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