Articles Grammar Worksheet

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Made at homeroomtools.comRead each sentence. Circle the word that fits.1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.Articles and other determinersWe waitedhour for the ferry.aanPlease closewindows before the storm.antheaDad slicedonion for the stew.anaWe visitedEuropean city.aanShe mailedenvelope full of photos.aanI readhistory book about canals.anasand at the beach burned my feet.ATheAnThe chef needsutensil for stirring.aan
Made at homeroomtools.comRead each sentence. Circle the word that fits.1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.Articles and other determinersAnswer keyWe waitedhour for the ferry.aanPlease closewindows before the storm.antheaDad slicedonion for the stew.anaWe visitedEuropean city.aanShe mailedenvelope full of photos.aanI readhistory book about canals.anasand at the beach burned my feet.ATheAnThe chef needsutensil for stirring.aanantheanaanaThea
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All 163 sentences

A, an or the 93

  • A ruler is ___ useful tool. a, an
  • ___ air in the cave felt damp. A, An, The
  • Ali is ___ tallest player on the team. a, an, the
  • ___ ant carried a crumb across the step. A, An
  • The baker starts at ___ early hour. a, an
  • Be careful on ___ icy sidewalk. a, an
  • The chef needs ___ utensil for stirring. a, an
  • ___ children lined up for the bus. A, An, The
  • The crew built ___ huge sandcastle. a, an
  • Dad sliced ___ onion for the stew. a, an
  • The dog let out ___ howl at the siren. a, an
  • The dog slipped through ___ open gate. a, an
  • ___ ducks on the pond are loud. A, An, The
  • ___ eagle built a nest on the cliff. A, An
  • ___ empty jar sat on the shelf. A, An
  • Every player wears ___ uniform. a, an
  • The farmer owns ___ horse and two mules. a, an
  • The firefighter was ___ hero that day. a, an
  • ___ geese by the pond hissed at us. A, An, The
  • Grandma sewed ___ quilt for the baby. a, an
  • Grandpa lives in ___ old farmhouse. a, an
  • He drew ___ funny face on the pumpkin. a, an
  • He has ___ ear for music. a, an
  • He hung ___ hammock between the trees. a, an
Show all 163 sentences (139 more)

