Articles and Determiners Questions and Answers

Answer: A

No article is needed, marked X: 'Man is the only animal that uses fire.'

When man is used in the general sense of the human race or mankind, it takes no article, just as one says 'Man is mortal'. The sentence makes a statement about humanity as a whole, not about one particular man.

'A man' or 'an man' would refer to a single, unspecified man, and 'an' is impossible before the consonant sound of man. 'The man' would point to a particular man already known. None of these gives the general sense the sentence needs.

Answer: D

The suitable article is a: 'Aluminium is a useful metal.'

The choice between a and an depends on the first sound of the next word, not its first letter. 'Useful' begins with the consonant sound /y/ (yoo-sful), so it takes 'a', just as in 'a university' or 'a uniform'.

'An' would be used before a vowel sound. 'The' would point to one particular metal already known, which does not fit a general statement. 'Very' is not an article, and 'Aluminium is very useful metal' is ungrammatical.

Answer: B

The correct article is a: the film had a bad review.

Review is a singular countable noun mentioned for the first time, so it needs the indefinite article. Since 'bad' begins with a consonant sound, the form is a.

'The bad review' would point to a review already known to the reader. 'An' is used before vowel sounds. Leaving out the article is wrong because a singular countable noun cannot stand alone here.

Answer: B

The correct article is a: She has a French name.

'Name' is a singular countable noun mentioned for the first time and not identified further, so the indefinite article is used. 'French' begins with a consonant sound, so the form is a.

'The French name' would refer to a particular name already known, 'an' is used before vowel sounds, and the countable noun 'name' cannot stand without an article.

Answer: C

The article is the: River Ganges is the largest river in India.

A superlative such as largest picks out one particular thing, so it takes the definite article the. There can be only one largest river, so an indefinite article does not make sense.

A and an are indefinite articles used for any one of a class, and an is used before a vowel sound, which largest does not begin with. "None of these" is wrong because an article is required.

Answer: A

The article is the: May we have the pleasure of your company for lunch?

May we have the pleasure of... is a fixed polite formula. The noun pleasure is made definite by the phrase that follows it, of your company, which says exactly which pleasure is meant, so it takes the.

A pleasure would treat it as one pleasure among many and is not used in this invitation formula. An does not fit the consonant sound of pleasure, and a singular noun like this cannot go without an article.

Answer: B

The article is an: There is an hourly tram service on this route.

The choice between a and an depends on the first sound. The h in hourly is silent, so the word begins with a vowel sound (our) and takes an, like hour, honest and heir.

A hourly goes by the spelling rather than the sound. The would point to a service already known to the listener, but the sentence introduces it for the first time.

Answer: D

The answer is No article: Sugar is a source of many diseases.

Sugar here is an uncountable noun used in a general sense, sugar in general, so it takes no article, like Milk is good for health or Water boils at 100 degrees.

A and an cannot be used with an uncountable noun in this sense. The sugar would refer to particular sugar already identified (the sugar in this jar), which does not fit a general statement about health.

Answer: A

The correct article is the: 'He does not like the theory of relativity.'

The definite article is used before a noun that names one particular, identified thing. There is only one theory of relativity, Einstein's, and the phrase 'of relativity' identifies it, so 'the' is required.

'A' and 'an' would mean any one of several theories, which does not fit a unique theory, and the noun cannot stand without an article here.

Answer: C

The correct article is a: 'A camel can go a long distance without water.'

'Distance' here is a singular countable noun used in a general, non-specific sense, so it takes the indefinite article. 'Long' begins with a consonant sound, so the form is 'a', not 'an'.

'The' would point to a particular distance already known, which the sentence does not mean, and a singular countable noun cannot go without an article.