A and An Worksheet: Articles for Kids (Free PDF)

What’s in the PDF

• Page 1 (Level 1, easier): a short rule box, then write a or an for eight picture words (an apple, a bee, an egg…), and circle a or an for six more words.
• Page 2 (Level 2, harder): circle a or an in six sentences, then write a or an before six words such as ant, bus and igloo.
• Page 3: an answer key for both levels.

Read the instructions aloud for early readers. Children can point or say the answer before they write it.

What are a and an?

A and an are small words called articles. They go before a noun when we mean any one thing: a dog, an orange. Use an before words that begin with a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u): an apple, an egg, an owl. Use a before other sounds: a cat, a bus.

Examples

• an apple, an egg, an igloo
• an owl, an umbrella, an ant
• a cat, a bee, a kite
• a duck, a sun, a hat
• a red apple (because red starts with r)

How to teach it

Say the words aloud. “A apple” sounds bumpy, while “an apple” flows. That is why an exists. Practise by naming things around you with a or an: a spoon, an orange, a book. Point out that the rule depends on the first sound of the very next word.

Common mix-ups

When a describing word comes first, the article changes with it: an apple, but a red apple. Children also need to listen for sounds, not just letters, though at this age sticking to a, e, i, o, u is enough.

Game: A or an basket

Fill a basket with toys and fruit. Take turns pulling one out and naming it with a or an: “an elephant”, “a ball”. If you get it right, you keep it. Whoever has more at the end wins.

Questions to ask

• What sound does this word start with?
• Does “a” or “an” sound better?
• What happens if we add a describing word first?

Practise next

Try nouns, singular and plural, adjectives. Older children can move on to our English grammar worksheets for grades 3 to 5.