Exercises

Exercise 1

Fill in the definite article where necessary.

1. We went to _____ America for _____ Easter and ended up staying ___ whole summer.

2. My grandfather is from ____ Scilly Isles, which are some of ___ most remote islands in ___ Britain.

3. Jane went to ___ cinema yesterday after ____ work and saw a film about ___ First World War.

4. Whenever we go to ____ London we take ____ train; it’s ___ most convenient way to travel.

5. James has got _____ measles so he won’t be coming to ____ school today.

6. While ____ princess was in ____ Hong Kong, she visited many of the designer shops there.

7. Mary is in ____ hospital with pneumonia. She became ill while in ____ Scotland over ___ Christmas holidays.

8. _____ most beautiful place I’ve ever been is ____ Thailand. It has some of ____ best beaches in ____ world.

9. Sarah really likes _____ swimming in ___sea, but most of ____ time it’s too cold to.

Exercise 2

Use the proper article whenever necessary; comment on its usage.

1. ____ Great Britain lies in ____ eastern part of ____ Atlantic Ocean.

2. ____ coast of ____ England contains many good harbours.

3. ___ most beautiful part of ___ England is ____ Lake District.

4. Have you ever been to ____ Canaries?

5. We’re going to ___ Crimea in summer.

6. They live in ___West End.

7. ____ Strait of Dover separates ____ British Isles from ___ continent.

8. ____ London is ____ capital of ___ United Kingdom of ___ Great Britain and ___ Northern Ireland.

9. ___ Kyiv is situated on ____ banks of ___ Dnieper.

10. ____ tourists couldn’t help admiring ____ Niagara Falls.

11. If we start from ___ Euston Station in ___ London and travel by ___ London Midland and Scottish Railway for about 300 miles we shall reach ___ town called Rendal. From here we take ___ coach and very soon we are in ____ wonderful Lake District of ___ England. To this part ___ thousands of ___ visitors travel every year, and though ___ weather is often very rainy we are sure of ____ many splendid views and interesting trips.

12. ___ Lake District is divided from ___ Pennines by ___ valleys of ___ rivers Eden and Lune. Between these two valleys and ___sea are ___ highest mountains in ___ England. They are called ___ Cumbrian Mountains. As they are much higher than ___ Pennines and nearer to ___sea they get much more rain. Some of this rain collects in ___ hollows, in ___ valleys, or ___ dales, as they are called, to form ___ beautiful lakes.

13. ____ largest lake is ___ Lake Windermere, which is about ten miles long and about ___ mile wide. On ____ sunny days ___ blue of ___ sky is reflected in ___ clear water while at ___ other times ___ wind with ___ sudden gusts beats ___ surface of ___ lake into ___ little waves. Many poets and writers lived near this lake. Although these lakes are ___ largest in ___ England, they are very small compared with ___ big lakes of ___ world.

Exercise 3

Fill in the blanks with articles where necessary.

1. ___ chapter one contains ___ description of ___ early history of my hero.

2. Open ___ books on ___ page twenty-five.

3. It’s ____ first volume and ___ chapter thirty-two is in ____ second.

4. He put ____ volume one back on ___ shelf.

5. ___ two people can’t live as cheaply as one.

6. ____ two girls looked alike though ____ resemblance did not lie in their features.

7. Our flat is on ____ second floor and ___ kitchen window commands ___ beautiful view of ___ yard.

8. He took ___ third sandwich and continued eating in silence.

9. It’s ___ third floor down ___ corridor.

10. ____ suitcase contained ___ two clean shirts, some socks and handkerchiefs.

11. At ___ second attempt ___ key turned in ____ lock and ___ door opened.

12. She promised to tell him about it ___ second time he called and I wondered if there would be ____ second time.

Exercise 4

Fill in the blanks with articles or ‘some’ / ‘any’ where necessary.

THE DEVOTED FRIEND

(After Oscar Wilde)

___ Hans had ___ great many friends, but ___ most devoted friend of all was ___ big Hugh, ___ miller. Indeed, so devoted was ___ rich miller to ___ little Hans that he never went by his garden without leaning over ___ wall and plucking ___ large nosegay, or filling his pockets with ___ plums and ___ cherries if it was ___ fruit season.

“_______ real friends should have everything in common,” ___ miller used to say. _____ neighbours, indeed, thought it strange that ___ rich miller never gave ___ little Hans anything in return, though he had ___ hundred sacks of ___flour stored away in ___ mill, and six cows, and ___ large flock of ___ sheep.

In ___ spring, ___ summer and autumn Hans was very happy, but when ___ winter came, he suffered ___ good deal from ___ cold and ___ hunger and often had to go to ___ bed without ___ supper. “There is no good in my going to see ___ little Hans now,” ___ miller used to say to his wife, “for when ___ people are in ___ trouble they shouldn’t be bothered by ___ visitors. I shall pay him ___ visit in spring, and he will be able to give me ____ large basket of flowers, and that will make him so happy.”

