Articles
Can-do Statement: I can use ‘a’, ‘an’, and ‘the’ correctly to refer to non-specific and specific nouns.
1. Vocabulary Focus
daycare
noun
nhà trẻ
Definition: A place where children are looked after while their parents are at work.
Example: I go with Mom to get the baby from daycare.
grocery store
noun
cửa hàng tạp hóa
Definition: A shop that sells food and other things used in the home.
Example: We go to the grocery store with a list of items.
checkout stand
noun
quầy thanh toán
Definition: The place in a shop where you pay for your goods.
Example: At the checkout stand, we realize we forgot the milk.
gallon
noun
ga-lông (đơn vị đo)
Definition: A unit for measuring liquids.
Example: I grab a gallon of skim milk.
irresistible
adjective
không thể cưỡng lại
Definition: So good or attractive that you cannot stop yourself from wanting it.
Example: Mom’s lasagna makes an irresistible meal.
jar
noun
cái lọ, hũ
Definition: A glass container used for keeping food.
Example: Mom feeds her a jar of mashed carrots.
amusing
adjective
vui, làm cho buồn cười
Definition: Funny and enjoyable.
Example: The baby’s face is an amusing sight.
smear
verb
bôi, làm lem luốc
Definition: To spread a soft or liquid substance across a surface.
Example: Her face is smeared with sticky, orange food.
sight
noun
cảnh tượng
Definition: Something that is seen.
Example: The baby eating is a funny sight.
2. Grammar Presentation
Indefinite Articles: a / an
We use a or an before singular countable nouns when the noun is general, non-specific, or mentioned for the very first time.
| Article | Rule / Sound Condition | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| a | Used before words starting with a consonant sound. |
|
| an | Used before words starting with a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u). |
|
Structure: a/an + singular countable noun
Definite Article: the
We use the before singular, plural, or uncountable nouns when the noun is specific, has already been mentioned, or is uniquely known to both the speaker and the listener.
| Usage Context | Examples |
|---|---|
| Already Mentioned | Mom gave me a jar of food. The jar was filled with mashed carrots. |
| Specific / Unique Context |
|
Structure: the + noun (singular, plural, or uncountable)
3. Guided Practice
Exercise 1: Vocabulary Matching
Match the words on the left (1-7) with their correct definitions on the right (A-G).
1. daycare
2. grocery store
3. checkout stand
4. gallon
5. irresistible
6. jar
7. smear
A. A glass container used for keeping food.
B. So good or attractive that you cannot stop yourself from wanting it.
C. A place where children are looked after while their parents are at work.
D. To spread a soft or liquid substance across a surface.
E. A shop that sells food and other things used in the home.
F. The place in a shop where you pay for your goods.
G. A unit for measuring liquids.
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
| Question | Correct Answer | Explanation / Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | C | daycare = nhà trẻ (where children are looked after) Nơi trẻ em được chăm sóc khi bố mẹ đi làm. |
| 2 | E | grocery store = cửa hàng tạp hóa (sells food and home things) Cửa hàng bán thực phẩm và đồ dùng gia đình. |
| 3 | F | checkout stand = quầy thanh toán (where you pay) Nơi bạn trả tiền cho hàng hóa trong cửa hàng. |
| 4 | G | gallon = ga-lông (unit for liquids) Đơn vị đo lường chất lỏng. |
| 5 | B | irresistible = không thể cưỡng lại (cannot stop wanting it) Quá hấp dẫn khiến bạn không thể ngừng thèm muốn. |
| 6 | A | jar = cái hũ, lọ thủy tinh (glass container for food) Bình/hũ thủy tinh dùng để đựng thực phẩm. |
| 7 | D | smear = bôi, làm lem luốc (spread a soft substance) Quẹt hoặc bôi một chất mềm/lỏng lên bề mặt. |
Exercise 2: Article Gap Fill
Fill in the blanks with a, an, or the.
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1. We need to buy gallon of milk from the shop.
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2. My mother made irresistible dinner for us last night.
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3. I saw a baby at the daycare. baby was laughing loudly.
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4. Let’s meet directly at checkout stand so we can pay together.
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5. The child has amusing way of eating her lunch.
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6. We arrived at grocery store just before it closed.
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7. She opened jar of honey and poured some into her tea.
