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