“You are very thoughtful about ___ others,” answered his wife. “It’s ___ pleasure to hear you talk about ___ friendship. I am sure ____ clergyman himself could not say such beautiful things, though he does live in ___ three-storied house and wears ___ gold ring on his little finger.”

“But could we not ask little Hans up here?” said ___ miller’s youngest son.

“What ___ silly boy you are!” cried ____ miller. “I really don’t know what is ___ use of sending you to ___ school. You do not seem to learn anything. Why, if ___ little Hans came here, he might get envious, and ___ envy is ___ most terrible thing. Besides, if he came here, he might ask me to let him have some flour on ___ credit, and that I couldn’t do. ___ flour is one thing, and ___ friendship is another. ___ words are spelt differently and mean quite different things.”

“How well you talk,” said ___ miller’s wife, pouring herself out ___ large glass of ___ warm ale. “It’s just like being in ___ church.”

Exercise 5

Use the proper article. Pay attention to the use of the article with the names of meals.

1. ____ dinner was to be at seven, ____ concert from eight to ten, ___ supper from ten to eleven.

2. ____ lunch was excellent, but I noticed that she ate very little.

3. They arrested him after ____ breakfast.

4. At this point ____ maid announced that ____ supper was served.

5. I was anxious to have ____ good comfortable breakfast ready before I called Joe.

6. Sometimes he took me out to ___ dinner or ___ theatre.

7. After ____ supper she suggested ____ stroll in ___ park to enjoy ____ pleasant evening.

8. I’m going to find ____ place for ___ lunch.

9. _____ dinner was as good as it looked and smelled.

10. That’s ____ best dinner I’ve had in years.

11. He followed her into ___ front room, where ____ supper had been cleared from ____ table.

12. After ___ dinner when coffee was brought in, ___ talk became medical.

13. Tonight they are giving him ____ farewell dinner and everyone will be there.

14. I’ve got ____ lecture at nine, so I should want ___ breakfast at ___ quarter past eight.

15. He had ____ miserable lunch all alone.

Exercise 6

Comment on the omission of the article in the following examples.

1. Less than a year ago, the two of them seemed as close as mother and daughter could be.

2. We were more like brothers than father and son.

3. He was kept busy day and night with plans for his retirement.

4. All she knew was that he had been in the army and had lost both leg and eye shortly before the surrender.

5. His face reddened with anger, “Don’t play cat and mouth with me!”

6. Listening to the minutes and other routine business he let his eyes move from face to face.

7. They walked on again, but only hand in hand.

8. He beat his hands on his sides and moved from foot to foot.

9. They went side by side, hand in hand silently towards the hedge.

10. The young man who had been turning his head from side to side became transfixed.

Exercise 7

Fill in the proper articles where necessary and comment on their usage. Consult the prompts given below.

London, like most cities which have long history behind them, is not really one single city, but rather collection of once separated towns and villages which in the course of time have grown together.

It is practically certain that previous to first invasion of Romans there was town on or near place where City of London is now. That it was town of some importance is shown by remains of wall which Romans built round it. City really forms town within town, and is financial and business centre of London.

Trafalgar Square is good starting-point for any tour of London. Along there is the Strand (once bank of River Thames) leading to Fleet Street, where all newspapers have their offices, and on the Ludgate Hill, St. Paul’s Cathedral and City. The other way leads to Piccadilly Circus; from there you can go along shops of Regent Street, across Oxford Street to Regent’s Park and Zoo.

Trafalgar Square was laid about hundred years ago. Monument in centre of square, known as Nelson’s Column (about 185 feet high), is surmounted with statue of Nelson. At base of Nelson’s Column are four great bronze lions.

Just behind you is National Gallery and joined to it is National Portrait Gallery.

Broad thoroughfare which runs between Trafalgar Square and Houses of Parliament is known as Whitehall. Chief government offices are in or near Whitehall. In centre of Whitehall stands the Cenotaph, simple white stone monument to the dead of the two world wars. At end of Whitehall you come to Parliament Square with Houses of Parliament on left. Clock Tower of Houses of Parliament is considered to be one of finest time-keepers in world. Largest bell, well known as “Big Ben”, strikes the hour.

On other side of Houses of Parliament is Westminster Abbey, beautiful for its architecture. Many great Englishmen such as Chaucer, Dickens, Tennyson, Darwin, Newton are buried there.

Largest open space in West End of London is Hyde Park which, at its western end, merges into Kensington Gardens.

Sooner or later you pass through Piccadilly Circus, centre of London’s theatres – bright in the daytime with flower-sellers and at night with electric advertisements.

