Chapter 9 · Book pages 29–32

📍 Articles and Prepositions

a, an, the or nothing at all, and the little position words that tell us where, when and which way.

By the end of this lesson, you can…

choose a or an by the sound of the next word (an hour, a university)
use the for something special or already known, and know when to use no article
use prepositions of place like in, on, under, beneath, behind, beside, against
pick tricky pairs correctly: between / among, in / into, beside / besides
use prepositions of time and direction: since, from…till, by, through, towards, across

Tiny words, big jobs! A, an and the point at things, and prepositions tell us where they are. Let's find the treasure! 📍

📖 Story time

Fizz's Treasure Map

Fizz the Fox pinned a crumpled map on the oak tree. “Treasure!” he shouted. “But you'll have to read my clues.”

🦊

Fizz the FoxClue 1: “Walk to a old oak tree. The treasure is on a big stone, buried above the roots.”

HedgieBuried above the roots? That's not buried at all! And “a old oak” sounds bumpy when I say it.

🦉

Ollie the OwlWell heard, Hedgie! Old starts with a vowel sound, so we say an old oak. And something buried is under or beneath, not above.

🐢

Tara TortoiseTiny words like a, an, the are called articles. Words like under, behind, between are prepositions. They show where things are.

🦊

Fizz the FoxClue 2: “Share the gold between all five of you. Arrive till sunset!”

🐰

Bela BunnyWe are five friends, so we share among us. Between is for two. And we must arrive by sunset, which means not later than sunset.

🐹

Mo the MoleI'll dig! Hmm, it's an honest mistake, Fizz, but the H in honest is silent, so it starts with a vowel sound too.

🐿️

Nutty SquirrelFound it! A box hidden beneath the leaves, behind the stone!

HedgieAnd inside is… the biggest acorn in Bramblewood! We say the because there is only one biggest.

Everyone laughed and shared the acorn cake among themselves. And so the article-and-preposition adventure began…

💡 Big ideas

Let's learn it

Read each card, try the example sentences out loud (tap 🔊), then answer the Quick check.

🔤A or an? Listen to the sound

A and an mean 'one' or 'any one'. Use them with one thing that can be counted. Choose by the first sound, not the first letter!

an before a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u sounds): an apple, an elephant, an orange
a before a consonant sound: a shirt, a chameleon, a long time

Tricky word	First sound	Article
hour, honest, heir	silent h → 'ow', 'on'	an
university, uniform	'yoo' (y sound)	a
European, one-rupee coin	'yoo', 'wun'	a
MLA, X-ray, FIR	'em', 'ex', 'ef'	an
umbrella, uncle	'uh' (vowel sound)	an

Zoya waited for an hour. the h is silent: 'an our'
My sister studies at a university. university begins with a 'yoo' sound
It has been a long time since I saw her. a long time: a fixed phrase

Hedgie's trickSay it out loud! If your mouth has to bump between two vowel sounds (a apple), you need the n as a bridge: an apple. 🌉

Olympiad trap!Don't look at the letter, listen to the sound. A university (not an), an hour (not a). Also, the article follows the word right after it: an orange, but a big orange.

🧐 Quick check

Ishaan is ______ honest boy.

👉The: the special one

The points at a particular thing that both of us know about. Use the:

when something was mentioned before: Give me a dress. The dress should be blue.
when there is only one: the sun, the moon, the earth, the sky
with superlatives (-est, most): the largest, the most intelligent
with a specific person or place both know: the gardener, the mall, the people next door
in phrases like by the time, in the class, at the centre

The blue whale is the largest animal on earth. largest = superlative → the
The elephant has big ears but a short tail. the elephant = elephants as a kind of animal
Riya had left by the time we reached. by the time: a fixed phrase
The gardener shouted when Dev stepped on the plants. a particular gardener of that garden

Hedgie's trickAsk: “Which one?” If the answer is clear (that one, the only one, the best one), use the. If it's any one, use a/an.

Olympiad trap!Superlatives never take a: a largest ✗ → the largest ✓. And in an class ✗ → in the class ✓.

🧐 Quick check

Mount Everest is ______ highest mountain in the world.

🚫When we use no article

Sometimes the best article is no article at all. Leave it out:

before most names of people, cities and countries: Norway, India, Mumbai, Sara
before an adjective standing alone: The food is very good.
with by + transport: by train, by bus, by car
when a word like my, his, yesterday's, this is already there: yesterday's accident, my book
with plurals or uncountables in general: Dogs bark. Milk is healthy.

The reindeer is a native of Norway. country name: no article
My cousin's café is very good. adjective alone: no article
Kabir went to Delhi by train. by + transport: no article

Hedgie's trickIf the noun already has a 'pointer' word (my, your, this, Sara's, yesterday's), it does not need an article too. One pointer is enough! ☝️

Olympiad trap!Some country names do take the: the USA, the UK, the Netherlands (they contain words like States, Kingdom, or a plural).

