Articles (A, An, The) – English Grammar Exercises for A1
Reporting a traffic incident on the street (News Sequence).
You just came home from school and you are telling your family about a traffic accident you saw. Choose the correct article (a, an, the) to complete your story.
1 “Mom, Dad, listen! I just saw ___ terrible accident on my way home!”
(a) the
(b) a
(c) an
2 “I was walking on the sidewalk, and I saw ___ blue car.”
(a) a
(b) an
(c) the
3 “In front of the car, there was ___ old man.”
(a) the
(b) a
(c) an
4 “The man was riding ___ bicycle very slowly.”
(a) a
(b) the
(c) an
5 “Suddenly, I heard ___ loud noise!”
(a) the
(b) an
(c) a
6 “___ blue car did not stop at the red light.”
(a) A
(b) The
(c) An
7 “It moved too fast and hit ___ bicycle.”
(a) an
(b) a
(c) the
8 “Everyone ran over to help. Luckily, ___ old man was not badly hurt.”
(a) an
(b) the
(c) a
9 “Someone took out their phone and called ___ ambulance.”
(a) a
(b) the
(c) an
10 “We waited for a few minutes, and then ___ ambulance arrived.”
(a) the
(b) a
(c) an
11 “After that, ___ angry woman got out of the blue car.”
(a) a
(b) an
(c) the
12 “___ woman started shouting, but it was clearly her fault!”
(a) The
(b) An
(c) A
13 “Then, ___ police officer came on a motorcycle to check the situation.”
(a) a
(b) an
(c) the
14 “___ police officer asked the woman to show her ID and calm down.”
(a) The
(b) A
(c) An
15 “The car was damaged. It had ___ broken front window.”
(a) an
(b) the
(c) a
16 “I looked closely and saw ___ window glass all over the street.”
(a) a
(b) an
(c) the
17 “Because of the crash, all the other cars on ___ street had to stop.”
(a) a
(b) the
(c) an
18 “The traffic was terrible. We stood there for half ___ hour watching them.”
(a) an
(b) a
(c) the
19 “Finally, the paramedics took the old man to ___ hospital at the end of our road.”
(a) an
(b) a
(c) the
20 “It was ___ extremely scary experience for me, but I am glad everyone is alive.”
(a) the
(b) a
(c) an
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (b) a
Explanation: This is the first time you mention the accident. “Terrible” starts with a consonant sound (/t/). Option (a) “the” is a common mistake because the listener doesn’t know about the accident yet. Option (c) “an” is a basic grammar error.
2 (a) a
Explanation: First mention of the car. “Blue” starts with a consonant sound. Option (c) “the” is a common mistake for a first mention. Option (b) “an” is a structural error.
3 (c) an
Explanation: First mention of the man. “Old” starts with a vowel sound (/oʊ/). Option (a) “the” is a common mistake. Option (b) “a” is a basic grammar error.
4 (a) a
Explanation: First mention of the bicycle. “Bicycle” starts with a consonant sound. Option (b) “the” is a common mistake. Option (c) “an” is a basic error.
5 (c) a
Explanation: First mention of the noise. “Loud” starts with a consonant sound. Option (a) “the” is a common mistake. Option (b) “an” is a basic error.
6 (b) The
Explanation: This is the second mention of the blue car. Both you and your parents now know which car it is. Option (a) “A” is a common mistake (forgetting to switch to “the”). Option (c) “An” is a basic error.
7 (c) the
Explanation: Second mention of the bicycle. Option (b) “a” is a common mistake. Option (a) “an” is a basic error.
8 (b) the
Explanation: Second mention of the old man. Option (c) “a” is a structural error. Option (a) “an” is a common mistake if students only look at the vowel “o” in “old” but forget the second-mention rule.
9 (c) an
Explanation: First mention of the ambulance. “Ambulance” starts with a vowel sound (/æ/). Option (b) “the” is a common mistake. Option (a) “a” is a basic error.
10 (a) the
Explanation: Second mention of the ambulance. Option (b) “a” is a basic error. Option (c) “an” is a common mistake (forgetting the second-mention rule).
11 (b) an
Explanation: First mention of the woman. “Angry” starts with a vowel sound (/æ/). Option (c) “the” is a common mistake. Option (a) “a” is a basic error.
12 (a) The
Explanation: Second mention of the woman. Option (c) “A” is a basic error. Option (b) “An” is a common mistake.
13 (a) a
Explanation: First mention of the police officer. Option (c) “the” is a common mistake. Option (b) “an” is a basic error.
14 (a) The
Explanation: Second mention of the police officer. Option (b) “A” is a common mistake. Option (c) “An” is a basic error.
15 (c) a
Explanation: First mention of the broken window. Option (b) “the” is a common mistake. Option (a) “an” is a basic error.
16 (c) the
Explanation: Second mention of the window (specifically, the glass from the broken window just mentioned). Option (a) “a” is a common mistake. Option (b) “an” is a basic error.
17 (b) the
Explanation: “The street” is a specific environment that both the speaker and listener understand (the street where the accident happened). Option (a) “a” is a common mistake. Option (c) “an” is a basic error.
18 (a) an
Explanation: “Hour” starts with a silent ‘H’ (a vowel sound). Option (b) “a” is a very common mistake. Option (c) “the” is incorrect for this time expression (“half an hour”).
19 (c) the
Explanation: The phrase “at the end of our road” makes this a very specific hospital. Option (b) “a” is a common mistake. Option (a) “an” is a basic error.
20 (c) an
Explanation: First mention, summarizing the event. “Extremely” starts with a vowel sound (/ɪ/). Option (a) “the” is a common mistake. Option (b) “a” is a basic grammar error.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
1 The Storytelling Rule (First vs. Second Mention): When you tell a story, introduce new characters, vehicles, or objects using “a” or “an”. This tells the listener: “Here is a new thing in my story.”
- Example: I saw a car and an ambulance.
2 Building the Scene: Once the object is introduced, it belongs to the story. For every sentence after that, you MUST use “the”. This tells the listener: “I am talking about that same thing I just mentioned.”
- Example: The car was broken, and the ambulance was fast.
3 Specific Environments: Even in a new story, use “the” for things that are unique to the background of the scene, like the street, the ground, or the sky.