Grammar Games: a or an

Students sometimes got confused how to use article a or an. They sometimes pick the wrong article either in writing or speaking, especially for several consonant letters that are pronounced in vowel, and conversely. It, therefore, needs a fun way that enables them to remind them and finally use these article correctly.

Type of activity

Pair-work:  matching and guessing games

Grammar point

a and  an

• we can use a or an before singular nouns
• we use a before a singular noun  beginning  with a consonant: a banana
• we use an before a noun  beginning  with a vowel: an apple

Other  structures

Is there … ?

Vocabulary

Food:

an:  egg, ice lolly, apple, onion, avocado, orange, artichoke, oyster

a: lemon, yoghurt, tomato, lettuce, carrot, pear, chicken, cucumber, banana, sausage

(These  words are provided  with pictures  on the cards.)

Materials and preparation

• Copy and cut up one set of Article Cards  for each pair of students  in the class.
• Copy and cut up one set of Food Cards  for each pair of students in the class. If your students  are familiar with the vocabulary, white out the labels on a master  copy of the page before making multiple copies. (Don’t cut the labels off- the cards must remain the same size as the Article Cards.) If your students are not familiar with the vocabulary, leave the words on the cards and practice them before you play the game.
• Make one copy of the Fridge Cards for each student in the class.

How to use the game

Part 1

1. Check that your students  are familiar with the grammar in the Grammar point and Other structures and with the words listed under  Vocabulary, above.
2.  Divide the class into pairs.
3.  Give each pair a set of Article Cards   and a set of Food Cards.
4.  They should shuffle the cards together and spread them out face down on the table.
5. The  players should take it in turns to turn up two cards.
6. If they turn  up an Article Cards  and a Food Cards  that go together  (e.g. a and lemon, or an and orange) they may collect and keep the cards. If the two cards do not go together,  they should  leave them lying face up.
7. If any cards are turned up later that go with those already face up, the first player to say the correct article and noun  together,  e.g. ‘A pear!’ or ‘An apple!’, can collect the two cards and keep them.
8. The object of this part of the  game is to match all articles and food names correctly.
9. The  player with most cards at the end is the winner.

Part 2

1. Ask each pair to discard  the Article Cards and spread  the Food Cards out on the table.
2. Give each student a copy of the Fridge Picture.
3. Students should  select five foods from the Food Cards and draw them in the fridge. They should not tell their partner which they have chosen.
4. Students should then try to guess what is in their partner’s fridge, e.g. ‘Is there a/an ……………. in the fridge?’
5. The object of this part of the  game is to guess the foods in  their partner’s fridge.

We hope that this game will help teachers attractively teach the grammar materials especially for article a or an, and the most thing that the students will love it and fully understand the use of article a or an.