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
______________________ are very polite Britishes / The British / The British people / The Britishes
What ______________________ noisy children! -- / an / the / a
______________________ are very warm The Spanish / Spanish people / The Spanish people
There's no rest for ______________________ (weary = tired) the wearies / the weary
He always drives at 100 kilometres ______________________ hour a / -- / the / an
She brought comfort to ______________________ the sicks / sick / sicks / the sick
What ______________________ interesting animals! a / an / -- / the
It was a terrible accident, but the injured ______________________ better is / are
______________________ ______________________ very poor people is / The homeless / are / Homelesses
What ______________________ nice day! a / -- / the
This light flashes three times ______________________ second the / a / for the / in the / at a / every the
You must check this counter three times ______________________ day for the / in the / for a / a / in / the
______________________ sister are on a trip My father and my / My father and the / My father and
In our society there is a problem between ______________________ and ______________________ the poor / the rich people / the poor people / the riches / the rich / the poors
The elderly ______________________ a lot of money in health care spend / spends
______________________ are always on time Germans / The German
We meet once ______________________ year for the / for a / a / the / an / for
We visit my grandmother twice ______________________ week an / -- / the / a
I've got a friend ______________________ in Dorset and a cousin / and cousin
______________________ dad live down the street My mum and my / My mum and / Mum and my
______________________ have many problems to find a job now Young / The young / Youngs / The youngs
What ______________________ horrible car! the / -- / a
What ______________________ strange man! a / -- / the
______________________ are very friendly Spaniards / The Spanish
You're not coming? Oh, what ______________________ pity! a / -- / an / the
What ______________________ nice people! an / a / the / --
______________________ had a new baby King and the queen / King and queen / The king and queen / The king and the queen
That is a special law for ______________________ the disabled / disableds / the disableds
It's three pounds ______________________ a kilo / the kilos / the kilo
They dine out three times ______________________ month for / a / -- / for a / every the / every a / the
What ______________________ dirty shirt! the / a / --
What ______________________ white milk! the / a / an / --
What ______________________ hot tea! the / an / -- / a
I see him once ______________________ year a / -- / the / in the / every the / an
______________________ Irish have a different accent The / The Irishes / Irishes / The Irish people / --
I need ______________________ knife and ______________________ fork an / an / -- / the / -- / a / a / the
What ______________________ cold weather! an / the / a / --
What ______________________ excellent wine! the / -- / a / an
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)