Practice and understanding are the most important things when helping children and students to remember grammar and writing concepts. This fun animal-themed worksheets and posters will help your students know when to use “a” and when to use “an” in their writing and speaking.
Print and laminate the poster containing all the rules. Once children learn all the rules, provide them with the worksheets that vary in difficulty.
What are Articles?
The words a, an or the are articles. They are used in front of nouns. They are noun markers that modify the noun. (either limit the noun or make it more specific)
We use ‘a’ or ‘an’ when we are talking about something in general, such as ‘a dog’ or ‘an animal’.
When to use ‘a’ and when to use ‘an’?
The use of ‘an’ or ‘a’ depends on the phonetic sound of the first letter of the word.
Use ‘a’ when the next word begins with a consonant sound:
(all letters that are except (a, e, I , o , u) are called consonants.
- a box
- a camera
- a boy
- a torch
Use ‘an’ when the next word begins with a vowel sound:
The vowel sounds are (a, e, I , o , u)
- an umbrella
- an egg
- an igloo
- an insect
- an orange
Three rules for using ‘a’ or ‘an’ articles:
- Some words start with a vowel letter but sound like a consonant, so we use a before these words:
2. Use “an” before words beginning with “h” which is not pronounced.
3. Use “a” when “e” and “eu” makes “y” sound.
Practice your skills:
I hope you enjoyed today’s article. Feel free to contact me if you need any help. Many thanks.
