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🌳 Picnic & Park Grammar • 12 Minutes

articles: a / an / the

Learn when to use a, an, or the when you talk about things in the park.

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How to use this lesson

FOR TEACHER

Read each rule aloud and show the right and wrong forms in 12 minutes.

Let learners do the 12 tasks on their own, then check answers together as a class.

FOR LEARNER

First, read the 4 simple rules and look closely at the right and wrong boxes.

Next, answer the 12 practice questions below from easy to hard.

The 4 Simple Rules

Rule 1 Listen to the first sound

Say a before a consonant sound, and say an before a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u).

Listen to the sound you say, not just the letter you see.

✓ Right

We stay at the park for an hour.

✗ Wrong

We stay at the park for a hour.

Rule 2 New thing vs known thing

Say a or an the first time you name one thing. Say the when you both know which one.

First talk = new. Second talk = known.

✓ Right

A runner stops at the pond. The runner is tired.

✗ Wrong

A runner stops at the pond. A runner is tired.

Rule 3 Only one there is

Say the when there is only one in the place or in our world.

We all look at the same sun and the same sky.

✓ Right

The sun is hot, so we sit on the hill.

✗ Wrong

A sun is hot, so we sit on a hill.

Rule 4 More than one thing

Do not say a or an with more than one thing. Say the word alone for all, and say the for the ones right here.

"a" means only one.

✓ Right

Ducks like water, and the ducks here like bread.

✗ Wrong

A ducks like water, and these ducks like bread.

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Remember the park sound: say a cookie (consonant) but an apple (vowel sound).

Practice Time

12 Practice Tasks

Answer the questions step by step from easy to hard.

Part 1 Choose the correct sentence

1. Look at the snack: (vowel)

Which sentence is correct?

____ I eat an apple by the pond. ____ I eat a apple by the pond. ____ I eat the apple by pond.

2. Look up above the park: (sky)

Which sentence is correct?

____ I see a white cloud in the sky. ____ I see the white cloud in a sky. ____ I see an white cloud in the sky.

3. First time we see someone: (first)

Which sentence is correct?

____ An runner is on the path. ____ A runner is on the path. ____ The runner is on a path.

Part 2 Fill the gaps with a, an, or the

4. She walks on the ground: (first)

Type the missing word:

She walks on ____ path.

5. Picnic basket: (fruit)

Type the missing word:

He brings ____ banana for the picnic.

6. Second mention of the bird: (second)

Type the missing word:

I see a duck. ____ duck swims fast.

Part 3 Rewrite the sentence and add the missing word

7. Look at sun! (only)

There is only one sun. Rewrite the full sentence with the missing word:

____

8. I see squirrel in the tree. (animal)

First time naming one animal. Rewrite the full sentence with the missing word:

____

9. She gives me cookie. (snack)

One single snack for the first time. Rewrite the full sentence with the missing word:

____

Part 4 Correct the mistake in the picnic message

10. Message to Sam: (general)

"We can feed a ducks near the water."

Fix the underlined mistake. What should we say for ducks in general? (Type 1 word):

____

11. Message to Sam: (second)

"A runner sits down. A runner drinks water."

Fix the underlined mistake for the second mention. Type the 2 correct words:

____

12. Message to Sam: (place)

"I see the only hill here. Let's walk up a hill together."

Fix the underlined mistake for the only hill here. Type the 2 correct words:

____

Grammar: a, an, the

articles: a / an / the

How to use this lesson

The 4 Simple Rules

12 Practice Tasks

Part 1 Choose the correct sentence

Part 2 Fill the gaps with a, an, or the

Part 3 Rewrite the sentence and add the missing word

Part 4 Correct the mistake in the picnic message

Related lessons

Reading: Central Park, New York City

Speaking A1: In the Park and Picnic

Vocabulary & Pronunciation: In the Park

Writing: A Day at the Park

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