Grammar check: articles
Articles (a/an/the) are a subgroup of thedeterminers.
Other determiners include: some, his, that, ...
Read the grammar rules and then do the exercises on this page to practice. Grammar Focus
1 An article or article "A" (A/An?)
Remember :
It's the sound that counts Not the first letter.
Remember from the grammar focus that we use "an" when the following noun phrase
starts with a vowel
sound.
Put the correct indefinite article before each of these words.
- An advert,
- A commercial,
- A strategy,
- A USB ,
- A university,
- A VIP,
- An hour,
- A European,
- An account,
- An MBA,
- An employee,
- An endorsement,
2 Article or No Article
Read this text and decide for each gap if you need to add anything or leave it blank.
Ronaldinho breaks through thePane Barrier - London Evening Standard
Ronaldinho smashed (1)
____
a
window in
(2)
____
the
centuries-old cathedral of Santiago de Compostela while filming
(3)
____
a
television advert today.
Luckily for theBarcelona star, (4) ____ the window was only a small, modern addition to Spain's most famous pilgrims' shrine, in Galicia.
(5) ____ The Brazilian blundered after being asked to try (6) ____ a scissor-kick beneath (7) ____ the cathedral's 12th century Portico de la Gloria (Portal of Glory).
"I asked Ronaldinho to hit (8) ____ the ball as hard as he could and he had (9) ____ the bad luck to hit (10) ____ the window," said (11) ____ advert's director Emil Samper. "It was my fault." Almost as soon as (12) ____ the gorilla television commercial for Dairy Milk chocolate was first shown on (13) ____ the/ ☕ 31st August.
Show
Luckily for theBarcelona star, (4) ____ the window was only a small, modern addition to Spain's most famous pilgrims' shrine, in Galicia.
(5) ____ The Brazilian blundered after being asked to try (6) ____ a scissor-kick beneath (7) ____ the cathedral's 12th century Portico de la Gloria (Portal of Glory).
"I asked Ronaldinho to hit (8) ____ the ball as hard as he could and he had (9) ____ the bad luck to hit (10) ____ the window," said (11) ____ advert's director Emil Samper. "It was my fault." Almost as soon as (12) ____ the gorilla television commercial for Dairy Milk chocolate was first shown on (13) ____ the/ ☕ 31st August.
3 Sentences
Decide whether these sentences have grammar mistakes related to thearticles or not.
- Knowledge of advertising code of practice is vital to those wishing to work in advertising industry.
- We want to film a TV commercial in Russia.
- The Think small. Volkswagen Beetle advert was one of most successful advertising campaigns of 20th century.
- Four major brands ; AOL, Yahoo, Freeserve and BT ; all achieve awareness of over 40% amongst UK adult population.
- Next year, I am going to work for an advertising agency in USA.
4 The Weather Cube
For each gap. Add the correct article or leave it blank (empty = no article).
What's (1)
___
weather doing? We don't have to watch
(2)
___
weather report to find out - all we need to do is
look at our weather cubes. Currently
(3)
___
most popular
gadget in Japan,
(4)
___
battery-powdered device is
(5)
___
four-inch cube which can predict
(6)
___
weather
up to eight hours in advance.
(8)
___
cube gives
(7)
___
12- to 24-hour forecast via easy-to-read symbols-
clouds, rain, sun - displayed on
(9)
___
LCD screen.
(10)
___
device can predict
(11)
___
rain, features
(12)
___
snow possibility alarm, and will even display
sunrise and sunset times in cities around
(13)
___
world.
Would you go on
(14)
___
picnic without one?
(15)
___
weather cube is
(16)
___
essential travel accessory.
Show
5
Fill thegaps or leave them blank. (the/a/an/ )
They say
(1)
__
an
apple
(2)
__
a
day keeps
(3)
__
the
doctor away, but I don't believe them.
I like
(4)
__
bananas.
I think
(5)
__
a
banana
(6)
__
a
day will do
(7)
__
a
better job of keeping
(8)
__
the
doctor away.
(9)
__ bananas
Bananas
are full of
(10)
__
good things.
For example, eating
(11)
__
a / ZERO ARTICLE
banana before you exercise can give you enough energy for
(12)
__
a
90-minute workout.
If you are anemic, you should know that
(13)
__
bananas are high in
(14)
__
iron.
If you have
(15)
__
high blood pressure, eating
(16)
__
a / ZERO
banana will help regulate your
(17)
__
potassium.
In fact,
(18)
__
the
US Food and Drug Administration makes
(19)
__
an
official claim that
(20)
__
fruit can help reduce
(21)
__
the
risk of
(22)
__
a / ZERO ARTICLE
heart attack or stroke.
If you are feeling down, eating
(23)
__
bananas can help that too!
(24)
__ bananas
Bananas
contain
(25)
__
tryptophan,
(26)
__
a
type of protein that converts to
(27)
__
serotonin,
(28)
__
the
"feel-good" chemical in thebrain.
Of course,
(29)
__
they
are full of
(30)
__
fiber, which can help you control
(31)
__
the
number of calories you consume and help regulate
(32)
__
the
digestive system.
So, I think
(33)
__
the
saying should be,
(34) "
__
An
apple and
(35)
__
a
banana
(36)
__
a
day will keep
(37)
__
the
doctor away."
Shouldn't that be
(38)
__
an
apple a day, keeps thedoctor away" ?
Show
6
Look at therules below for theuse of thedefinite article (the).
Either make up or find from thetext above one example for each rule.
EXAMPLE: a) They sailed across the Atlantic Ocean.
We use thedefinite article (the):
- with rivers oceans/seas
- There are a lot of bridges across the Thames.
- A Parisian man fell in the Seine. (He must have been insane)
- with superlatives
- This is the best English course I've ever seen.
- He is the tallest boy in his class.
- She is the most wonderful cook in theworld!
- when there is only one thing
- The Earth.
- The moon.
- The queen.
- with particular nouns when it is clear what we are talking about
- Please pass the pepper pot. (The only pepper pot on thetable.)
- Whose turn is it to do the washing up?
- with previously mentioned things.
Look at the rules below for the use
of the indefinite articles (a/an).
Either make up or find from the text
above one example for each rule.
We use the indefinite article (a/an) with:
- jobs
- My brother is an engineer.
- I always wanted to be an engine driver.
-
singular countable nouns
(mentioned for thefirst time or when it doesn't matter which one).
We use thezero article with: - most streets, towns, countries, mountains etc.
- uncountable, plural and abstract nouns used in their general sense.
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