©2014 TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY, W.L. ADAMS CENTER FOR WRITING Using A, An, and The in American English.

© 2 0 1 4 T E XA S C H R I S T I A N U N I V E R S I T Y, W. L . A D A M S C E N T E R F O R W R I T I N G

Using A, An, and The in American English

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What is an article?

An “article” signals the word that follows is a noun.

In American English, articles are a, an, and the.

The articles a and an signal that the noun following is only one of a general class of items.

Examples:The boy looked around for a bathroom.Who would like to eat an apple?Swiss scientists conducted an experiment.A database yields helpful information about

accidents.

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When do I use a?

Use a before “count” nouns that begin with consonants. (b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z). Also use a when an adjective begins with a consonant. a flower a pink flowera belief a religious beliefa centrifuge a solar-powered centrifugea gene a genetic assaya mirror a broken mirror

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When do I use an?

Use an before “count” nouns beginning with vowels (a, e, i, o, & u).

We attended an opera at the Met in New York.He worked as an assistant to the professor.An average of his grades indicated that he passed the course.

Use an before adjectives that begin with vowels.She sang in an operatic style.We painted an interior wall blue.We rescued an abandoned kitten.

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What about adjectives?

Use a if an adjective preceding a noun begins with a consonant :

a flower a pink flowera belief a religious beliefa centrifuge a solar-powered centrifugea gene a genetic assaya mirror a broken mirror

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Practice: Which words begin with consonants?

wedding river tomatouncle aunt driver’s licenseChromosome nose experimentdance shoe forkbook e-mail eclipseLeyden jar flea officetest sheep interestphone table umbrellaradio dog visa

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answers: Which words begin with consonants?

wedding river tomatouncle aunt driver’s licenseChromosome nose experimentdance shoe forkbook e-mail eclipseLeyden jar flea officetest sheep interestphone table umbrellaradio dog visa

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Test

Which words require the article a? Which require an?

wedding river tomatouncle aunt driver’s licenseChromosome nose experimentdance shoe forkbook e-mail eclipseLeyden jar flea officetest sheep interestphone table umbrellaradio dog visa

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Test

Which words require the article a? Which require an?

a wedding a river a tomatoan uncle an aunt a driver’s licensea chromosome a nose an experimenta dance a shoe a forka book an e-mail an eclipsea Leyden jar a flea an officea test a sheep an interesta phone a table an umbrellaa radio a dog a visa

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Test: Vowels

Which of these words begin with vowels?orange coat eyebaby infant overcoatbus operation eagleelevator uncle appleblanket child phonePetri dish open incomepassport exit alternating wedding city race

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Test: Vowels

Which of these words begin with vowels?orange coat eyebaby infant overcoatbus operation eagleelevator uncle appleblanket child phonePetri dish open incomepassport exit alternating wedding city race

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Practice: adjectives change article requirements

A mirror an oval mirrorA cake an elegant cakeA mistake an obvious mistakeA prisoner an escaped prisonerA question an easy questionA visa an exit visa

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How adjectives change article requirements

An egg a painted eggAn echo a faraway echoAn orange a peeled orangeAn obi a red obiAn overcoat a black overcoatAn atlas a world atlasAn agent a customs agentAn iron a hot ironAn accent a French accent

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Practice 1: Using A and An

Choose which article is correct to use before each of the following nouns:

sensor electromagnetic sensorautomobile carobject sharp objection charged ionvariable independent variablecurrent alternating currentorangutan mature orangutanengine combustion engine

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Practice Using A and And (Correct Responses)

Choose which article is correct to use before each of the following nouns:

a sensor an electromagnetic sensoran automobile a caran object a sharp objectan ion a charged iona variable an independent variablea current an alternating currentan orangutan a mature orangutanan engine a combustion engine

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Practice: Would You Use A or An?

banana overripe bananaengine diesel enginesailboat inflatable sailboatupgrade significant upgradereplacement inefficient replacement

lanyard elastic lanyardsensor photoelectric sensorrepresentative elected representative

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Correct Responses: Using A and An

a banana an overripe bananaan engine a diesel enginea sailboat an inflatable sailboatan upgrade a significant upgradea replacement an inefficient

replacementa lanyard an elastic lanyarda sensor a photoelectric sensor

a representative an elected representative

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Test: Would You Use A or An?

color bright color awful colormark accent mark scratch markexplanation simple explanation long explanationexam essay exam easy examtest simple test extensive testpan aluminum pan large panapartment available apartment garden apartmentemergency dental emergency emergency roompoem anthology of poems poem anthologyidentity mistaken identity stolen identitypipe exhaust pipe steel piperamp access ramp closed rampcashier available cashieragreement terms-of-service agreement