London is immense and complex mass of human dwellings and working places, old palaces and modern buildings.

(Most cities, a history, a collection, towns and villages, time, the invasion, the Romans, a town, the place, the City, a town, the remains, the wall, the Romans, the City, a town, a town, the centre; Trafalgar Square, a starting-point, the bank, the River Thames, Fleet Street, the newspapers, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the City, Piccadilly Circus, the shops, Regent Street, Oxford Street, Regent’s Park, The Zoo; Trafalgar Square, a hundred, the monument, the centre, the square, Nelson’s Column; the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery; the thoroughfare, Trafalgar Square, the Houses of Parliament, Whitehall, the offices the centre, a monument, the dead, two world wars, the end, Parliament Square, the left, the Clock Tower, the time-keepers, the world, the bell, “Big Ben”; the other side, Westminster Abbey; the space, the West End, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens; Piccadilly Circus, the centre, theatres, the daytime, flower-sellers, night, advertisements; a mass, dwellings, places, palaces, buildings).

Exercise 8

Complete the following text with articles, where they are necessary.

A.

A tourist in ______ Africa was walking by the sea when he saw ____ man in ____ simple clothes dozing in a fishing boat. It was ____ idyllic picture, so he decided to take a photograph. The click of ___ camera woke ___ man up. ____ tourist offered him ___ cigarette. “The weather is great. There are plenty of ___ fish. Why are you lying around instead of going out and catching more?”

______ fisherman replied:”Because I caught enough this morning.”

“But just imagine,” _____ tourist said, “if you went out there three times every day, you’d catch three times as much. After about ____ year you could buy yourself ____ motor-boat. After ___ few more years of ___ hard work, you could have ____ fleet of ___ boats working for you. And then…”

“And then?” asked the fisherman.

“And then,” ____ tourist continued triumphantly, “you could be calmly sitting on the beach, dozing in ____ sun and looking at ___ beautiful ocean.”

(Based on a short story by Heinrich Boll)

B.

There was ____ young lady from ___ Niger,

Who smiled as she rode on ___ tiger.

They came back from ___ ride

With ____ lady inside

And ____ smile on ___ face of ___ tiger.

(Edward Lear)

Here are some general rules for using articles. Find an example of each rule in the texts given above.

1. Don’t use articles with most proper nouns.

2. Don’t use the indefinite article with plurals or uncountable nouns.

3. Use the indefinite article to introduce new information.

4. Use the definite article to refer to specific things which have already been mentioned.

5. Use the definite article to refer to things that you know the listener or hearer can identify.

Exercise 9

Write three interesting statements, each of which combines a word from box A with a word from box B. Discuss your statements with a partner and the rest of your class. Pay attention to the usage of the articles.

Model: Time is more important than money.

Men are a mystery to women.

A + B

Time life

Youth money

Wisdom experience

Health love

Death women

Men peace

Gold silver

Music happiness

War intelligence

Humour

Exercise 10

Complete the newspaper article using a / an and the where necessary.

Patricia Henderson, ______ teacher from _____ Newcastle, got _____ biggest shock of her life yesterday while preparing ____ dinner for her husband and two children. On putting her hand into ___ bag of ready-prepared salad, she felt something “large, slimy and moving”. ____ second later, there was ____ rather relieved snake slithering across ____ kitchen table. “I have always been afraid of ___ snakes and I just screamed and screamed and screamed,” she said. “_____ snake just stared at me. I couldn’t move.”

___ spokesperson for _____ supermarket where she bought ____ salad told ___ reporters they had no idea at all how ____ creature had got into ___ bag. ____ snake, which is almost half ___ metre long, has yet to be identified. Mrs. Henderson, who is still recovering from ___ ordeal, said: “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat ___ salad again.”

Exercise 11

Which is correct?

1. Pacific Ocean / the Pacific Ocean;

2. Station hotel / the station hotel;

3. National Gallery / the National Gallery;

4. River Seine / the river Seine;

5. Gobi desert / the Gobi desert;

6. United States of America / the United States of America;

7. Oxford Street / the Oxford Street;

8. South of France / the South of France;

9. Apollo theatre / the Apollo Theatre;

10. Heathrow Airport / the Heathrow Airport;

11. Lake Erie / the Lake Erie;

12. Netherlands / the Netherlands;

13. Trafalgar Square / the Trafalgar Square;

14. North America / the North America.

Exercise 12

Choose the correct form.

1. Life/the life indeed would be dull if there were no difficulties.

2. The vegetables/vegetables are good for health.

3. Women/the women are often better teaches than men/the men.

4. In Britain/the Britain coffee/the coffee is more expensive than tea/the tea.

5. Most people/the most people still believe that marriage/the marriage and family life/the family life are the basis of our society.

