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Articles and Other Determiners

Follow these steps to edit your own papers for indefinite article use:
     ♦ Find and underline all singular count nouns in your writing.
     ♦ Is the noun nonspecific and mentioned for the first time?
     ♦ Does the noun or its adjective modifier begin with a consonant sound or a vowel sound?
     ♦ Add the appropriate indefinite article if you have omitted one.

Read the following sentences and select the correct indefinite article. Note other articles and determiners that are highlighted throughout the activity. The police incident recorded in sentences four through ten occurred in November 2006.

1.	---AAn accessory apartment, otherwise known as ---aan granny flat, is ---aan way to build ---aan efficiency unit in ---aan suburban area.
2.	---AAn granny flat can be ---aan source of income for ---aan homeowner. It is built in ---aan backyard or as ---aan addition to ---aan garage.
3.	---AAn attic or garage apartment was prohibited after World War II, but now these units are being allowed as one way to expand the supply of inexpensive rentals.
4.	---AAn twenty-three-year old bridegroom was killed in Queens in ---aan excessive burst of police gunfire after leaving his bachelor party at ---aan strip club. Fifty shots were fired after the man had twice driven his car into ---aan minivan carrying undercover police officers who were investigating the club.
5.	Experts have offered ---aan theory about the shooting. Such ---aan outburst of gunfire is known as "contagious shooting"--gunfire that spreads among officers who believe they are facing ---aan serious threat.
6.	The Kalua Club, where the bridegroom incident occured, is ---aan site of frequent drug, weapon, and prostitution complaints in Jamaica, Queens.  NoteThere are many such sites in Queens. The Kalua Club is one of them.
7.	---AAn undercover agent inside the club overheard ---aan exchange between ---aan stripper and ---aan man that led the officer to believe the man was armed. He alerted the officers outside who were acting as backup.
8.	The police claim that the shooting was ---aan abberation. According to ---aan department spokesman, 3.2 is the average number of shots fired per incident this year.
9.	This phenomenon also happened ---anaθ year ago in Queens when eight officers fired 43 shots at ---aanthe armed man in Queens and killed him.
10.	In ---aanthe related incident, several officers fired 26 shots at ---aanthe pit bull that had taken ---aanthe chunk out of ---aantheofficer's leg.

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