"A, An, The" definite and indefinite articles in English Read the following description I am from Seattle, Washington.

Seattle is a city in the United States. It is near the border of Canada in the northwest corner of the USA. I live in a town called Olympia which is on the Puget Sound. I live in a house in a street in the countryside. The street is called "Bear Street" and the house is old - more than 100 years old! I am an English teacher at a school in the center of the town. I like books and taking photographs. I usually have lunch at school. I usually go home by car. We have all kinds of food in Olympia. I like Italian food very much. Sometimes, I go to an Italian restaurant in Seattle. The restaurant is called "Luigi's". Italian food is great! Here are the rules for when to use "A, An or The":

a = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects) with consonants She has a dog. I work in a factory. an = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects) with vowels (a,e,i,o,u) Can I have an apple? She is an English teacher. the = definite article (a specific object that both the person speaking and the listener know) The car over there is fast. The teacher is very good, isn't he? The first time you speak of something use "a or an", the next time you repeat that object use "the". I live in a house. The house is quite old and has four bedrooms. I ate in a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant was very good. DO NOT use an article with countries, states, counties or provinces, lakes and mountains except when the country is a collection of states such as "The United States". He lives in Washington near Mount Rainier. They live in northern British Columbia. Use an article with bodies of water, oceans and seas My country borders on the Pacific Ocean DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about things in general I like Russian tea. She likes reading books.

DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about meals, places, and transport He has breakfast at home. I go to university. He comes to work by taxi. Exercises 1. I had ___fish and ___chips for dinner. a. a - a b. the - c. the - the d. 2. I'm on __diet. No __sugar for me! a. a - b. the - the c. the - a d. a 3. I'm staying at __hotel on ___Hudson river. a. the - the b. a - the c. a - a d. a 4. Can I pay by __check? a.a b. the c. 5. ___friend of mine is coming to visit next week. a. a b. the c. 6. Have you got __car fixed yet? a. a b. the c. 7. I heard __knock on __door. a. a - a b. a - the c. - the d. the the 8. When do you get __home?

a. a b. the c. 9. I wish he wouldn't talk during __lesson. Maybe the teacher should have __word with him. a. the - a b. a - the c. - the d. 10. There was __sound in __living room. a. the - b. the - the c. - d. a the 11. Jack Anderson was caught holding __match during __fire. a. a- b. the - a c. - d. a the 12. She replied in __surprise that __question was much too difficult. a. - a b. a - a c. - d. the 13. I'm afraid I can't remember __exact date of __show. a. the-the b. the-a c. the- d. 14. She's staying at __hotel in __small town in Colorado. a. a - the b. a - a c. the - a d. the the 15. __children went to ___film yesterday afternoon. a. - a b. The -

c. A - the d. The - a 16. He eats a lot of __meat. a. no article b. a c. the 17. __food that you cooked was very good! a. A b. no article c. The 18. __ cell phones do not cause cancer. a. no article b. A c. The 19. He has always been __very good boy. a. the b. a c. no article 20. Let's go to __ beach. a. the b. a c. no article 21. Let's play __ volleyball. a. the b. no article c. a 22. What would you like for __breakfast? a. no article b. the c. an 23. He knows how to treat __lady. a. no article b. a c. the 24. I've been waiting for __ long time. a. no article

b. the c. a 25. __ only jazz musician I like is Miles Davis. a. The b. A c. no article 26. They usually spend their holidays in __mountains. a. the b. no article c. a 27. Los Angeles has __ ideal climate. a. no article b. an c. the 28. This is __ best Mexican restaurant in the country. a. no article b. a c. the 29. I can't live on __ 500 dollars a month. a. the b. no article c. a 30. Someone call __ policeman! a. a b. the c. no article 31. Someone call __ police! a. no article b. the c. a 32. He is __ real American hero. a. no article b. the c. a 33. I don't like __ dogs, but I like my brother's dog. a. a

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b. no article c. the I haven't seen him in __ five years. a. no article b. the c. a Kobe Bryant is __ basketball player. a. the b. a c. no article Q: Is dad picking us up today? A: Nope, __ mom's picking us up. a. no article b. a c. the Q: Who's that? A: That's __ guy I told you about last week. a. a b. the c. no article Q: Why are you so upset? A: I'm not upset. You're __ one who's upset. a. the b. a c. no article Q: Is this __ bad time? Should I call you later? A: Yes, please call me in 30 minutes. a. the b. no article c. a Q: How do you like my dress? A: Wow! That's __ one beautiful dress! a. a b. the c. no article Q: Why won't your brother talk to me? A: Because you told him he was stupid! That was __ very mean thing

to say. a. a b. the c. no article 42. Q: Do you like cats or dogs? A: I like them both, but I think I like __ cats more than __dogs. a. a b. no article c. the 43. Q: Is this __road to San Francisco? A: Yes, it is. a. a b. the c. no article 44. Q: Do you know the name of __ artist who painted this portrait? A: Yes, it's Henri Matisse. a. an b. no article c. the 45. Q: We'll never make it on time! A: Sure we will! I know __ shortcut. a. the b. a c. no article 46. __Seoul is the capital of South Korea. a. no article b. A c. The 47. I am __only person here who speaks German. a. a b. the c. no article 48. I have been playing __tennis for three years. a. no article b. a c. the

49. We had ________ really good time at the park. a. the b. no article c. a 50. Look at ________ time! We're going to be late! a. a b. the c. no article