A, an or the, continued

  • He is ___ only boy on the team who can juggle. a, an, the
  • He rode ___ unicycle in the parade. a, an
  • I bought ___ used bike. a, an
  • I bumped ___ elbow on the desk. a, an
  • I liked ___ end of the movie best. a, an, the
  • I read ___ history book about canals. a, an
  • It is ___ honor to meet you. a, an
  • It took ___ year to build the bridge. a, an
  • It was ___ worst storm of the winter. a, an, the
  • Kim got ___ highest score in the class. a, an, the
  • ___ koala clung to the keeper's arm. A, An
  • Lia packed ___ yellow kite for the beach. a, an
  • Mia gave ___ honest answer. a, an
  • Mia painted ___ acorn on her shirt. a, an
  • ___ mice hid under the stove. A, An, The
  • ___ moon looked huge last night. A, An, The
  • ___ mud on your boots is still wet. A, An, The
  • My aunt is ___ artist. a, an
  • My cousin and I share ___ same birthday. a, an, the
  • My sister goes to ___ university in Ohio. a, an
  • ___ octopus squeezed under the rock. A, An
  • ___ ostrich stared at our bus. A, An
  • ___ otter popped up beside our canoe. A, An
  • Our house is on ___ hill. a, an
  • Ours is ___ last house on the street. a, an, the
  • ___ owl blinked at us from a fence post. A, An
  • Pack ___ heavy coat for the trip. a, an
  • ___ pants on the line are dry. A, An, The
  • Please close ___ windows before the storm. a, an, the
  • The potter shaped ___ oval dish. a, an
  • Pull the pumpkins in ___ wagon. a, an
  • The ranger showed us ___ igloo made of snow blocks. a, an
  • Ravi found ___ arrowhead by the creek. a, an
  • ___ rice is ready to eat. A, An, The
  • The sailor painted ___ anchor on the sign. a, an
  • ___ sand at the beach burned my feet. A, An, The
  • ___ scissors are too dull to cut felt. A, An, The
  • She ate ___ apricot from the tree. a, an
  • She mailed ___ envelope full of photos. a, an
  • She played ___ xylophone in the band. a, an
  • She tied ___ ribbon to the balloon string. a, an
  • ___ snow on my mittens will not shake off. A, An, The
  • Stack ___ chairs before you leave. a, an, the
  • ___ stars came out one by one. A, An, The
  • ___ sun felt warm on my face. A, An, The
  • Take ___ umbrella to the game. a, an
  • That is ___ unique snowflake. a, an
  • That was ___ longest parade I have ever seen. a, an, the
  • That was ___ unusual sunset. a, an
  • There is ___ hole in my sock. a, an
  • This is ___ best soup I have ever had. a, an, the
  • ___ twins have matching hats. A, An, The
  • ___ umpire dusted off home plate. A, An
  • Uncle Ned plays ___ ukulele. a, an
  • ___ unicorn is on the cover of her notebook. A, An
  • ___ water in my boots is freezing. A, An, The
  • We both picked ___ same book. a, an, the
  • We explored ___ underwater cave. a, an
  • We finished ___ unit on plants. a, an
  • We rode in ___ one-horse sleigh. a, an
  • We rowed to ___ island in the lake. a, an
  • We stayed in ___ hotel near the beach. a, an
  • We visited ___ European city. a, an
  • We waited ___ hour for the ferry. a, an
  • Wear ___ apron when you paint. a, an
  • Who ate ___ rest of the pie? a, an, the
  • The worm is ___ inch long. a, an
  • ___ yak grazed on the hillside. A, An
  • ___ zebra flicked its striped tail. A, An

This, that, these, those 70

  • ___ bandage here on my knee is coming off. That, These, This
  • ___ bench over there is wet. That, This, Those
  • ___ berries here in my pail are ripe. These, This, Those
  • ___ birds on the wire over there are sparrows. That, Those
  • ___ boots right here by my feet are muddy. These, This, Those
  • ___ bridge down the river is closed. That, Those
  • ___ button right here turns on the lamp. That, These, This
  • ___ cabins over there have no lights. That, These, Those
  • Can you see ___ boat on the horizon? that, those
  • ___ canoes over there belong to the camp. That, These, Those
  • ___ cards in my hand are all red. These, This
  • ___ cave way over there has a waterfall inside. That, This, Those
  • ___ chair I am sitting in wobbles. These, This
  • ___ coins in my pocket are all dimes. These, This
  • ___ cows way down the road got loose. That, Those
  • ___ crackers on my plate are stale. These, This
  • ___ drawer right here sticks. That, These, This
  • ___ fence over there needs paint. That, This, Those
  • ___ flag on top of the tower is torn. That, Those
  • ___ geese on the far shore are honking. That, Those
  • ___ gloves I am wearing are itchy. These, This
  • ___ goats way over there are watching us. That, These, Those
  • ___ grapes in my bowl are sour. These, This
  • ___ hikers way over there are waving. That, These, Those
  • Hold ___ end of the rope for me. these, this
  • I like ___ song we are hearing now. these, this
  • ___ kids at the other end of the field are my cousins. That, Those
  • ___ kite over there is mine. That, This, Those
  • ___ kites above the far dunes are racing. That, Those
  • ___ ladybug here on my sleeve has seven spots. That, These, This
  • ___ lights across the bay are from the town. That, Those
  • Look at ___ balloon drifting far away. that, those
  • ___ marbles here on my desk are mine. These, This, Those
  • ___ mitten on my hand is too small. These, This
  • ___ mountain far to the north has snow. That, Those
  • ___ muffins here on the tray are for the bake sale. These, This, Those
  • ___ notes here in my folder are for the test. These, This, Those
  • ___ page I am reading has a map. These, This
  • ___ pants I am wearing have a hole. These, This
  • ___ papers right here need your name. These, This, Those
  • ___ pebbles right here are smooth. These, This, Those
  • ___ pencil here in my hand needs sharpening. That, These, This
  • ___ plane up there is leaving a white trail. That, Those
  • ___ pond over there is full of frogs. That, This, Those
  • ___ pumpkins over there are the biggest. That, These, Those
  • ___ puzzle we are doing has a thousand pieces. These, This
  • ___ ring here on my finger was my grandma's. That, These, This
  • ___ rooftops over there are covered in snow. That, These, Those
  • ___ sailboats over there are racing. That, These, Those
  • ___ sandwich I am eating has pickles. These, This
  • ___ scarecrow over there scares nobody. That, This, Those
  • ___ seat right here is saved for you. That, These, This
  • ___ seeds here in my palm are from a melon. These, This, Those
  • ___ sheep on the far hillside look like dots. That, Those
  • ___ shell right here is cracked. That, These, This
  • ___ shoes I have on are new. These, This
  • ___ silo across the field is empty. That, Those
  • Smell ___ rose I just picked. these, this
  • ___ stars low in the sky are the first ones out. That, Those
  • ___ statue over there is very old. That, This, Those
  • ___ stew I am stirring needs salt. These, This
  • ___ stickers on my folder are from my aunt. These, This
  • ___ swings over there are all taken. That, These, Those
  • Take ___ keys I am handing you. these, this
  • ___ tents on the far hill are ours. That, Those
  • ___ tower in the distance is a lighthouse. That, Those
  • ___ tree way over there lost a branch. That, This, Those
  • Who owns ___ tractor across the road? that, those
  • ___ windmills over there spin all day. That, These, Those
  • ___ zipper right here is stuck. That, These, This

