Using A or An

Year 3 EnglishGrammar and Punctuation3 pages

About this worksheet

Choosing a or an is the whole job on these three Year 3 grammar pages. The sorting robot at a grammar factory has mixed up fifteen words and phrases, and pupils sort them into two boxes. The bank includes tricky items such as unicorn, university, hour and honest mistake, where the first letter and the first sound do not match. Two questions ask which item was trickiest and for one new phrase with each word. The answer key gives the full sort and explains the tricky items. It links to the England National Curriculum grammar objective for Years 3 and 4.

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Curriculum objectives covered

Writing - vocabulary, grammar and punctuation

โ€œLearning the grammar for years 3 and 4 in English Appendix 2โ€

The whole sheet practises the a or an rule, including hour and honest, where the letter h is silent.

What's inside this worksheet

Word Bank

Fifteen items, from rock and red apple to iguana and icy puddle.

Sorting Area

Two boxes, Use 'a' and Use 'an'. Pupils sort by the first sound of each item, not the first letter.

Think About It

Pupils name the trickiest item and write one new phrase with a and one with an.

How teachers use it

Say it aloud

Ask pupils to say each item with a and with an before they sort it. Hearing "a hour" makes the rule clear.

Small group

Cut up the word bank so a group can sort the cards on the table first.

Follow-up

Use the answers to question 1 to find pupils who still sort by letter, then go back to unicorn and university with them.

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