SUBJECT AREA REVIEW

Definite and indefinite articles

What is an article?

Basically, articles are either definite or indefinite. They combine to a noun to indicate
the type of reference being made by the noun.

 The definite article is the.

 The indefinite article is a / an.

The indefinite article a or an:

The article a / an is used when we do not specify the things or people we are talking
about:

 I met a friend.
 I work in a factory in New York.
 I borrowed a pencil from a passenger sitting next to me.

The indefinite article a is used before a consonant sound:

 a dog.
 a pilot
 a teacher.
 a university

The indefinite article an is used before a vowel sound:

 an engineer.
 an elephant.
 an athlete

The definite article the:

It's used when the speaker talks about a specific object that both the person speaking
and the listener know.

 The car over there is fast.

 The president of the United States is giving a speech tonight.

When we speak of something or someone for the first time we use a or an, the next time
we repeat that object we use the definite article the.

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  I live in a house. The house is quite old and has four bedrooms.
 I ate in a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant was very good.

No article:

1. Do not use an article with countries, states, counties or provinces, lakes and
mountains except when the country is a collection of states such as "The United
States".

 He lives in Washington near Mount Rainier.

 They live in Northern British Columbia.
 They climbed Mount Everest.

2. We do not normally use an article with plurals and uncountable nouns to talk
about things in general:

 He writes books.
 She likes sweets.
 Do you like jazz music?
 She ate bread with butter in the morning.

Countable and uncountable nouns

Using English articles with countable and uncountable nouns may be confusing.

The can be used with uncountable nouns, or the article can be dropped entirely as
mentioned above.

1. "The two countries reached the peace after a long disastrous war" (some
specific peace treaty) or "The two countries reached peace after a long
disastrous war" (any peace).
2. "He drank the water" (some specific water- for example, the water his wife
brought him from the kitchen) or "He drank water." (any water)

It is unusual to use a/an for uncountable nouns. You can't say "I'd like a milk"

a/an can be used only with countable nouns.

1. I'd like a piece of cake.

2. I lent him a book.
3. I drank a cup of tea.

Exercise 1
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Choose the correct definite or indefinite article: "the", "a", "an" or "x" (zero article)

1) I bought …………………………………… pair of shoes.

2) I saw ……………………………………… movie last night.
3) They are staying at……………………… ……. ..hotel.
4) I think …………………………man over there is very unfriendly.
5) I do not like ……………………………….. basketball.
6) That is …………………………………….. problem I told you about.
7) ……………………………………night is quiet. Let's take a walk!
8) ………………………………………price of gas keeps rising.
9) John traveled to ………………………….. Mexico.
10) Juan is …………………………………….. Spanish.
11) I read …………………………amazing story yesterday.
12) My brother does not eat …………………. chicken.
13) …………………… love is such …………. beautiful thing.
14) I live in ……………apartment. ………… .Apartment is new.
15) I would like……………………………… piece of cake.
16) I was in ……..Japanese restaurant. …… restaurant served good food.
17) Sara can play…………………………….. guitar.

Exercise 2

Choose the correct article in each sentence.

1) Did you bring……………………………………….. (a, an, the) umbrella?

2) Are you looking for ……………………………….. (a, an, the) shampoo?
3) I checked……………………………………………(a, an, the) mailbox again.

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4) Can I have…………………………………………..(a, an, the) spoon please?
5) I was born into…………………. ……………….. (a, an, the) poor family.
6) She will come back in……………………………. (a, an, the) hour.
7) Have you been to………………………………….. (a, an, the) Space Needle Tower in
Seattle?
8) I would love to talk to one of …………………..…(a, an, the) managers.
9) What ………………………………………………. (a, an, the) amazing view !
10) The helicopter landed on……………………(a, an, the) roof of a building.

Exercise 3

In the following sentences supply the articles (a, an, or the) if they are necessary. If no
article is necessary, leave the space blank.

1. Jason’s father bought him……………bicycle that he had wanted for his birthday.
2. ……………Statue of Liberty was a gift of friendship from ……….... France to
……….. United States.
3. Rita is studying…………English and……… Math this semester.
4. ………. Judge asked ………. Witness to tell ………. Truth.
5. Please give me ……… cup of ……… coffee with ……….cream and ………..
sugar.
6. ……….big books on …….table are for my history class.
7. No one in …….. Spanish class knew……….correct answer to ………Mrs. Perez’s
question.
8. My…….. car is four years old, and it still runs well.
9. When you go to……..store, please buy……..bottle of ……… chocolate milk and
……….dozen oranges.

10.There are only……..few seats left for………tonight’s musical at …….. university.

11. John and Marcy went to ……..school yesterday and then studied in……..library
before returning home.

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12. ……..Lake Erie is one of………five Great Lakes in ……..North America.

13.On our trip to ……..Spain, we crossed…………Atlantic Ocean.

14………Mount Rushmore is the site of ……….magnificent tribute to …….

Four great American presidents.

15.What did you eat for……..breakfast this morning ?

16. Louie played……….basketball and………baseball at ……..boys’ club this year.

17.Rita plays……..violin and her sister plays ………guitar.

18. While we were in………Alaska, we saw……….Eskimo village.

19. Phil can’t go to ………movies tonight because he has to write ………. Essay.

20. David attended……….Princeton University.

21. Harry has been admitted to ……… School of Medicine at ……….. Midwestern
university.

22. Mel’s grandmother is in…….hospital, so we went to visit her ……last night.

23. ………political science class is taking……..trip to …….. United Arab Emirates

in……spring.

24. …….Queen Elisabeth II is …….monarch of …….Great Britain.

25. ……… Declaration of Independence was drawn up in 1976.

26. Scientists sent ……..expedition to…….Mars during……..1990s.

27. Last night there was ………bird singing outside my house.

28. ………chair that you are sitting in is broken.

29. ………Civil War was fought in ………United States between 1861 and 1865.

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30………Florida State University is smaller than…….University of Florida.