6. Second World War/ The Second World War ended in 1945.

7. Do you know people/the people who live next door/the next door?

8. Two of the biggest problems facing our society are crime/the crime and unemployment/the unemployment.

9. I hate violence/the violence and cruelty/the cruelty among people.

10. He followed a/the letter, but not a/the spirit of the law.

11. Language/the language is art/the art of concealing thoughts.

12. One of the most/most pleasant things in the world/world is going to a/the journey.

13. -/the police searched a/the house of the/a suspect.

14. Most of -/the roads in this district are not suitable for -/the motor cars.

15. To love our country, to be interested in its concerns, is natural for all the/- men.

16. Truth/the truth is that I don’t like to stay here any longer.

17. We are studying a/the/- architecture. We are studying -/the architecture of the/-/a Renaissance period.

18. Love/the love is blind, but at the same time it is a/-/the wonderful thing. It makes a/the world go round.

19. I’m going to a/the post-office. I want to post a/the parcel.

20. We are installing a/- solar heating. We want to save an/-/the energy.

Exercise 13

Insert the articles where it is necessary.

1. …Beethoven whose music you have just listened to was one of …world’s greatest composers.

2. …youth is full of …pleasure and …hope.

3. There are five students from …Japan here, so we have …good opportunity to practice … Japanese.

4. We looked at …cars standing near the store, …first two were far expensive, but …other ones were quite ordinary.

5. This morning I bought … newspaper and …magazine. …newspaper is in my bag, but I don’t know where …magazine is.

6. I saw…accident this morning. …car crashed into …wall. …driver of …car was not hurt, but …car was badly damaged.

7. We live in … old house in … middle of the village. There is … beautiful garden behind … house. …roof of …house is in …bad condition.

8. I’m looking for …job. Did you get …job you applied for?

9. Could you close …door, please? They live …next door.

10. We live in …small flat near … centre of the city.

11. Did …police find …person who stole your car?

12. This morning I had …boiled egg and toast for …breakfast.

13. As I was walking along …street, I found …10$ note on …pavement.

14. Have you got …car? – No, I have never had …car in my life.

15. I went into …shop and asked to speak to …manager.

16. …President of …United States is elected for four years.

17. What …beautiful garden! …flowers growing here are beautiful too.

18. You got into …wrong train. Your train is at …platform 5.

19. …truth is that he is …only man she obeys.

20. My cousin, …young man of twenty-five, works as …interpreter. He has …wide range of …interests and …good knowledge of three foreign languages.

Exercise 14

Put in a/an, the or leave it blank.

1. Julius Caesar who was …powerful Roman general came to …Britain in 55 B.C.

2. …English language was brought onto …British Isles in …middle of …fifth century by …Angles, …Saxons, …Jutes who came there from …North of …Germany.

3. …British Prime Minister lives in …Downing Street.

4. One of …nicest parks in London is …St. James’s Park which is I very near …Buckingham Palace.

5. Mr. Readdles reads …Daily Telegraph but his wife reads … Times.

6. …Tower of London is situated within …City.

7. …London Underground (or Tube) is …oldest and longest in …Europe.

8. …Regent’s Park is …largest, it is still one of …most popular places of rest of …Londoners on …hot summer days.

9. …oldest part of London is …City, …business centre. But …political centre is …Westminster which is in …West End.

10. …Londoners like to say, ”When …man is tired of London, he is tired of …life”.

11. Do you usually see films at …Classic or at …Odeon?

12. …National Gallery and …Tate Gallery are famous all over …world.

13. …London University was built in …19^th century.

14. …English Channel separates …Great Britain from …Continent.

Exercise 15

Insert the articles, if any.

1. …Moon goes round …Earth every 27 days.

2. After …lunch we went for …walk by …sea.

3. …Mother was …only person I could talk about it.

4. It was …beautiful day, …sun was shining brightly in …sky.

5. What is …highest mountain in …world?

6. We don’t go to …theatre very often these days. In fact, in …town where we live there is no …theatre.

7. Could you turn down …television, please? It’s a bit loud.

8. Do you listen to …latest news over …radio or …television?

9. Mary plays …piano very well, but she can’t play …violin. Can you play …guitar?

10. …giraffe is …tallest of all animals.

11. What is …largest living bird? -…eagle.

12. Every English child knows …story of Robin Hood. It is said that he robbed …rich and gave the money to …poor.

13. …man must do everything possible to save …environment and …life on …planet of …Earth.

14. Those people with jobs have enough money, but life is not so easy for …unemployed.

15. All over the world people are in …prison because of their political beliefs.

16. How many people go to …university in your country?

17. Some children hate …school.

18. When will you go to …hospital to visit your sick friend? -…next week.

19. I really hate …people who chew …gum all the time.

20. …traffic is one of …biggest problems in our cities.

Exercise 16

Insert the articles where it is necessary. Retell the following texts.