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Test: A or An? (Correct Responses)

a color a bright color an awful colora mark an accent mark a scratch markan explanation a simple explanation a long explanationan exam an essay exam an easy exama test a simple test an extensive testa pan an aluminum pan a large panan apartment an available apartment a garden apartmentan emergency a dental emergency an emergency rooma poem an anthology of poems a published anthologyan identity a mistaken identity a stolen identitya pipe an exhaust pipe a steel pipea ramp an access ramp a closed rampa cashier an available cashieran agreement a terms-of-service agreement

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No Articles Necessary

No articles are necessary for proper nouns that are names of cities, streets, nations, continents, mountains, parks, or lakes:

The flight to New York arrived an hour late. A number of restaurants and shops operate on Berry Street in

Fort Worth.Sri Lanka is a tropical country of great importance to botanists.Asia is an increasing consideration in global marketing

strategies.We took many photos of Mount Fuji on our trip last summer. Niagara Falls is a popular honeymoon destination for

Americans.If you go to Austin for the weekend, you must visit Lake Travis,

which is a beautiful attraction.

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Practice Exercise

Provide articles a, an or the where appropriate in these sentences:

New Guinea was once area of Greater Australia with most advance technology.

Photoelectric sensor is requirement of contract.

Explanation for increase in sales could be bankruptcy of competing company.

Student in class is also laboratory assistant. Study measured positive correlation between sodium intake and

elevated blood pressure.

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Correct Responses

Provide articles a, an or the where appropriate in these sentences:New Guinea was once the area of Greater Australia with the most advanced

technology.

A photoelectric sensor is a requirement of the contract.The photoelectric sensor is a requirement of the contract.

The explanation for an increase in sales could be the bankruptcy of the competing company.

An explanation for the increase in sales could be the bankruptcy of a competing company.

A student in the class is also a laboratory assistant. A student in the class is also the laboratory assistant.

A study proved the positive correlation between sodium intake and elevated blood pressure.

The study proved a positive correlation between sodium intake and elevated blood pressure.

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Articles before verbs

Some verbs can become nouns if you place an article in front of them:to drive a drive the driveto study a study the studyto offer an offer the offerto benefit a benefit the benefitto coordinate a coordinate the coordinate

to rescue a rescue the rescueto release a release the releaseto snack a snack the snackto influence an influence the influence

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Would You Use A, An, or The?

___story of ___family before ___revolution is always interesting. ___story of ___Mendoza family begins before ___Mexican Revolution.

___respiratory system is ___group of internal organs required for ___process of ___breathing.

___We studied ___respiratory system in the humpback whale.

___mammal has ___mouth, ___nose, and lungs. We dissected ___mouth, ___nose, and ___lungs of ___ specimen.

How do you calculate ___hypotenuse of ___right triangle? We miscalculated ___hypotenuse of __right triangle in that problem. I usually miscalculate ___hypotenuse of ___right triangle in geometry

problems.

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Correct Responses: A, An, or The?

_The_ story of _a_ family before _a_ revolution is always interesting. __The_story of __the_Mendoza family begins before _The_ Mexican

Revolution.

_A__respiratory system is _a_ group of internal organs required for _the_ process of breathing.

___We studied _the_respiratory system in the humpback whale.

_A__mammal has _a__mouth, __a_nose, and lungs. We dissected __the_mouth, _the__nose, and _the_ lungs of _a__ specimen.

How do you calculate _the_hypotenuse of _a_right triangle? We miscalculated _the__hypotenuse of _the_right triangle in that problem. I usually miscalculate _the__hypotenuse of _a__ right triangle in geometry

problems.

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Practice: A, An, & The

Provide the missing articles: Popular intelligence test in psychology is Stanford-

Binet.Figure 4.25 shows relation between cerebral cortex

and lateralization of function in brains of mice.Inherited gene is responsible for producing

particular trait.Regular exercise is necessary for health.Regular exercise schedule is necessary for healthy

lifestyle.Jonas Salk developed first vaccination for polio.

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Correct Responses

A popular intelligence test in psychology is the Stanford-Binet.

Figure 4.25 shows the relation between the cerebral cortex and the lateralization of function in the brains of mice.

An inherited gene is responsible for producing a particular trait.

Regular exercise is necessary for health. A regular exercise schedule is necessary for a healthy

lifestyle. Jonas Salk developed the first vaccination for polio.

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FINAL TEST: A, An, and The

Write ten sentences, using the nouns in the sentences below.If you would like to bring your sentences to the Writing Center in

Reed Hall, and go over them with a tutor, make an appointment on our website: http://wrt.tcu.edu .

United States information breadchildren orchid footballsong old song to visitdress customer ticketacrobat entertainer posterMatterhorn Fibonacci number accelerantengineering major hour hourly wage