of blue water, white mountaintops, and green grass is _______ unusual sight of beauty.

_______ people return year after year to enjoy _______ vacation spot.




Answer Key

Exercise 1: Choose the correct article.1. c 2. d 3. c 4. d 5. d 6. c 7. c

8. c 9. a 10. c 11. d 12. c 13. d 14. c

15. c 16. d 17. c 18. d 19. b 20. a 21. d

22. d 23. b 24. a 25. d

Exercise 2: Pay close attention to the sound at the beginning of the word and choose “a” or “an”.

1. b 2. a 3. a 4. b 5. a

6. a 7. b 8. b 9. a 10. b

Exercise 3: Lakes, rivers, mountains, deserts, islands, and oceans - Place “the” or “/” for no articlebefore the nouns.

1. b 2. a 3. a 4. a 5. a

6. b 7. a 8. a 9. a 10. a

11. b 12. a 13. a 14. a 15. a

Exercise 4: Plural nouns at the beginning of the sentence. Place “the” or “/” for no article before the nouns.

1. a 2. b 3. b 4. b 5. a

6. a 7. a 8. a 9. b 10. a

Exercise 5: Error Correction. Use the article charts in the Quick and Handy Grammar Review to analyze

each sentence. Underline the mistakes. Then write the sentence correctly.

1. The George Washington Bridge is not as long as the Golden Gate Bridge.

2. Harold puts sugar in his coffee.

3. Uzbecki does not eat seafood.

4. The beaches in Cuba have white sand.

5. Momoko goest to Norwalk Community College.

6. His Porsche can go 100 miles an hour.

7. The personal computer was invented by I.B.M.

8. I usually work in the afternoon, and my friend works in the morning.

9. My counselor always gives me advice about my courses.

10. Lions love to eat meat.

Exercise 6: Using articles with time expressions. Choose “a”, “an”, “the”, or “/” for no article in the

following sentences.

1. c 2. d 3. c 4. d 5. c 6. c 7. c 8. d 9. c





Exercise 7: Insert the correct form of the articles “the”, “a”, “an” or “ / ” in the story.

Snow Day

Last Tuesday was [the] first day of [no article] school for [the] Spring semester. However, when I

woke up and looked out [the] window, I noticed that there was [a] lot of [no article] snow outside. [the] snow

was so high that I couldn’t see [no article] my car. It was covered with [no article] snow. I got dressed, but I

couldn’t find my boots. [the] boots were under [the] bed. I went outside and found [a] shovel next to [the]

door. There was [a] strange sight in front of [the] house. [a] deer was standing on [the] lawn, looking at me.

[the] deer did not move, and I did not move either. We looked at each other for [a] few minutes. Then [the]

deer ran down [the] street. I was ready to shovel and I saw two squirrels next to [the] tree. There were [no ar-

ticle] animals everywhere. [no article] Squirrels love to run around, even in [the] snow.

I shoveled [the] driveway and found [the] car. In [the] winter, I usually park in [the] garage, but lastnight I forgot. It took me [a] long time to clean the snow off [the] car. It was [an] unusual morning. After one

hour of work, I was ready to go to [no article] school. I got into [the] car and drove 20 miles [an] hour down

[the] street. It took me [no article] fifty minutes to get to [no article] school. I had [a] cup of coffee. They did

not have [no article] sugar or [no article] milk because [the] delivery truck got stuck on [no article] Kennedy

Boulevard, so I drank [no article] black coffee. When I came into [the] room, there was [a] notice on [the]

board. [the] professor was not coming to [no article] school. He had [an] accident. What [no article] bad

luck! Now I had to fight [the] snow and drive [no article] home again.

Exercise 8: Insert the correct form of the articles “the”, “a”, “an” or “ / ” in the story.

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is located on [the] border between [no article] California and [no article] Nevada. It is [a] four-

season paradise. In [the] winter, people come to ski in [the] high mountains. [the] Sierra Nevada Mountains

provide excellent skiing, and there are [no article] many lifts. Squaw Valley, [the] second largest ski area, was

[the] site of [the] 1960 Winter Olympics. In [the] spring, [the] snow begins to melt and run down [the] moun-

tain. Much of [the] melted snow ends up in [the] lake. In [the] summer, [no article] Lake Tahoe is used for

swimming and boating. [the] lake water is clean and cool.

On [the] Nevada side, there are [no article] casinos. [the] casinos attract many visitors to [the] area.

Most are in [no article] Stateline, Nevada, which borders [the] lake. [the] combination of blue water, whitemountaintops, and green grass is [an] unusual sight of beauty. [no article] people return year after year to enjoy

[the] vacation spot.



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