Grade 2 English Worksheets - Colour Prints, 139 Worksheets - Free Printable

Let's solve this grammar exercise step by step. The task is to fill in the blanks with either 'a' or 'an' depending on the word that follows.

🔹 Rule Reminder:

- Use 'a' before words that start with a consonant sound.
- Use 'an' before words that start with a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u).

> Note: It’s about sound, not spelling! For example, "university" starts with a 'u' but sounds like "yoo", so it takes 'a'.

---

Now, let’s go through each item:

---

✔ Left Column:

1. ___ pen
→ "pen" starts with a consonant sound (/p/) → a pen

2. ___ red pen
→ "red" starts with a consonant sound (/r/) → a red pen

3. ___ orange pen
→ "orange" starts with a vowel sound (/ɔːr/ → "or") → an orange pen

4. ___ hen
→ "hen" starts with a consonant sound (/h/) → a hen

5. ___ big hen
→ "big" starts with a consonant sound (/b/) → a big hen

6. ___ fat hen
→ "fat" starts with a consonant sound (/f/) → a fat hen

7. ___ man
→ "man" starts with a consonant sound (/m/) → a man

8. ___ old man
→ "old" starts with a vowel sound (/oʊ/) → an old man

9. ___ young man
→ "young" starts with a consonant sound (/j/) → a young man

10. ___ umbrella
→ "umbrella" starts with a vowel sound (/ʌm/) → an umbrella

11. ___ old umbrella
→ "old" starts with a vowel sound → an old umbrella

12. ___ new umbrella
→ "new" starts with a consonant sound (/n/) → a new umbrella

13. ___ apple
→ "apple" starts with a vowel sound (/æ/) → an apple

14. ___ red apple
→ "red" starts with a consonant sound → a red apple

15. ___ juicy apple
→ "juicy" starts with a consonant sound (/dʒ/) → a juicy apple

---

✔ Right Column:

16. ___ boy
→ "boy" starts with a consonant sound (/b/) → a boy

17. ___ naughty boy
→ "naughty" starts with a consonant sound (/n/) → a naughty boy

18. ___ intelligent boy
→ "intelligent" starts with a vowel sound (/ɪ/) → an intelligent boy

19. ___ bag
→ "bag" starts with a consonant sound (/b/) → a bag

20. ___ heavy bag
→ "heavy" starts with a consonant sound (/ˈhevi/) → a heavy bag

21. ___ big bag
→ "big" starts with a consonant sound → a big bag

22. ___ book
→ "book" starts with a consonant sound (/b/) → a book

23. ___ excellent book
→ "excellent" starts with a vowel sound (/ˈeksələnt/) → an excellent book

24. ___ small book
→ "small" starts with a consonant sound (/s/) → a small book

25. ___ ice cream
→ "ice" starts with a vowel sound (/aɪ/) → an ice cream

26. ___ sweet ice cream
→ "sweet" starts with a consonant sound (/s/) → a sweet ice cream

27. ___ chocolate ice cream
→ "chocolate" starts with a consonant sound (/ˈtʃɒkələt/) → a chocolate ice cream

28. ___ box
→ "box" starts with a consonant sound (/b/) → a box

29. ___ empty box
→ "empty" starts with a vowel sound (/ˈɛmpti/) → an empty box

30. ___ full box
→ "full" starts with a consonant sound (/f/) → a full box

---

✔ Final Answers:

#### Left Column:
- a pen
- a red pen
- an orange pen
- a hen
- a big hen
- a fat hen
- a man
- an old man
- a young man
- an umbrella
- an old umbrella
- a new umbrella
- an apple
- a red apple
- a juicy apple

#### Right Column:
- a boy
- a naughty boy
- an intelligent boy
- a bag
- a heavy bag
- a big bag
- a book
- an excellent book
- a small book
- an ice cream
- a sweet ice cream
- a chocolate ice cream
- a box
- an empty box
- a full box

---

🎯 Summary Tip:

Always listen to the first sound of the word after the blank. If it's a vowel sound, use 'an'; if it's a consonant sound, use 'a'.

✔ Example:
- "an honest person" → because "honest" sounds like /ˈɒnɪst/ (starts with a vowel sound)
- "a university" → because "university" starts with /j/ (like "you") → consonant sound → a

---

Let me know if you'd like this printed or formatted as a worksheet!