English Articles Exercise 1: A, An, The or No Article
level: Beginner/Intermediate (A2/B1)
✓ Useful for IELTS✓ Useful for TOEIC
Practice choosing between a, an, the, and no article in everyday English sentences. This mixed exercise helps you review the basic rules and see how they work in context.
Grammar reviewMixed articles — a, an, the, or no article?
This exercise covers all article choices in English. The core questions to ask for each sentence:
Is the noun specific and known to both speaker and listener?
→ Use the: “Pass me the salt.” (we both know which one)
Is it being introduced for the first time, or is it one of many?
→ Use a/an: “She bought a new car.”
Is it a general, uncountable, or abstract noun used in a broad sense?
→ No article: “She loves music.”“He works in sales.”
Quick reference: the = specific, identified, unique, or already mentioned a/an = unspecific, first mention, one of many, job/role descriptions
No article = proper nouns (most), sports, languages, subjects, uncountable nouns in general sense