Saturday, May 12, 2012

Articles: 'a', 'an', 'the' or 'nil'


1.          Children need to visit ___ dentist every six months.
2.          There is no vaccination against ___ chicken pox.
3.          We expect to have ___ cure in the next 10 years.
4.          This fireplace is made of ___ marble.
5.          He is hoping to continue his study in ___ United States.
6.          Have you met ___ new Finance Director?
7.          What time do you have ___ lunch?
8.          What did you think of ___ church you visited?
9.          He was sent to ___ prison.
10.      He was reading ___ Straits Times.
11.   Where is the local history meeting? In ___ school.
12.   His father is ___ MP.
13.   She can play ___ violin very well.
14.   He said that he could not accept ___ charity.
Answers
1)         the
2)         nil
3)         a
4)         nil
5)         the (some geographical names (especially plurals) take the definite article)
6)         the
7)         nil  (Meals don't generally take an article unless for emphasis; The dinner she prepared was wonderful!)
8)         the (church, hospital, school only take articles when we visit for a purpose other than that they were intended for-so I went to church would be for purposes of worship)
9)         nil (prison, church, school, hospital don't need the article if you are there as an 'inmate' we would use the if we are only visiting; I'm going to the prison to see Mr James.)
10)      the newspapers need the in their titles
11)      the If we are not going there for the normal purpose of education, we should insert the.
12)      an
13)      the Musical instuments take the
14)      nil  Abstract nouns don't usually take an article unless we wish to make it specific; the charity given by the mother's union is always welcome.


1)         In my school, I met ___ four-year-old boy.
2)         He is ___ youngest man to win the award.
3)         Let’s sail to ___ Pacific.
4)         We finally arrived in ___ Singapore.
5)         He has been sailing since ___ age of seven.
6)         He was given ___ permission to miss school.

Answers  1) a  2) the 3) nil  4) nil  5) the   6) the

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"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away."

Henry David Thoreau