Grammar Practice in Context - David Bolton, Noel Goodey 1997
60 The indefinite article: a, an and the plural some
Quick reference
• We use a before words that begin with a consonant sound, a man a big dog a uniform We use an before words that begin with a vowel sound, an egg an unusual man an hour
We usually use a/an:
• with singular countable nouns when we talk about a person or thing for the first time. We don’t identify the person or thing. She’s got a car.
• before jobs, occupations and religions. He’s a waiter. I’m a student. She’s a Buddhist.
• before some numbers and quantities.
a dozen eggs a hundred men a few friends a lot of time a number of people
• with the meaning of ’per’, twice a day three days a week ₷5 a rilo
• in exclamations with ’What’. What a lovely day! What an interesting story!
We don’t use a/an before uncountable nouns.
Work is difficult to find. I like bread and cheese
• We often use some as the plural of a/an. It means ’a certain number, but not all’.
Some people have bacon and eggs for breakfast. Some cars have air conditioning.
We don’t use some’.
• when we talk about things or people in general.
/ don’t like cats. (= all cats) Bananas are cheap at the moment.
• when we’re interested in the things or people themselves, not the number of them.
He hasn’t got big feet. I like people who smile. I like wearing new clothes.
1 These are questions from an English language quiz. Answer them, using a or an.
1 What’s another way of saying ’90 minutes’?
2 If a return ticket is ’a two-way ticket’, what’s a single ticket?
3 What do you call someone who lives in Europe?
4 What do you call someone who lives in the United States?
5 What do you call the centre of learning where students can go after they’ve left school?
6 What’s the opposite of ’It’s a difficult job’?
7 What do you call a place where a traveller can get food and a room to stay in?
8 What’s the opposite of ’a comfortable bed’?
9 What do you call a group of musicians who play together, under a conductor?
10 What’s the opposite of ’a dishonest person’?
11 What’s another way of saying ’a second-hand car’? (Use an adjective beginning with u.)
12 A teacher who, for example, describes life in the 18th century, is ...
2 Complete the text, using a, an or some where necessary.
My friend is (1) ... Irish, but she’s got (2) ... unusual name - Manuela. She’s got (3) ... rich parents who live in Ireland. Her father’s (4) ... Spanish but he married (5) ... Irish girl. She’s got two brothers and they’ve both got (6) ... jobs in England. Manuela’s (7) ... photojournalist. (8) ... people in Ireland don’t see themselves as (9) ... Europeans, but she sees herself as (10) ... European citizen. She works as (11) ... freelance photographer all over the continent, selling (12) ... photographs to (13) ... newspapers and magazines. (14) ... photo-journalists concentrate on (15) ... violent and tragic stories, but Manuela prefers (16) ... stories of human strength and happiness. The other day she took (17) ... wonderful pictures of a woman in Italy who had just returned home to her child after spending six months in (18) ... prison. She called her story ’What (19) ... wonderful present!’ because the mother came home on her child’s birthday. (20) ... days Manuela doesn’t have any work. She relaxes by reading (21) ... books, watching (22) ... videos and taking her dogs for (23) ... long walks in the Irish countryside. She loves (24) ... animals, and her house is full of (25) ... cats and dogs.
3 Vladimir is a new student in an English class. He is telling the class about himself. He finds the use of a/an and some difficult. Rewrite what he says correctly.
’I’m a Russian. I’m architect. But I haven’t got job at the moment. Getting job is problem for me, because some jobs for some architects aren’t easy to find in Russia at the moment. I haven’t got some rich parents, so I must find a work soon. Russian architects go abroad to find some jobs. I’ve got American friend in California who has offered me job with his company that builds some swimming pools. I want to speak a good English before I go to the USA. My friend is a very successful. He makes lot of money. He’s got enormous house near the beach at Malibu. I hope I’II be a rich like him in few years.’
4 Write eight sentences about yourself, using a/an and some.
Examples: I’m a student. I live in a big city. I have English lessons three days a week. I've got some English friends in London.
Check your answers with a teacher.