ARTICLES II
Exercise 1
Fill in the correct indefinite article a or an.
1. I have _______ big flat in London.
2. She wants to be _______ actor.
3. He’s _______ accountant.
4. David has _______ French girlfriend.
5. Sony’s _______ Japanese company.
6. Granada is _______ old city.
7. China is _______ exciting country.
8. I'm in _______ English class.
9. Hans is _______ waiter.
10. She has _______ Italian boyfriend.
11. A Mercedes is _______ German car.
Exercise 2
Write a or an on the correct place in the sentence.
1. I have nice doctor. __________________________________
2. This is awful restaurant! __________________________________
3. It’s fantastic city. __________________________________
4. We live in small flat in London. __________________________________
5. He drives Japanese car. __________________________________
6. Do you have German girlfriend? __________________________________
7. Apple is American company. __________________________________
8. I have good job. __________________________________
9. I work in French restaurant. __________________________________
10. Timothy is English teacher. __________________________________
11. They have office in the center of town. __________________________________
Exercise 3
Fill in: a or an.
1. I’ve got _____ hole in my shoe.
2. These shoes have cost me _____ arm and _____ leg.
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3. My plumber charges $20 _____ hour.
4. My birthday is on _____ Friday this year.
5. There’s _____ Mrs. Evans to see you.
6. My nephew has _____ strange habit: He always has _____ hamburger for
breakfast.
7. The man who was arrested is _____ U.S. citizen.
8. The teacher drew _____ horizontal line on the board.
9. Hans Christian Andersen wrote _____ story about _____ ugly duckling.
10. _____ English proverb says: “_____ apple _____ day keeps the doctor away.”
11. She earns $100,000 _____ year.
12. All I had for lunch was _____ yogurt.
13. She works as _____ hospital nurse I Brazil.
14. I took _____ non-stop flight to Leipzig.
15. My grandfather was _____ RAF pilot.
16. _____ hostile crowd of about 15,000 demonstrated against the new lax.
17. Do you find Johnny Depp _____ handsome man?
18. _____ dishwasher is _____ useful machine.
19. Peter works as _____ interpreter for the Common Market.
20. Jack’s a policeman, but he doesn’t wear _____ uniform.
Exercise 4
Fill in: a or an.
A am from Seattle, Washington. Seattle is _____ city in the United States. It is near the
border of Canada in the northwest corner of the USA. I live in _____ terrace house in
“Bear Street”, which was built more than _____ century ago.
I am _____ English teacher at _____ school in the center of Seattle. My leisure
activities are eating Italian food, visiting museums and taking photographs. Sometimes, I
go to _____ Italian restaurant in Seattle. The restaurant is called “Luigi’s”. Luigi is
_____ honest, middle-aged Italian immigrant, in whose restaurant you can have _____
decent meal at _____ reasonable price.
A few weeks ago, I read _____ article in _____ UNESCO publication about Luigi’s
hometown: Sienna. The city was described as _____ highly recommended holiday
destination for art lovers. The pictures showed _____ unique collection of ancient
buildings, and I decided to spend the coming summer holidays in Tuscany. The following
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day, I spent _____ hour or two with Luigi discussing some places of interest which I will
visit. And now I’m on my way to book _____ airline ticket.
Exercise 5
Insert a, an, the or Ø
1. I bought _____ CD and a book for _____ friend for her birthday. Unfortunately,
she’s got _____ CD. I’ll take it back tomorrow.
2. “Where are _____ children?” “They’re in _____ garden.”
3. My sister’s _____ teacher in _____ school near Leicester. She has three children,
two girls and _____ boy. _____ girls are in her class at school, but _____ boy
isn’t old enough for school yet.
4. Jane and Bill are _____ very nice couple. She has _____ clothes shop, and he
works in _____ office in _____ center of _____ town.
5. “Where are my shoes?” “On _____ floor in _____ kitchen.”
6. I work for _____ company that makes _____ carpets. I always go to work by
_____ train. This morning _____ train was late.
7. “How much are driving lessons?” “Twenty-five pounds _____ hour.”
