Articles and Determiners Questions and Answers

Answer: D

No article is required: Mr. Mukherjee became Principal of the college in 2012.

When a noun naming a post that only one person can hold at a time is used as the complement of verbs such as become, elect, appoint or make, it usually takes no article: he was elected chairman; she was appointed captain.

'The Principal' would be acceptable in casual speech, but the grammar rule this question tests is the omission of the article before a unique title used as a complement. 'A' and 'an' would suggest the college has several principals, which it does not.

Answer: A

The answer is a: We had a late lunch today.

Names of meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) normally take no article: we had lunch at one. But when an adjective describes the meal, it becomes one particular kind of meal and takes the indefinite article: a late lunch, a heavy breakfast, a good dinner.

'An' is used only before a vowel sound, and 'late' begins with a consonant sound. 'The' would point to a lunch already known to the listener, which the sentence does not. Leaving out the article is the rule only when the meal has no adjective.

Answer: C

The answer is the: This is the best book of elementary English.

A superlative adjective (best, tallest, most useful) picks out one thing as unique within its group, so it takes the definite article.

'A best book' and 'an best book' treat it as one of several, which contradicts the meaning of 'best', and 'an' would in any case be wrong before a consonant sound. Omitting the article is not standard before a superlative used before a noun.

Answer: C

The answer is the: The Mr. Sen whom you met last evening is my uncle.

Proper names normally take no article. But when a proper name is followed by a clause that singles out one particular person of that name from others, the is used: the Mr. Sen whom you met last evening, as distinct from any other Mr. Sen.

'A Mr. Sen' would mean 'a certain person called Mr. Sen' whom the listener does not know, but the listener has met him. 'An' is wrong before a consonant sound, and 'no article' ignores the identifying clause.

Answer: A

The answer is a: Yesterday a European called at my office.

The visitor is one unidentified person, so the indefinite article is needed. The choice between a and an depends on the sound, not the spelling, of the next word. European begins with the sound 'yoo', a consonant sound, so it takes a, as in a university, a uniform.

'An European' is the common slip of judging by the vowel letter E. 'The' would refer to a European already known to the listener, and 'no article' is not possible before a singular countable noun.

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.