EFL Beginners | Indefinite Articles | Study Notes

EFL Beginners | Indefinite Articles | Study Notes

EFL Beginners | Indefinite Articles | Study Notes

 

When can you use a/an?

Examples

Notes

You use a/an before a countable and singular noun

A book

A dog

An orange

An uncle

A banana

NOT:

A rice

You use “a” if the first sound is a consonant:

A uniform (first letter sounds like ”you”)

A cat

You use “an” if the first sound is a vowel:

An uncle (the first letter sounds like “a”)

An apple

When you talk about something first time 

“I see a dog on my doorstep. The dog is black and white”.

When you mean: any one/ one among many (a single representative of a bigger group of people/things)

I want to rent a flat in New York.

There are many flats in New York.

Before a job/profession

I am a teacher.

Your dad is a police officer.

Before  phrases of time/measurements

I eat meat once a month.

The apples are $ 2 a kilo.

When describing something or somebody

Anna is a tall girl with brown hair and green eyes.

When your listener does not know what are you talking about

Does she have a car

We don’t know what car she has.