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Indefinite Articles- A & An for Describing Companies and Jobs

A LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS

a vs an before names of jobs, kinds of companies and nationality adjectives, with two fun speaking activities, and country and nationality words presentation and practice

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Lesson Plan Content:


A/ An for describing companies and jobs

What is the normal answer to “What do you do?”/ “What’s your job?”?

What about the normal answer to “What kind of company do you work for?”

Which words usually follow “I’m…” and “It’s…” in the answers above?

Brainstorm possible jobs in the boxes below: 

I’m a/ He’s a/ She’s a ________________

 

I’m an/ He’s an/ She’s an ____________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Put one letter into each of the gaps below to make possible words to add to the table above, using the “a” or “an” to help guess the first letter. Some letters are used more than once.  

I’m an ____________________ccountant

He’s an _____________________rchitect

She’s an _______________________rtist

I’m an ________________________uditor

He’s a _____________________ank clerk

She’s a _______________________anker

She’s a ___________________ameraman

I’m a _________________________ashier

He’s a _____________________onsultant

I’m a ______________ram school teacher

She’s a ______________________irector

I’m a _________________________octor

He’s an _____________________ngineer

She’s an ___________________xecutive

I’m a ______________________ournalist

He’s a _______________________awyer

I’m a _______________________ecturer

She’s a _____________________anager

He’s a _______________________anny

I’m an __________________ffice worker

He’s an _____________________ptician

She’s a _____________ersonal assistant (= She’s a ___A)

I’m a ___________________hotographer

I’m a __________________________ilot

He’s a ___________________eceptionist

She’s a ______________esearch analyst

I’m a __________________ales assistant

He’s a _____________________ales rep

She’s a _________________ecurity guard

He’s a ________________ervice engineer

He’s a _____________________echnician

She’s a _____________elephone operator

He’s a ______________elevision presenter

I’m a _________________________rainee

He’s an ____________________nderwriter

Hint: The words above are in alphabetical order.

 

Do the same with these kinds of company:

It’s an _______________dvertising company.

It’s an ________________erospace company.

It’s an ___________________________irline.

It’s an ___________________rchitecture firm.

It’s an _______________utomobile company (= a car company). 

It’s a ____________________________ank.

It’s a ___________________amera company.

It’s a __________________hemical company.

It’s a ___________________lothing company (= fashion company). 

It’s a _______________onstruction company (= builder’s).

It’s a _________________osmetics company.

It’s a ___________________epartment store.

It’s a ____________________rinks company.

It’s a _____________________rug company (= pharmaceutical company).

It’s an ________________lectronics company.

It’s an ______________ngineering company.

It’s an _____________ntertainment company.

It’s a __________________ast food company.

It’s a ___________________inance company. 

It’s a _____________________ood company.

It’s a __________________urniture company.

It’s a ________________________otel chain.

It’s an_________________nsurance company. 

It’s an_____________nternet search company.

It’s an _______________________T company (= a computer company).

It’s a ___________________________aw firm.

It’s a ___________________ogistics company (= delivery company). 

It’s a _____________________ining company (= commodities company). 

It’s a ________________obile phone company.

It’s a ______________________usic company.

It’s a _________________________ewspaper.

It’s an _______________________il company (= petrochemical company).

It’s an ______________________nline retailer.

It’s an ________________utsourcing company.

It’s a __________________ackaging company.

It’s a __________________ublishing company.

It’s a __________________oft drinks company.

It’s a ___________________oftware company.

It’s a _________________portswear company.

It’s a __________________tationery company.

It’s a ___________________upermarket chain.

It’s a __________elecommuncations company (= phone company).

It’s a _______________________oy company.

It’s a ______________________________yre (= ____________ire) company.

It’s a _________________hite goods company.


Fill in the first letter of the nationality words below, using the “a” or “an” to help.

It’s an _________________merican soft drinks company.

It’s an ___________________ustralian mining company.

It’s a ___________________ritish white goods company.

It’s a __________________anadian insurance company.

It’s a ____________________hinese computer company.

It’s a ____________________anish electronics company.

It’s a ____________________________utch oil company.

It’s a __________________innish mobile phone company.

It’s a __________________________rench tyre company.

It’s a ___________________erman sports good company.

It’s an ___________________ndian outsourcing company.

It’s an _________________________________rish bank.

It’s an ______________________talian fashion company.

It’s a _________________________ apanese newspaper.

It’s a ________________________________orean airline.

It’s a __________________alaysian automobile company.

It’s a ____________________ussian aerospace company.

It’s a ____________panish telecommunications company.

It’s a _____________________wedish furniture company.

It’s a __________________________wiss food company.

What are the names of the countries that those companies come from?

Can you think of any examples of companies which match any of the explanations above? Think of a company, read the line above that matches that company without saying the company name, and see if your partner can guess which company you are thinking of.

