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