8. When you come to bed, can you feed _____ cat and turn off _____ lights?
9. Last night we had _____ dinner in _____ fantastic restaurant.
10. What’s _____ name of _____ Indian restaurant in Queen Street?
11. We arrived in _____ Paris on _____ third of September.
Exercise 6
Insert a, an, the or some
During _______ Christmas holidays, I flew to Los Angeles to visit with _______
friends. They picked me up at _______ airport in _______ old car one of them was
leasing. Since _______ company my friend was working for required him to have
_______ car, he got reimbursed for most of his driving expenses. It was _______ first
car any of them had ever had. Not having _______ car in Los Angeles is not really
_______ option since there is no public transportation system to speak of. As _______
result, _______ traffic is just awful.
They were renting _______ apartment in Santa Monica, _______ really nice town on
_______ beach about twenty miles from _______ center of _______ city. _______
apartment building they lived in even had _______ swimming pool. We went in
_______ pool every day. It was fine as long as _______ pool was in _______ sun.
From _______ apartment we could walk to most of _______ stores we needed. The
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only thing that we had to take _______ car for was going to _______ grocery store.
There was simply no place to buy groceries in _______ neighborhood.
I had hoped to go swimming in _______ ocean, but I quickly discovered that _______
water was too cold. My friends said that if I wanted to go swimming, I would have to get
_______ wet suit. There is _______ current of icy-cold water that comes down
_______ coast from Alaska. Even in _______ summer, _______ water is pretty cold.
Exercise 7
Insert a/an or the. Use Ø if no article is used because a plural countable noun or non-
countable noun is being used to make a generalization.
______ travel by ______ air has become everyone’s favorite topic to complain about.
We all have heard ______ stories about ______ passengers being stuck for hours on
______ runways and ______ stories about ______ endless lines at ______ ticket
counters. These are all true. ______ problem is that none of us is willing to pay what it
would cost to fix ______ problems. None of us wants to pay ______ penny more than
we have to. When ______ airlines try to raise ______ prices to improve their services,
we all go to ______ airlines that have not raised their prices. When ______ airports try
to get approval to raise ______ taxes to pay for ______ airport improvements, we vote
______ bond issues down.
Exercise 8
Insert a, an, the or Ø.
(1) (2) (3)
There was ______ knock on ______ door. I opened it and found ______ small
(4) (5)
dark man in ______ blue overcoat an ______ woolen cap.
(6) (7) (8)
He said he was ______ employee of ______ gas company and had come to read
______ meter.
(9) (10) (11)
But I had ______ suspicion that he wasn’t speaking ______ truth because
(12)
______ meter readers usually wear ______ peaked caps.
(13) (14) (15)
However, I took him to ______ meter, which is in ______ dark corner under
______ stairs ((16) ______ meters are usually in (17)
______ dark corners under (18)
______ stairs).
(19) (20)
I asked if he had ______ torch ; he said he disliked torches and always read
(21) (22)
______ meters by ______ light of ______ match.
(23) (24) (25)
I remarked that if there was ______ leak in ______ gas pipe there might be
(26)
______ explosion while he was reading ______ meter.
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(27) (28) (29) (30)
He said, “As ______ matter of ______ fact, there was ______ explosion in
(31) (32)
______ last house I visited ; and Mr. Brown, ______ owner of ______ house, was
(33)
burnt in ______ face.”
(34) (35) (36)
“Mr. Brown was holding ______ lighted match at ______ time of ______
explosion.”
(37) (38)
To prevent ______ possible repetition of this accident, I lent him ______ torch.
(39) (40) (41)
He switched on ______ torch, read ______ meter and wrote ______ reading
(42) (43)
down on ______ back of ______ envelope.
(44) (45) (46)
I said in ______ surprise that ______ meter readers usually put ______
(47)
readings down in ______ book.
(48) (49)
He said that he had had ______ book but that it had been burnt in ______ fire in
(50)
______ Mr. Brown’s house.
(51) (52)
By this time I had come to ______ conclusion that he wasn’t ______ genuine
(53) (54) (55)
meter reader ; and ______ moment he left ______ house I rand ______
police.