 

A/ an for describing your company and job meeting people practice

Roleplay meeting people in a trade fair or conference from the beginning to the end of the conversation, pretending that you have the job, type of company, nationality of company or nationality of the card you are given. If you get a country or nationality card, you can pretend that is of your company and/ or of yourself, but make sure you use the nationality and/ or country word in the right way. Make up the other details which aren’t on your card.

advertising

airline

architect

auditor

 

Austria

bank clerk

banker

businessman

 

cameraman

Canada

cashier

chemical

 

construction

cram school teacher

Danish

defence

 

department store

drug

(= pharmaceutical)

Dutch

Finland

 

France

furniture company

German

Indian

 

insurance

Irish

law

lecturer

 

mechanic/ service engineer

middle manager

mining (= commodities)

office worker

oil (= petrochemical)

optician

 

outsourcing

packaging

photographer

receptionist

Russia

security guard

 

soft drinks

Spain

stationery

Swedish

 

Swiss

Taiwan

television presenter

tyre (= tire)

 

UK

underwriter

USA

white goods

 

Look at the whole list and ask any questions you have.

Make full sentences out of these words, making sure you include “a” or “an” where necessary.

  • Austrian
  • Indian
  • Irish
  • Swedish
  • advertising
  • auditor
  • bank clerk
  • white goods

Put those words into the gaps below. Different answers are possible, but just use each one once.

It’s a _______________ company.

It’s an ______________ company.

 

I’m a ____________________________.

I’m an ________________________.

 

I’m from _______________________.

 

I’m ___________________________.

 

It’s a ________________ pharmaceutical company.

It’s an ____________ drinks company.

 

Find country words above and change them to nationality words.

Find nationality words above and change them to country words.

Find jobs above which seem similar and explain the differences.

 

A/ An to describe companies and jobs guessing game

Describe a company below until your partner guesses. They are arranged by country.

Useful phrases                  It’s a/ an (nationality) (kind of company) company. 

It’s a/an (nationality) company.      It’s a/an (kind of company) company.     

It’s based in…                    Its HQ is in…

It’s famous for…                   Its most famous product is…

In this country, it…                 It’s the market leader in…

 

Country

 

 

 

 

Adjective/ Nationality

 

 

 

 

Companies

Amazon.com

Avon

Boeing

Citigroup

Coca Cola

Dell

DuPont

Estee Lauder

ExxonMobil

FedEx

Gap

GM

Goodyear

Google

Hershey’s

Hertz

HJ Heinz

IBM

Mattel

Met Life

Microsoft

Nike

Northwest

Pfizer

Subway

Wal-Mart

Asahi Shimbun

Bridgestone

Canon

Dentsu

Fast Retailing

JAL

Kao

Kenwood

Kikkoman

Kirin

Mitsubishi UFJ

Nissan

NTT

Pentel

Roland

Sekisui

Shiseido

Subaru

Tomy

Toray

BAE Systems

BP

Burberry

Dunlop

Dyson

Foster and Partners

GlaxoSmithKline

Harrods

Land Rover

Parker

Prudential

Tesco

The Guardian

Virgin Atlantic

Vodafone

Adidas

BASF

Continental

DHL

Grundig

Hugo Boss

Leica

Lufthansa

Mercedes Benz

Munich Re

Nivea

SAP

Siemens

Stabilo

T-Mobile

Country

 

 

 

 

Adjective/ Nationality

 

 

 

 

Companies

Carlsberg

Bang and Olufsen

LEGO

Maersk

Banco Santander

Mapfre

Seat

Telefonica

Zara

Adecco

Bally

Credit Suisse

Logitech

Nestle

Roche

BHP Billiton

Commonwealth Bank

Foster’s Group

Quantas

 


Country

 

 

 

 

Adjective/ Nationality

 

 

 

 

Companies

AXA

BNP Paribas

Bic

Canal +

Carrefour

Chanel

Danone

L’Oreal

Michelin

Printemps

Renault

Total

Amoy

Cathy Pacific

Golden Harvest

HSBC

Hutchinson -Whampoa

South China-Morning Post

 

Alibaba

Cosco

Haier

Lenovo

Ping An

Sinopec

Tsingtao

 

Astra Zeneca

Electrolux

H&M

IKEA

Tetra Pak

Volvo

 

 

Country

 

 

 

 

Adjective/ Nationality

 

 

 

 

Companies

Asiana

Hite

Kia

LG

Lotte

 

Aegon

Heineken

ING

KLM

Phillips

Royal Dutch Shell

TNT

Diadora

Fiat

Generali Group

Gucci

Intesa Sanpaolo

Pirelli

Blackberry

Four Seasons

IMAX

Labatt’s

Sun Life

 

Country

 

 

 

 

Adjective/ Nationality

 

 

 

 

Companies

Aeroflot

Gazprom

Sberbank

Tupolev

Hindustan Times

Infosys

Kingfisher

Tata

AIB

Guinness

Ryan Air

Banco Bradesco

Petrobras

Varig

 

Country

 

 

 

 

Adjective/ Nationality

 

 

 

 

Companies

Petronas

Proton

Finnair

Nokia

Acer

Eva Airways

Manila Times

San Miguel

Add the country and nationality words to the gaps above. Then check your answers as a class, writing the stress patterns of any which you pronounce incorrectly.

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