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
| Question | Answer | Explanation / Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | a | “Gallon” starts with a consonant sound and is non-specific here. Cần một lượng đơn vị chung chung, bắt đầu bằng phụ âm. |
| 2 | an | “Irresistible” starts with the vowel sound /ɪ/. “Irresistible” bắt đầu bằng một nguyên âm. |
| 3 | The | The baby is mentioned for the second time, so it is specific. Đứa bé đã được nhắc tới ở câu trước nên lần này dùng “The”. |
| 4 | the | Refers to a specific checkout stand that both people are going to use. Quầy thanh toán cụ thể nơi cả hai định đến tính tiền. |
| 5 | an | “Amusing” starts with the vowel sound /ə/. “Amusing” bắt đầu bằng một nguyên âm. |
| 6 | the | Refers to a specific grocery store known to the speaker and listener. Cửa hàng tạp hóa cụ thể mà người nói và người nghe đều biết. |
| 7 | a | A general, non-specific glass jar mentioned for the first time. Một cái hũ nói chung, được nhắc tới lần đầu tiên. |
Exercise 3: Multiple Choice Questions
Select the best option to complete each sentence.
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1. My sister works at ______ daycare in the city center.
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2. Look at the food on her face! It is ______ amusing sight.
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3. We forgot to buy the carrots because we didn’t bring ______ list.
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4. After picking up Morgan, we immediately went to ______ grocery store.
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5. The baby managed to ______ mashed food all over the table.
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6. I bought ______ jar of strawberry jam this morning.
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7. They ran out of milk, so they couldn’t buy even ______ single gallon.
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
| Question | Correct Choice | Explanation / Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | “A daycare” refers to an unmentioned, general workplace. Một nhà trẻ bất kỳ ở trung tâm thành phố. |
| 2 | B | “An amusing sight” because “amusing” starts with a vowel sound. “Amusing” bắt đầu bằng nguyên âm nên dùng “an”. |
| 3 | A | “A list” is a singular countable noun mentioned for the first time. Một danh sách mua sắm nói chung. |
| 4 | C | “The grocery store” because it refers to the specific store they usually visit. Ngữ cảnh cụ thể về cửa hàng tạp hóa quen thuộc của gia đình. |
| 5 | D | The context requires the verb “smear” (to spread liquid/soft substance). Dựa vào nghĩa từ vựng: bôi bẩn/làm lem luốc thức ăn. |
| 6 | A | “A jar” because “jar” begins with a consonant sound /dʒ/. “Jar” bắt đầu bằng phụ âm, nói về một chiếc hũ chưa xác định. |
| 7 | A | “A single gallon” is a standard expression meaning one gallon. Cụm từ “a single gallon” nghĩa là dù chỉ một ga-lông. |
Exercise 4: True or False Statements
Read the sentences based on our vocabulary and grammar rules. Write T (True) or F (False).
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1. We always use “an” before words that start with the letter ‘u’, regardless of the sound. (____)
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2. The sentence “Mom feeds her a jar of mashed carrots” uses “a” because “jar” is a singular countable noun mentioned for the first time. (____)
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3. “Daycare” is an adjective that describes a very tasty food. (____)
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4. We can use “the” with plural nouns, such as “the grocery stores”. (____)
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5. “Irresistible” means something is so boring that you do not want it. (____)
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6. In the sentence “The baby’s face is an amusing sight”, “the” is used because we are talking about a specific baby. (____)
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7. A checkout stand is a place where you pick up children after work. (____)
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
| Question | Answer (T/F) | Explanation / Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | F | False. It depends on the sound, not the letter (e.g., “a university”). Sai. Việc dùng a/an phụ thuộc vào âm thanh chứ không phải chữ cái. |
| 2 | T | True. “Jar” is singular, countable, and non-specific in this sentence. Đúng. Từ “jar” là danh từ đếm được số ít được nhắc đến lần đầu. |
| 3 | F | False. “Daycare” is a noun meaning a place where kids are minded. Sai. “Daycare” là danh từ chỉ nhà trẻ, không phải tính từ thức ăn. |
| 4 | T | True. “The” can be used with singular, plural, and uncountable nouns. Đúng. “The” đi được với cả danh từ số nhiều. |
| 5 | F | False. “Irresistible” means too attractive or tempting to resist. Sai. “Irresistible” nghĩa là quá hấp dẫn không thể cưỡng lại. |
| 6 | T | True. We say “the baby” because it refers to the specific baby in the family. Đúng. Dùng “the” vì đang chỉ đứa trẻ cụ thể trong ngữ cảnh. |
| 7 | F | False. A checkout stand is where you pay for items in a store. Sai. Quầy thanh toán là nơi trả tiền chứ không phải nơi đón trẻ. |
Exercise 5: Sentence Reordering
Rearrange the words to make grammatically correct sentences. Pay attention to articles.
