The Indefinite Article

-a = 'one'.

• a (or an) is used with countable nouns to indicate one.

Can I have a cup of tea?

I've got a daughter and two sons.

• a is not used before a plural noun (NOT I've got a sons).

• a is not used before uncountable nouns (NOT I want a petrol, please). But we use it when there is an adjective which describes the noun: a highly educated population, an important role

Don't forget a:

—Do you want a cup of tea? (not 'Do you want cup of tea?')

—Alice works in a bank, (not 'in bank')

—I want to ask a question, (not 'ask question')

—When I was a child, I liked reading stories.

- Birmingham is a large city in central England.

-an (not a) before a/e/i/o/u:

—They live in an old house, (not 'a old house.')

—A mouse is an animal. It's a small animal.

—Can you give me an example, please?

- This is an interesting book.

- I bought a hat and an umbrella.

also an hour (‘h’ is not pronounced: an (h)our)

but a university a European country

We use a/an for jobs etc.:

- 'What's your job?'

'I'm a dentist. ' (not 'I'm dentist.')

- 'What does she do?' 'She's an engineer.

- Would you like to be a teacher?

- Beethoven was a composer.

- Picasso was a famous painter.

- Are you a student?

another (an + other) is one word (not 'an other'):

- Can I have another cup of coffee?

- Open another window. It's very hot.

Fill in the indefinite article: a or an.

apple ball cat doll egg fat grass

hat Indian jam kite lamb man orange

nurse onion purse queen rain star train

umbrella van watch box yacht zoo object

Enumerate the nouns that need an indefinite article. Which nouns from the list need no article at all?

Family Relations:

sister brother widow widower child children daughter son stepmother stepfather stepsister half brother

mother (Mum) father (Dad) husband wife parents bachelor mother-in-law father-in-law sister-in-law daughter-in-law son-in-law cousin

spinster niece nephew uncle aunt grandparents grandmother (Granny) grandfather grandchildren granddaughter grandson twins

Fill in the indefinite article: a or an.

1. __ elephant

2. __ university

3. __ umbrella

4. __ ticket

5. __ honest man

6. __ half-hour lessons

7. __ one-hour lesson

8. __ useful book

9. __ X-ray

10. __ European

11. __ hand

12. __ underpass

13. __ unit

14. __ CD

15. __ exam

16. __ school

What are these things? Choose from the list.

bird flower city island

fruit animal game

mountain planet composer

river tool painter

musical instrument vegetable

1. A duck is ___

2. A carrot is ___

3. A rose is ___

4. A piano is ___

5. A cow is ___

6. Picasso is ___

7. Jamaica is ___

8. Tennis is ___

9. A hammer is ___

10. Everest is ___

11. Boston is ___

12. Beethoven is ___

13. Jupiter is ___

14. A pear is ___

15. The Amazon is ___