MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH

Before doing this activity you may need to read the text you will find at the end


  Drag&Drop
Use of the Article: Special cases
Focus Grammar
Description Pracise some special cases in the use of the English article. Complete the blanks with the best option available.
Instructions Click on the words at the bottom and drag them into the empty boxes of the sentence to complete it.
 
Gapped text Items
The elderly ______________________ a lot of money in health care spends / spend
What ______________________ nice day! the / a / --
______________________ sister are on a trip My father and my / My father and the / My father and
I need ______________________ knife and ______________________ fork -- / the / -- / a / a / an / the / an
What ______________________ hot tea! the / a / an / --
We meet once ______________________ year a / an / the / for a / for / for the
______________________ are very polite The British / The Britishes / Britishes / The British people
She brought comfort to ______________________ sicks / the sicks / sick / the sick
What ______________________ strange man! the / -- / a
What ______________________ cold weather! -- / an / the / a
What ______________________ horrible car! -- / a / the
They dine out three times ______________________ month for / every the / -- / every a / the / for a / a
What ______________________ white milk! an / -- / a / the
What ______________________ noisy children! a / -- / the / an
In our society there is a problem between ______________________ and ______________________ the poor people / the rich / the riches / the poors / the rich people / the poor
______________________ dad live down the street Mum and my / My mum and my / My mum and
He always drives at 100 kilometres ______________________ hour an / the / -- / a
What ______________________ dirty shirt! a / -- / the
______________________ Irish have a different accent The Irishes / -- / The / Irishes / The Irish people
There's no rest for ______________________ (weary = tired) the wearies / the weary
We visit my grandmother twice ______________________ week the / a / an / --
______________________ had a new baby The king and the queen / King and queen / The king and queen / King and the queen
What ______________________ excellent wine! a / -- / an / the
______________________ are very warm The Spanish people / The Spanish / Spanish people
What ______________________ interesting animals! a / -- / an / the
______________________ ______________________ very poor people Homelesses / are / The homeless / is
______________________ have many problems to find a job now The young / Youngs / The youngs / Young
This light flashes three times ______________________ second in the / at a / every the / for the / a / the
______________________ are always on time The German / Germans
You must check this counter three times ______________________ day a / for a / the / in / for the / in the
You're not coming? Oh, what ______________________ pity! an / the / a / --
What ______________________ nice people! an / a / the / --
I've got a friend ______________________ in Dorset and a cousin / and cousin
It was a terrible accident, but the injured ______________________ better is / are
That is a special law for ______________________ the disabled / the disableds / disableds
It's three pounds ______________________ a kilo / the kilos / the kilo
______________________ are very friendly Spaniards / The Spanish
I see him once ______________________ year every the / -- / the / a / an / in the
Total number of items: 38
This is an activity from Multimedia-English www.multimedia-english.com
 

SPECIAL USES OF "THE"


THE  + adjectives

We use THE with adjectives to talk about general groups of people having that quality (you don’t need a noun). In this case we use a plural verb.  

- The young = the young people
- The homeless are specially vulnerable in winter
- Do you think the rich should pay more taxes to help the poor?
 
More common examples:  the young / the old / the elderly / the poor / the unemployed / the homeless /  the sick / the disabled / the injured / the dead

We also use this same construction with some nationality adjectives with no equivalent noun:
 
- The British are worried about violence in schools
- There was a conflict between the English and the Welsh
 
Other nationalities have a noun, so they don't use that construction:
- Germans are interested in new markets (not: The German are...)
- Russians have a very complicated history
- Spaniards have one of the best public health systems in the world

SPECIAL USES OF "A"


We use A meaning "per" (distributive)

- That’s two pounds a kilo = that's two pounds per kilo (every kilo is two pounds, so 3 kilos is 6 pounds)

- He was driving at sixty miles an hour
- I go to the cinema twice a month (= two times every month)
 
Before singular count nouns in exclamations.

- What a day!  (countable singular)
- What a pretty girl!  (countable singular)
but:
- What nice weather!  (uncountable)
- What pretty girls!  (countable plural)

exception: What a pity! (uncountable)
 
We often suppress the article (or possessive) after the conjunction "and" in a pair of things that often go together.

- I need a knife and fork
- He went out with a raincoat and umbrella
- Those are the king and queen
- My uncle and aunt came to visit me
but:
- I found a hat and a camera in the car  (not: a hat and camera)