2. ‘A’ and ‘An’
• You only use ‘a’ or ‘an’ with singular count
nouns.
• ‘A’ and ‘an’ are called the indefinite article.
I got a postcard from Susan.
He was eating an apple.
3. ‘A’ and ‘An’
• You use ‘a’ in front of a word that starts with
a consonant sound even when the first letter
is a vowel.
a piece
a university
a European language
4. ‘A’ and ‘An’
• You use ‘an’ in front of a word that begins
with a vowel sound even when the first
letter is a consonant.
an exercise
an idea
an honest man
5. ‘A’ and ‘An’
• You use ‘a’ or ‘an’ when you are talking
about a person or a thing for the first time.
He picked up a book.
After weeks of looking, we eventually
bought a house.
A colleague and I got some money to do
research on rats.
6. ‘A’ and ‘An’
• The second time you refer to the same
person or thing, you use ‘the’.
She picked up a book … … The book was
lying on the table.
After weeks of looking we finally bought a
house… … The house was in a small village.
7. ‘A’ and ‘An’
• After the verb ‘be’ or another link verb
you can use ‘a’ or ‘an’ with an adjective
and a noun to give more information
about someone or something.
His brother was a sensitive child.
He seemed a worried man.
It was a really beautiful house.
8. ‘A’ and ‘An’
• You can also use ‘a’ or ‘an’ with a noun
followed by a qualifier, such as a
prepositional phrase or a relative clause,
when you want to give more information
about someone or something.
The information was contained in an
article on biology.
I chose a picture that reminded me of home.
9. ‘A’ and ‘An’
• You use ‘a ‘ and ‘an’ after the verb ‘be’ or
another link verb when you are saying what
someone is or what job they have.
He became a school teacher.
She is a model and an artist.
10. ‘A’ and ‘An’
• You use ‘a ‘ and ‘an’ to mean ‘one’ with some
numbers.
• You can use ‘a’ or ‘an’ with nouns that refer
to whole numbers, fractions, money,
weights or measures.
a hundred a quarter a pound
a kilo a thousand a half
a dollar a liter
11. ‘A’ and ‘An’
• You do not use ‘a ‘ and ‘an’ with uncount
nouns or plural count nouns.
• You do not need to use a determiner at all
with plural count nouns.
• You can use the determiners ‘any’, ‘a few’,
‘many’, ‘several’, or ‘some’.
I love dogs.
Do you have any dogs?
12. ‘A’ and ‘An’
• Note:
If you do not use a determiner with a plural
count noun, you are often making a general
statement about people or things of that
type.
I love dogs. (You love all dogs.)
There are eggs in the kitchen. (There are
some eggs.)
13. ‘A’ and ‘An’
• Note:
If you do use a determiner, you mean a
number of people or things but not all of
them, without saying exactly how many.
I have some friends coming for dinner.
He has bought some plants for the house.
I have some important things to tell them.
