Articles worksheets: a, an, the and no article
37 worksheets · Nouns, adjectives & little words
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Articles worksheets
37 printable worksheets with answer keys; the 24 most used, easiest level first.
About Articles
English has an indefinite article (a/an), a definite article (the) and the zero article. We use a/an with singular countable nouns when the listener doesn't know which one we mean (I saw a dog) and the when both speakers know which one, often on second mention (The dog was huge). Plural and uncountable nouns in general statements take no article: Dogs are loyal. Water is essential.
Basic a/an and the are taught at A1, and the finer rules – general vs specific, geographical names, go to school vs go to the movies – at B2. Articles are hard for speakers of languages without them, such as Russian, Polish, Chinese and Japanese. Note that a or an depends on sound, not spelling: an hour, a university.
This page collects printable articles worksheets with answer keys, which you can print as PDFs or set online via a class link.
Teaching tips: Articles
- Use a short story with gaps to show first mention (a) and second mention (the) in context.
- Teach a/an by sound: sort words such as hour, uniform, umbrella and European by their first sound, not their first letter.
- Contrast general and specific: I like music vs The music at the party was terrible.
- Watch for *the life, *the nature and *the people in general statements; abstract and plural nouns used generally take no article.
- Give learners a reference list for place names: the with rivers, seas, oceans and plural or 'republic' countries; no article with most countries, cities, single lakes and single mountains.
Questions teachers ask
Why is it 'an hour' but 'a university'?
The choice depends on the first sound: hour begins with a vowel sound because the h is silent, while university begins with the consonant sound /j/.
When do we use no article?
With plural and uncountable nouns in a general sense (Cats like fish), with most names of people, cities and countries, and in fixed phrases such as at home, by bus and go to bed.
How can I help learners whose language has no articles?
Focus on high-frequency patterns first (a/an with jobs: She's a doctor; the with unique things: the sun), give plenty of noticing tasks with real texts, and correct selectively rather than every slip.