🧐 Quick check

We visited ______ Japan last summer.

📦Prepositions of place: where is it?

A preposition shows the position of one thing compared with another. Picture a box and a ball!

Preposition	Meaning	Example
under / beneath	lower than, covered	buried under a tree
above / over	higher than	above the fireplace
behind	at the back of	ducks behind their mother
beside	next to	sat beside her mother
against	touching, leaning on	umbrella against the wall
between / among	two things / many things	between two friends · among the clutter

The two sisters shared the cake between them. two people → between
My eraser is somewhere among these papers. many things mixed up → among
The letter was hidden beneath the pile of books. beneath = under (a little more formal)
The statue stands at the centre of the park. There's a gap in the fence. centre of · middle of · gap in

Hedgie's trickBe-TWO-en has 'two' hidden in it, so it's for two. Among is for a crowd of three or more. 👫 vs 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Olympiad trap!beside = next to. besides = in addition to (Besides maths, I like art). And it's the middle of the road, never off (off means away from).

🧐 Quick check

The kitten is hiding ______ the bed. Only its tail is showing!

🧭Prepositions of direction and movement

Some prepositions show movement: which way something goes.

into = moving from outside to inside: jumped into the pool (but swimming in the pool = already inside)
through = in one side and out the other: looked through the keyhole
across = from one side to the other side of a surface: travelled across the country
towards = in the direction of: ran towards its owner
to = the place you reach: came to Mumbai · from = the starting point: from the top shelf
about = on the topic of: told me about his trip

The frog hopped into the pond. movement inside → into
Anaya peeped through the window. looking from one side to the other
Aarav walked across the bridge towards the temple. across = side to side · towards = direction

Hedgie's trickDraw an arrow in your head ➡️. If the thing is moving inside, use into; if it's already inside, use in.

Olympiad trap!You come to a place or come from a place. came of Mumbai ✗ → came to Mumbai ✓.

🧐 Quick check

The children ran ______ the classroom when the bell rang.

⏰Prepositions of time

Time prepositions tell when.

Preposition	Use	Example
at	exact time	at 7 o'clock
on	days and dates	on Monday
in	months, years, parts of day	in May, in the evening
since / for	starting point / length	since 2020 · for six months
from … till/to	start and end	from noon till evening
by / till	not later than / up to	reach by 8 · stay till Sunday

We played from morning till lunch. from…till go together as a pair
Please hand in your work by Friday. by = on or before Friday
Nani is staying with us till Sunday. till = the whole time up to Sunday

Hedgie's trickby is a deadline 🏁 (do it before then). till is a stretch ↔️ (keep doing it up to then).

Olympiad trap!Don't mix pairs: since noon till evening ✗ → from noon till evening ✓. And reach school till 7:30 ✗ → reach school by 7:30 ✓.

🧐 Quick check

The shop is open ______ 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

🗺️ Mind map

The whole chapter on one page

Tap a branch to focus on it. Can you explain each bubble to someone at home?

🃏 Flashcards

Flip & remember

Say the answer in your head before you flip. Be honest — "not yet" cards go to your Review Burrow for later.

📘 Book mission

Now practise in your workbook

Use a pencil. Do each set, then check with the answer key and tick it off here.

Set A · Book p.29–30 · Q1–10

Choose the article. Say the next word aloud for a/an, ask 'which one?' for the, and remember names and lone adjectives need no article.

Set B · Book p.30 · Q11–15

Article error hunt. Look for a before vowel sounds, a with superlatives and an where the is needed.

Set C · Book p.30–31 · Q16–25

Choose the preposition. Picture the scene: two or many? moving in or already inside? touching or under?

Set D · Book p.31 · Q26–30

Preposition error hunt: watch from…till pairs, came to (not of), middle of (not off) and by vs till.

Achievers (HOTS) · Book p.31–32 · Q31–35

Mixed articles and prepositions, including a two-blank question. Check both blanks before you choose.

📗 Open the answer key

🎁 Wrap-up

Remember these

Use a before a consonant sound and an before a vowel sound: an hour, an honest man, a university.
Use the for something particular or already mentioned, for one-of-a-kind things and with superlatives: the largest.
Use no article with names of people and most countries, adjectives alone, by train, and when my / yesterday's is already there.
Place prepositions: under/beneath, above, behind, beside, against. between two, among many.
Direction: into, through, across, towards, to. Time: at, on, in, from…till, by (deadline), since/for.

🦔 Teach Hedgie!

Fizz wrote: “A elephant came of the forest and stood in middle off the road.” Explain to Hedgie what is wrong and write the sentence correctly. Then teach him the difference between between and among with your own example.

Explaining something in your own words is the best way to make it stick.

How do you feel about this chapter?

Take the quiz 🧭

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