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