The Article

e27
INDEFINITE ARTICLE
Put in the indefinite article if necessary:
1. Jack MacDonald is ..... Scotsman.
2. He was ..... university professor before he became ..... politician.
3. He is ..... Conservative and ..... Protestant.
4. He is ..... expert in economics.
5. He has been ..... member of the society for 15 years and ..... president
for 6.
6. They drove at eighty miles ..... hour.
7. I used to see him ..... hundred times ..... day.
8. (half) hour later it began to rain.
9. There's (plenty) of time; we needn't be in (such) hurry.
10. What (mess)! What (shock) for my mother!
e28
DEFINITE ARTICLE with PROPER NAMES, ...

Put in the definite article if necessary:

1. They sailed through ..... North Sea and ..... Channel in ..... Queen Mary.
2. Large crowds had gathered in front of ..... Buckingham Palace.
3. ..... National Gallery is in ..... Trafalgar Square.
4. ..... Snowdon is the highest mountain in ..... Wales.
5. ..... most big stores are in ..... Oxford Street.
6. ..... modern England is very different from ..... England of ..... Queen
Victoria.
7. ..... Prime Minister has called a meeting of ..... Parliament.
8. ..... little Henry has gone shopping with ..... Aunt Helen.
9. ..... weather was very cold over ..... Christmas holidays.
10. On this postcard you can see ..... British Museum, ..... Houses of .....
Parliament and ..... Westminster Abbey.
e29
DEFINITE ARTICLE with PRISON, SCHOOL, HOSPITAL, ...
Put in the definite article if necessary:
1. He left ..... hospital five days ago.
2. Is ..... prison crueller to criminals than ..... hanging?
3. ..... general was shot at ..... dawn.
4. ..... prison was attacked by the rebels.
5. ..... school is not very far from ..... church.
6. ..... lunch is ..... meal I like best.
7. We visited ..... church to have a look at the paintings.
8. He has been taken to ..... hospital with appendicitis. Mother is going
to ..... hospital to visit him.
9. He was sent to ..... prison for six months.
10. ..... hospital will be pulled down very soon.

e30
DEFINITE ARTICLE with ABSTRACT NOUNS, ...
Put in the definite article if necessary:
1. Are you acquainted with ..... English literature?
2. Are you acquainted with ..... literature of ..... nineteenth century?
3. ..... history is my favourite subject.
4. The rise of ..... science is ..... most important factor of ..... modern life.
5. ..... enormous progress has been made in ..... technology.
6. Are terrorists a menace to ..... society?
7. ..... freedom is worthless if it does not include ..... freedom to err.
8. How can be best defend ..... peace in our days?
9. They often criticize ..... society they live in.
10. If we destroy ..... nature we destroy ourselves.
e31
DEFINITE ARTICLE with COMMON NOUNS, ...
Put in the definite article if necessary:
1. ..... iron is found more easily than ..... gold.
2. ..... elephants are found in many part of Africa.
3. ..... tiger is one of the most dangerous animals.
4. ..... milk Mother bought yesterday was sour.
5. ..... milk is good for children.
6. ..... coffee should be drunk with ..... milk and ..... sugar.
7. ..... coffee with milk is Dad's.
8. ..... woman was created because ..... man on his own is no good.
9. In 1848 ..... gold was discovered in California.
10. ..... strong should help ..... weak.
e32
DEFINITE ARTICLE, INDEFINITE ARTICLE or NO ARTICLE?
1. This politician has already been in ..... prison three times for .....
corruption.
2. Dick has gone to ..... hospital to see his uncle who has had ..... operation.
3. I'm very fond of .... simple supper of ..... fresh bread, ..... butter
and ..... cheese.
4. Many people think that ..... lead is ..... heaviest metal, but ..... gold is
heavier.
5. ..... theft and ..... murder are ..... crimes.
6. ..... air we breathe is a mixture of ..... oxygen and ..... nitrogen.
7. ..... modern civilization owes a lot to that of ..... ancient Greece.
8. ..... more I see of him ..... less I like him.
9. ..... rich shouldn't rob ..... poor.
10. There was ..... terrible accident in ..... Drake Street ..... hour ago.
Over ..... thousand people were injured.

