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