Note: – We use ‘a’ before words beginning with a consonant sound. (all the letters except a, e, i, o, u are consonants)
We use ‘an’ is used before words beginning with a vowel sound. (a, e, i, o, u are vowels)
2. Put ‘a’ or ‘an’ before the following words.
| __________box | __________ elephant |
| __________ ant | __________ child |
| __________ coconut | __________axe |
| __________ orange | __________ eye |
| __________ dress | __________ bottle |
| __________ inkpot | __________ owl |
| __________ boy | __________ building |
| __________ book | __________uncle |
| __________ assistant | __________bulb |
Ans.
| a box | an elephant |
| an ant | a child |
| a coconut | an axe |
| an orange | an eye |
| a dress | a bottle |
| an inkpot | an owl |
| a boy | a building |
| a book | an uncle |
| an assistant | a bulb |
Note: – We do not use ‘a’ or ‘an’ before plurals or before things that we cannot count.
Eg, a flower is correct
a water is wrong
Worksheet II
1. Read the following sentences.
a) I bought a bicycle yesterday.
The bicycle is of blue colour.
b) We went to a restaurant yesterday.
The restaurant is famous for Chinese food.
c) My grandma narrated me a story.
The story was about a prince and a giant.
d) The Nile is the longest river in the world.
e) Ancient people believed that the moon was made of cheese.
Note:
1. Sometimes, when we talk about something for the first time, we use ‘a/an’. When we talk about it again, we use ‘the’
Eg, Seema has a glitter pen. The glitter pen shines in the dark.
2. ‘The’ is also used with the special names of buildings, rivers, mountains, holy books, newspapers, etc.
Ex, The Taj Mahal, The Red Fort, The Gang, The Cauveri, The Himalayas, The Niligiris, The Gita, The Koran, The Times of India, The Hindu, etc.
‘The’ is also used with sun, moon, earth and sky, and things that are only one of their kind. We say, The sun, The moon, The earth, etc.
2. Fill in the blanks with ‘a’, ‘an’ or ‘the’.
a) I enjoyed __________ new movie very much.
View AnswerAns. I enjoyed a new movie very much.
b) We went to ___________ forest near Bhopal.
View AnswerAns. We went to the forest near Bhopal.
c) Nishu read ____________ interesting story yesterday.
View AnswerAns. Nishu read an interesting story yesterday.
d) Prashant is one of ___________ best students of the class.
View AnswerAns. Prashant is one of the best students of the class.
e) Rohan gifted his sister ___________ umbrella on her birthday.
View AnswerAns. Rohan gifted his sister an umbrella on her birthday.
f) My niece has ___________ puppet. ____________ puppet dances when she touches it.
View AnswerAns. My niece has a puppet. The puppet dances when she touches it.
g) The teacher told us that History is ____________ important subject.
View AnswerAns. The teacher told us that History is an important subject.
h) ___________ Nehru Planetarium is ______________ great source of knowledge.
View AnswerAns. The Nehru Planetarium is a great source of knowledge.
i) Last evening, I happened to see ____________ elephant. _____________ elephant had huge ears.
View AnswerAns. Last evening, I happened to see an elephant. The elephant had huge ears.
j) Would you like to eat _____________ apple or ______________ banana?
View AnswerAns. Would you like to eat an apple or a banana?
k) Vinay has ___________ uncle who is ______________ scientist.
View AnswerAns. Vinay has an uncle who is a scientist.
l) ___________ wedding ceremony of my brother went off nicely.
View AnswerAns. The wedding ceremony of my brother went off nicely.
Do it Yourself
1. Tick the correct option.
Karan went to an/a zoo last weekend. It was hot so he took the/an umbrella along. He purchased a/the ticket and went inside a/the zoo. A/The first animal he saw was an/a elephant. it was huge and was holding a/the sugarcane in its trunk. In the/a next cage was a/an gorilla enjoying some bananas. To beat the/a scorching heat, Karan thought of buying the/an ice-cream. He went to the/an ice-cream vendor and asked for a/an orange candy. He took out the ten-rupee note from his pocket and paid for an/the ice-cream. He went on to see more animals. He saw a/the lion, an/a pair of tigers and even the giraffe. He enjoyed the/a day thoroughly and reached back home late in a/the evening.
View AnswerAns.
Karan went to an/a zoo last weekend. It was hot so he took the/an umbrella along. He purchased a/the ticket and went inside a/the zoo. A/The first animal he saw was an/a elephant. it was huge and was holding a/the sugarcane in its trunk. In the/a next cage was a/an gorilla enjoying some bananas. To beat the/a scorching heat, Karan thought of buying the/an ice-cream. He went to the/an ice-cream vendor and asked for a/an orange candy. He took out the ten-rupee note from his pocket and paid for an/the ice-cream. He went on to see more animals. He saw a/the lion, an/a pair of tigers and even the giraffe. He enjoyed the/a day thoroughly and reached back home late in a/the evening.
2. Read the story and fill in the blanks with appropriate articles.
The Elephant’s Teeth
Once upon _________ time, in __________ forest near Allahabad, there lived __________ mouse. It was hungry and happened to find __________ small nut. But ____________ mouse was umable to eat or bite ____________ nut as it was too hard to cut into two. _________ mouse was sad and prayed to God. ‘O God! What plight I am faced with! My teeth are so small that I cannot even have ___________ food I got!’ Immediately, God replied back, to the mouse, ‘My dear mouse, I made you as I made other animals and I love you. Go and see ___________ teeth of other animals. I will give you whichever kind of teeth you like’. So __________ mouse set out looking at ___________ teeth of many animals but it did not like any. Finally, it saw ___________ elephant and was amazed at ___________ elephant’s long white tusk. __________ little mouse asked __________ elephant whether it liked its long teeth. ____________ elephant replied, ‘My friend, these tusks which you see are just for show. I cannot use them to chew ___________ food as you can. Besides, I have to bear __________ weight of _____________ teeth at all the time’. Hearing this ______________ mouse thanked God for giving him ____________ teeth he had.