The Article : Correction and grammar

c27
INDEFINITE ARTICLE
Put in the indefinite article if necessary:
1. Jack MacDonald is a Scotsman.
2. He was a university professor before he became a politician.
3. He is a Conservative and a Protestant.
4. He is an expert in economics.
5. He has been a member of the society for 15 years and president for 6.
6. They drove at eighty miles an hour.
7. I used to see him a hundred times a day.
8. Half an hour later it began to rain.
9. There's plenty of time; we needn't be in such a hurry.
10. What a mess! What a shock for my mother!
g27,32
The INDEFINITE ARTICLE is used with nouns indicating profession,
membership, nationality, religion: She's a teacher. He's a Catholic.
It is not used with names of offices which can be held only by one person:
Last year his wife became president of the college.
c28
DEFINITE ARTICLE with PROPER NAMES, ...
Put in the definite article if necessary:
1. They sailed through the North Sea and the Channel in the Queen Mary.
2. Large crowds had gathered in front of Buckingham Palace.
3. The National Gallery is in Trafalgar Square.
4. Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales.
5. Most big stores are in Oxford Street.
6. Modern England is very different from the England of Queen Victoria.
7. The Prime Minister has called a meeting of Parliament.
8. Little Henry has gone shopping with Aunt Helen.
9. The weather was very cold over the Christmas holidays.
10. On this postcard you can see the British Museum, the Houses of
Parliament and Westminster Abbey.
g28,32
The DEFINITE ARTICLE is used with names of oceans (the Pacific), rivers (the
Thames), ships (the Queen Elizabeth), as well as names of countries in the
plural (the USA, the Netherlands).
No DEFINITE ARTICLE with names of countries in the singular: America,
modern England, rural Wales BUT: the England of Queen Elizabeth
individual mountains: Snowdon, Mount Everest
BUT: the Alps, the Pyrenees

name + type of building: Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace

BUT: the Tower of London, the British Museum
title + name: Queen Victoria, Prince Charles
BUT: the Prime Minister, the Prince of Wales
c29
DEFINITE ARTICLE with PRISON, SCHOOL, HOSPITAL, ...
Put in the definite article if necessary:
1. He left hospital five days ago.
2. Is prison crueller to criminals than hanging?
3. The general was shot at dawn.
4. The prison was attacked by the rebels.
5. The school is not very far from the church.
6. Lunch is the meal I like best.
7. We visited the church to have a look at the paintings.
8. He has been taken to hospital with appendicitis. Mother is going to the
hospital to visit him.
9. He was sent to prison for six months.
10. The hospital will be pulled down very soon.
g29,32
Use of the DEFINITE ARTICLE with school, university, prison, hospital, church,
work:
- The DEFINITE ARTICLE emphasizes the place simply as a BUILDING:
We visited the church.
- NO ARTICLE is used when the place is referred as an institution:
We go to church every Sunday.
c30
DEFINITE ARTICLE with ABSTRACT NOUNS, ...
Put in the definite article if necessary:
1. Are you acquainted with English literature?
2. Are you acquainted with the literature of the nineteenth century?
3. History is my favourite subject.
4. The rise of science is the most important factor of modern life.
5. Enormous progress has been made in technology.
6. Are terrorists a menace to society?
7. Freedom is worthless if it does not include the freedom to err.
8. How can be best defend peace in our days?
9. They often criticize the society they live in.
10. If we destroy nature we destroy ourselves.

g30,32
NOTES on the USE of the DEFINITE ARTICLE:
1) do NOT use the definite article with ABSTRACT NOUNS:
Society corrupts man; man destroys nature; freedom is happiness; a story of
life and death; truth and justice cannot be suppressed for ever; ...
2) the definite article is used with abstract nouns if they are specified:
- by a relative clause: There is only one good definition of God:
the freedom that allows other freedoms to exist.
- by a prepositional phrase: the life of Nora Joyce
- by the context (e.g. when talking about a particular war): The war finished
in 1918.
c31
DEFINITE ARTICLE with COMMON NOUNS, ...
Put in the definite article if necessary:
1. Iron is found more easily than gold.
2. Elephants are found in many part of Africa.
3. The tiger is one of the most dangerous animals.
4. The milk Mother bought yesterday was sour.
5. Milk is good for children.
6. Coffee should be drunk with milk and sugar.
7. The coffee with milk is Dad's.
8. Woman was created because man on his own is no good.
9. In 1848 gold was discovered in California.
10. The strong should help the weak.
g31,32
NOTES on the USE of the DEFINITE ARTICLE:
1) do NOT use the definite article with common nouns:
gold, iron, steel, Indian tea, good coffee, ...
2) the definite article is used with common nouns if they are specified by the
context, by a prepositional phrase or by a relative clause: the iron that is
found here; the coffee they serve in Italy.
c32
DEFINITE ARTICLE, INDEFINITE ARTICLE or NO ARTICLE?
1. This politician has already been in prison three times for corruption.
2. Dick has gone to the hospital to see his uncle who has had an operation.
3. I'm very fond of a simple supper of fresh bread, butter and cheese.
4. Many people think that lead is the heaviest metal, but gold is heavier.
5. Theft and murder are crimes.
6. The air we breathe is a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen.
7. Modern civilization owes a lot to that of ancient Greece.
8. The more I see of him the less I like him.

9. The rich shouldn't rob the poor.

10. There was a terrible accident in Drake Street an hour ago. Over a
thousand people were injured.