How this list was compiled: Written for this page. In the first set a blank takes a or an by the first sound of the next word (an hour, a unicorn), or takes the where a and an cannot stand: before a plural, before a thing there is one of, before words such as same, only, tallest and last. In the second set a blank takes this, that, these or those; the sentence shows whether one thing or several is meant and, where it matters, whether it is here or over there. Each sentence was read with every choice. The first sound of every word after a or an was checked in the Carnegie Mellon University Pronouncing Dictionary, read 3 October 2026; the rule is from the Wikipedia article English articles, read the same day. Articles and demonstratives are the determiners of L.1.1h in the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, published at thecorestandards.org, read the same day. No person, brand or character is named. Licence: own work

How it works

A and an go by the first sound of the next word, and the points to one certain thing or to several. A second set under Set practices this, that, these and those.

Read the full guide

A, an or the

Use an before a vowel sound and a before a consonant sound. Sound, not spelling, decides: an hour, an honest answer, a unicorn, a one-horse sleigh. A third of the blanks take the, where a and an cannot stand: the ducks, the same birthday, the tallest player.

This, that, these, those

This and these are for things here; that and those are for things over there. This and that go with one thing, these and those with more than one: this mitten on my hand, those geese on the far shore.

  • A blank that takes a or an never offers the, because the would fit there too.

Questions and answers

What are the articles in English grammar?

English has two: the, the definite article, and a, the indefinite article, which becomes an before a vowel sound. The points to something the reader can pick out; a and an bring in one of something.

When do you use a and when an?

By sound. An comes before a vowel sound and a before a consonant sound: an umbrella and an hour, but a uniform and a European city, because uniform and European begin with a y sound.

Can I use this as a 3rd grade articles worksheet?

Yes. The Common Core names articles in grade 1, where first graders use determiners such as articles and demonstratives (L.1.1h), and sentences such as an honest answer and a used bike suit review in grades 2 to 4. The grade is our suggestion.

Is there an answer key?

Yes. The last page is the key, with the right choice circled under each sentence and written in where there is a blank. Uncheck Add an answer key as the last page under More options to print the sheet alone.

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