Articles and Determiners Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The answer is the: Honest men speak the truth.

Speak the truth and tell the truth are fixed expressions. The definite article is used because the truth means the true facts of the matter in question, a definite thing rather than one truth among many.

A and an do not fit the fixed phrase (and an could not stand before the consonant sound of truth in any case). With no article, speak truth is found only in old or poetic English and is not the expected answer here.

Answer: B

The answer is an: Sri Lanka is an island.

Island is a singular countable noun used to classify Sri Lanka as one of a kind, so it needs the indefinite article. The choice between a and an depends on the first sound, not the first letter: the s in island is silent and the word begins with the vowel sound /ai/, so it takes an.

A is used only before a consonant sound. The would suggest a particular island already known to the reader, and a singular countable noun cannot stand with no article at all.

Answer: C

The answer is the: Let us discuss the matter seriously.

The speaker is referring to a particular matter that both speaker and listener already have in mind. A noun that is specific in this way takes the definite article.

A matter would introduce some unspecified matter, which makes little sense when proposing to discuss it seriously. An cannot be used before the consonant sound of matter, and a singular countable noun such as matter cannot stand without an article.

Answer: A

The answer is a: You are a fool to say that.

Here fool is a singular countable noun used after are to classify the person: it says what kind of person he is. A noun used this way takes the indefinite article, and fool begins with a consonant sound, so the form is a.

An is used before vowel sounds only. The fool would single the person out as a particular fool already identified, which is not the sense of this common rebuke. A singular countable noun cannot stand here with no article.

Answer: B

The answer is an: Rama has come without an umbrella.

Umbrella is a singular countable noun mentioned for the first time, so it needs the indefinite article. It begins with the vowel sound /ʌ/, so the form is an, as in an uncle and an umpire.

Compare a university and a uniform, which take a because they begin with a /y/ sound; the rule follows sound, not spelling. The umbrella would mean a particular umbrella already known, and a countable noun in the singular cannot be used with no article.

Answer: A

The keyed answer is a: If you see him, give him a message.

The sentence does not say which message is meant, and nothing has been mentioned before it, so message is introduced here for the first time as one unspecified message. A singular countable noun introduced in this way takes the indefinite article, and message begins with a consonant sound, so the form is a.

The message would be used if a particular message had already been identified, which this sentence does not do. An cannot come before a consonant sound, and message is countable, so it cannot stand with no article in the singular.

Answer: C

The answer is an: He is considered an heir to a vast fortune.

The choice between a and an depends on the first sound, not the first letter. In heir the h is silent, so the word begins with a vowel sound (air) and takes an, as do hour, honest and honour.

A heir is wrong for that reason. The heir would mean the one known heir, but the sentence introduces him as one heir to a fortune that is otherwise unidentified, so the indefinite article is what the examiners want. A countable singular noun like heir cannot stand with no article.

Answer: A

The answer is a: She has a unique ability to solve complex mathematical problems.

Unique is spelt with a vowel but pronounced with a consonant sound, /yoo/, so it takes a, like university, uniform and European.

An unique is the trap: it goes by the letter u rather than the sound. The would point to an ability already identified, which the sentence does not do, and ability here is a singular countable noun, so it cannot go without an article.

Answer: D

The answer is no article: She was appointed as head of the department last year.

When a noun names a unique post or role that someone holds, after verbs such as appoint, elect, make and crown, English usually drops the article: appointed head of the department, elected chairman, crowned king. Only one person holds the post at a time, so the noun works like a title.

A head would wrongly suggest one of several heads, and an does not fit the consonant sound of head. The head is sometimes heard, but the standard rule for a sole office is no article.

Answer: D

No article is needed: He always practised ahimsa.

Ahimsa (non-violence) is an abstract, uncountable noun used here in its general sense, like truth, honesty or patience. Such nouns take no article when they name the quality in general: He practised patience; He valued honesty.

A and an are used only with singular countable nouns, and the ahimsa would point to some particular, already identified ahimsa, which the sentence does not.