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