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1. daycare / baby / get / from / the / Mom / to / goes / .Answer: ________________________________________________________________
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2. irresistible / meal / lasagna / an / makes / Mom’s / .Answer: ________________________________________________________________
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3. list / store / a / with / we / go / to / the / .Answer: ________________________________________________________________
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4. face / food / smeared / orange / is / with / her / .Answer: ________________________________________________________________
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5. standalone / stand / checkout / forgot / milk / at / the / we / the / .Answer: ________________________________________________________________
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6. a / skim / grab / gallon / of / milk / I / .Answer: ________________________________________________________________
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7. sight / baby’s / face / amusing / an / is / the / .Answer: ________________________________________________________________
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
| Question | Correct Full Sentence | Explanation / Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mom goes to get the baby from daycare. | Subject + Verb + Object + Prepositional Phrase. Mẹ đi đón em bé từ nhà trẻ về. |
| 2 | Mom’s lasagna makes an irresistible meal. | “An irresistible meal” places the article before the vowel-sound adjective. Món lasagna của mẹ tạo nên một bữa ăn không thể cưỡng lại. |
| 3 | We go to the store with a list. / We go to the store with a list of items. | “The store” (specific destination) and “a list” (general object). Chúng tôi đi đến cửa hàng với một danh sách các món đồ. |
| 4 | Her face is smeared with orange food. | Passive structure: subject + is smeared with + noun. Mặt của em bé bị lem luốc thức ăn màu cam. |
| 5 | At the checkout stand, we forgot the milk. / We forgot the milk at the checkout stand. | Both “checkout stand” and “milk” are specific items in this context. Tại quầy thanh toán, chúng tôi nhận ra mình đã quên sữa. |
| 6 | I grab a gallon of skim milk. | Standard measure expression: “a gallon of…”. Tôi lấy một ga-lông sữa tách béo. |
| 7 | The baby’s face is an amusing sight. | “The baby’s face” is specific; “an amusing sight” describes it generally. Khuôn mặt của em bé là một cảnh tượng rất vui nhộn. |
Exercise 6: Grammar Selection (Identify the Error)
Each sentence contains ONE mistake with articles (a, an, the). Find the wrong article and rewrite the sentence correctly.
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1. We walked into a grocery store where Mom always buys our fresh bread.Correction: ________________________________________________________________
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2. The baby wants an jar of mashed carrots right now.Correction: ________________________________________________________________
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3. I saw a irresistible meal sitting on the dining table.Correction: ________________________________________________________________
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4. At a checkout stand, we finally paid for all of our items.Correction: ________________________________________________________________
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5. My little cousin is a amusing child to watch when she plays.Correction: ________________________________________________________________
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6. We left a daycare very early because it started raining heavily.Correction: ________________________________________________________________
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7. He drank the gallon of water because he was extremely thirsty after running.Correction: ________________________________________________________________
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
| Question | Corrected Sentence | Explanation / Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | We walked into the grocery store where Mom always buys our fresh bread. | Change “a” to “the” because the relative clause specifies which store. Dùng “the” vì mệnh đề quan hệ phía sau định rõ cửa hàng nào. |
| 2 | The baby wants a jar of mashed carrots right now. | Change “an” to “a” because “jar” begins with a consonant sound. Sửa thành “a jar” vì từ “jar” bắt đầu bằng phụ âm. |
| 3 | I saw an irresistible meal sitting on the dining table. | Change “a” to “an” because “irresistible” begins with a vowel sound. Sửa thành “an irresistible” vì từ này bắt đầu bằng một nguyên âm. |
| 4 | At the checkout stand, we finally paid for all of our items. | Change “a” to “the” because it is the specific place where they are paying. Phải dùng “the checkout stand” vì đó là nơi tính tiền cụ thể trong cửa hàng. |
| 5 | My little cousin is an amusing child to watch when she plays. | Change “a” to “an” because “amusing” begins with a vowel sound. Sửa thành “an amusing child” vì bắt đầu bằng nguyên âm. |
| 6 | We left the daycare very early because it started raining heavily. | Change “a” to “the” because it’s their specific, known daycare center. Sửa thành “the daycare” vì đây là nhà trẻ cụ thể của họ. |
| 7 | He drank a gallon of water because he was extremely thirsty after running. | Change “the” to “a” to show the general volume/quantity drank for the first time. Sửa thành “a gallon” để biểu thị một lượng đơn vị chất lỏng nói chung. |
