Free worksheet to practice the correct use of articles for ESL teachers and students. (Free download available.)
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Articles Exercise: Fill the Gaps
Directions: Fill in the blank with the appropriate article, a, an, or the, or leave the space blank if no article is needed.
1. I want ____ apple from that basket.
2. ____ church on the corner is progressive.
3. Miss Lin speaks ____ Chinese.
4. I borrowed ____ pencil from your pile of pencils and pens.
5. One of the students said, “____ professor is late today.”
6 Eli likes to play ____ volleyball.
7. I bought ____ umbrella to go out in the rain.
8. My daughter is learning to play ____ violin at her school.
9. Please give me ____ cake that is on the counter.
10. I lived on ____ Main Street when I first came to town.
11. Albany is the capital of ____ New York State.
12. My husband’s family speaks ____ Polish.
13. ____ apple a day keeps the doctor away.
14. ____ ink in my pen is red.
15. Our neighbors have ____ cat and ____ dog.
Articles Exercise: Writing
Directions: Write the following paragraphs, inserting “a“, “an“, and “the“ where needed.
1. I have horse of my own. I call her Pretty Girl. She is intelligent animal, but she is not thoroughbred horse. I could never enter her in race, even if I wanted to. But I do not want to. She is companion, for my own pleasure. I took her swimming day or two ago.
2. Horse knows when he is going to race. How does he know? His breakfast was scanty. (He is angry about that.) He does not have saddle on his back. He is being led, not ridden, to grandstand. He is led under grandstand into unusual, special stall. Horse is nervous. Sometimes he does not know what to do when starting gate flies open and track is before him. If he does not begin to run instantly, other horses are already ahead of him.
During race, when he sees another horse just ahead of him, he will try to pass him. Sometimes jockey holds him back to save his energy for last stretch. Eventually horse gets to run as fast as he can. Exercise boy, watching owner’s favorite jockey riding horse he has exercised day after day, says nothing. Secretly, he is planning for day when he will be jockey himself, and his horse will be first to cross finish line.
3. Most people have fewer hours to give to time-consuming activities of clubs than they used to have, but most people in small town belong to club or two. One of clubs is likely to be social and benevolent organization, such as Rotary or Elks.
Business people are likely to belong, also to either Kiwanis Club or Lions. Such business people’s organizations may meet as often as once a week in one of private dining rooms of town’s leading hotel for lunch. They have good lunch, hear good program, and continue their fundraising program for worthy organization, such as local hospital.
