Harvey's Elementary Grammar and Composition · Lesson 21 · Part 1: Part I: The elementary course

20. A, an and the

Goal: Your child knows that a, an and the are articles, and chooses a or an by the sound that follows.

⏱ About 20 minutes · 7 steps

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You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • Paper and a pencil (or a slate)

What's in the book

Lesson 21 is an oral lesson on "A horse was stolen" and "The horse was stolen." It defines the definite and indefinite articles and gives words and sentences for choosing a or an.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Review

    Ask your child to name a descriptive and a definitive adjective in "This red apple is sweet."

  2. Any horse or the horse

    Say"A horse was stolen" and "The horse was stolen." Ask which one means a particular horse.

    Read:

    They are also called Articles.

  3. The two articles

    Read:

    The is called the Definite Article, because it points out definitely the object which it restricts.

    A or An is called the Indefinite Article, because it restricts in an indefinite or general manner.

  4. A or an?

    Read the book's rule:

    A is used when the following words begin with a subvocal or aspirate;

    an, when the following word begins with a vocal.

    SayIn plain words, use an before a vowel sound and a before a consonant sound. Listen to the sound, not the letter: an hour, a house.

  5. Oral practice

    Say the words from the book's list and let your child put a or an in front: egg, hour, hearth, ode, eagle, cart, orange, honor, vulture.

  6. Write the sentences

    Copy and fill in a or an:

    Temperance is — virtue.

    He is — honest man.

    He has — ax to grind.

  7. Use it today

    Count how many times "an" appears on one page of today's reading. Check that each comes before a vowel sound.

Answers to the book's problems

Words: an egg, an hour, a hearth, a memory, an ode, an eagle, a humor (most people today say the h; some older speakers did not), a measure, a cart, a stand, an orange, an opossum, a goat, a house, a turkey, an elephant, an oven, an honor, a vulture, an advantage. Sentences: 1 a virtue. 2 a hill. 3 A loud report. 4 a vapor. 5 an honest man. 6 an ax. 7 a horse. 8 a child, a plea.

Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.

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