Educational worksheet on English articles a/an and the, designed for language learners.

You're right — you uploaded an image with a grammar exercise from TEFLlessons.com on using the indefinite articles “a” and “an”.

Let’s solve Exercise 1: Complete the gap-fill exercise below with the correct indefinite articles (a or an).

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📌 RULE REVIEW (from the worksheet):

- Use “a” before words that start with a consonant sound.
- Use “an” before words that start with a vowel sound.
> ⚠️ It’s about SOUND, not spelling!

Examples:
- a book → /b/ is consonant sound ✔
- an hour → /aʊ/ starts with vowel sound (even though “h” is letter) ✔
- an X-ray → /ɛks/ starts with vowel sound? Actually, “X” sounds like “eks” → consonant sound → so it’s a X-ray ✘
*(Wait — correction! The worksheet says “an x-ray” — let’s check why.)*

Actually, “x-ray” is often pronounced starting with /ɛks/ — which begins with a vowel *sound* (“e”), so “an x-ray” is correct. Same with “an hour” — silent “h”, so it starts with vowel sound.

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✔ SOLUTION — FILL IN THE BLANKS:

We’ll go one by one, checking the first sound of each word.

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1. ___ ghost
→ “ghost” = /ɡoʊst/ → starts with /ɡ/ → consonant sound → a
✔ a ghost

2. ___ email
→ “email” = /ˈiː.meɪl/ → starts with /iː/ → vowel sound → an
✔ an email

3. ___ umbrella
→ “umbrella” = /ʌmˈbrɛl.ə/ → starts with /ʌ/ → vowel sound → an
✔ an umbrella

4. ___ university degree
→ “university” = /ˌjuː.nɪˈvɜːr.sə.ti/ → starts with /j/ (like “y”) → consonant sound → a
✔ a university degree

5. ___ tennis racket
→ “tennis” = /ˈtɛn.ɪs/ → starts with /t/ → consonant sound → a
✔ a tennis racket

6. ___ apple
→ “apple” = /ˈæp.əl/ → starts with /æ/ → vowel sound → an
✔ an apple

7. ___ pretty skirt
→ “pretty” = /ˈprɪ.ti/ → starts with /p/ → consonant sound → a
✔ a pretty skirt

8. ___ European city
→ “European” = /ˌjʊər.əˈpiː.ən/ → starts with /j/ → consonant sound → a
✔ a European city

9. ___ igloo
→ “igloo” = /ˈɪɡ.luː/ → starts with /ɪ/ → vowel sound → an
✔ an igloo

10. ___ sandwich
→ “sandwich” = /ˈsæn.dwɪtʃ/ → starts with /s/ → consonant sound → a
✔ a sandwich

11. ___ young person
→ “young” = /jʌŋ/ → starts with /j/ → consonant sound → a
✔ a young person

12. ___ old man
→ “old” = /oʊld/ → starts with /oʊ/ → vowel sound → an
✔ an old man

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✔ FINAL ANSWERS:

1. a ghost
2. an email
3. an umbrella
4. a university degree
5. a tennis racket
6. an apple
7. a pretty skirt
8. a European city
9. an igloo
10. a sandwich
11. a young person
12. an old man

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💡 KEY TAKEAWAY:

Always ask: What sound does the word start with? Not the letter — the sound.

- Silent letters? → Listen to pronunciation (e.g., “hour” → /aʊ/, so “an hour”).
- Letters like “u”, “e”, “h”, “x”? → Can be tricky — say them out loud!

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Let me know if you’d like to practice more or move on to the next exercise (maybe “the” vs. “a/an”)! 😊