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KEY
Exercise 1
1. a - 2. an - 3. an - 4. a - 5. a - 6. an - 7. an - 8. an - 9. a - 10. an - 11. a
Exercise 2
1. I have a nice doctor. 7. Apple is an American company.
2. This is an awful restaurant. 8. I have a good job.
3. It’s a fantastic city. 9. I work in a French restaurant.
4. We live in a small flat in London. 10. Timothy is an English teacher.
5. He drives a Japanese car. 11. They have an office in the center of town.
6. Do you have a German girlfriend?
Exercise 3
1. a - 2. an ; a - 3. an - 4. a - 5. a - 6. a ; a - 7. a - 8. a - 9. a ; an - 10. An ; an ; a - 11. a - 12. a - 13. a -
14. a - 15. an - 16. A - 17. a - 18. A - ; a - 19. an - 20. a
Exercise 4
A am from Seattle, Washington. Seattle is a city in the United States. It is near the border of Canada in the
northwest corner of the USA. I live in a terrace house in “Bear Street”, which was built more than a century
ago.
I am an English teacher at a school in the center of Seattle. My leisure activities are eating Italian food,
visiting museums and taking photographs. Sometimes, I go to an Italian restaurant in Seattle. The
restaurant is called “Luigi’s”. Luigi is an honest, middle-aged Italian immigrant, in whose restaurant you can
have a decent meal at a reasonable price.
A few weeks ago, I read an article in a UNESCO publication about Luigi’s hometown: Sienna. The city was
described as a highly recommended holiday destination for art lovers. The pictures showed a unique
collection of ancient buildings, and I decided to spend the coming summer holidays in Tuscany. The following
day, I spent an hour or two with Luigi discussing some places of interest which I will visit. And now I’m on
my way to book an airline ticket.
Exercise 5
1. a - a - the 4. a - a - an - the - Ø 8. the - the
2. the - the 5. the - the 9. Ø- a
3. a - a - a - The - the 6. a - Ø - Ø - the 10. the - the
7. an 11. Ø- the
Exercise 6
During the Christmas holidays, I flew to Los Angeles to visit with some friends. They picked me up at the
airport in an old car one of them was leasing. Since the company my friend was working for required him to
have a car, he got reimbursed for most of his driving expenses. It was the first car any of them had ever
had. Not having a car in Los Angeles is not really an option since there is no public transportation system to
speak of. As a result, the traffic is just awful.
They were renting an apartment in Santa Monica, a really nice town on the beach about twenty miles from
the center of the city. The apartment building they lived in even had a swimming pool. We went in the pool
every day. It was fine as long as the pool was in the sun. From the apartment we could walk to most of the
stores we needed. The only thing that we had to take the car for was going to the grocery store. There was
simply no place to buy groceries in the neighborhood.
I had hoped to go swimming in the ocean, but I quickly discovered that the water was too cold. My friends
said that if I wanted to go swimming, I would have to get a wet suit. There is a current of icy-cold water that
comes down the coast from Alaska. Even in the summer, the water is pretty cold.
Exercise 7
Ø Travel by Ø air has become everyone’s favorite topic to complain about. We all have heard Ø stories about
Ø passengers being stuck for hours on Ø runways and Ø stories about Ø [the is also OK] endless lines at Ø
ticket counters. These are all true. The problem is that none of us is willing to pay what it would cost to fix
the problems. None of us wants to pay a penny more than we have to. When Ø airlines try to raise Ø prices
to improve their services, we all go to the airlines that have not raised their prices. When Ø airports try to
get approval to raise Ø taxes to pay for Ø airport improvements, we vote the [Ø is also OK] bond issues
down.
Exercise 8
1. a - 2. the - 3. a - 4. a - 5. a - 6. an - 7. the - 8. the - 9. a - 10. the - 11. Ø 12. Ø - 13. the - 14. a - 15.
the - 16. Ø - 17. Ø - 18. Ø or the - 19. a - 20. Ø - 21. the - 22. a - 23. a - 24. a or the - 25. an - 26. the -
27. a - 28. Ø - 29. an - 30. the - 31. the - 32. the - 33. the - 34. a - 35. the - 36. the - 37. a - 38. a - 39.
the - 40. the - 41. the - 42. the - 43. an - 44. Ø - 45. Ø - 46. Ø or the - 47. a - 48. a - 49. the - 50. Ø - 51.
the - 52. a - 53. the - 54. the - 55. the
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