ARTICLES

-practicing-
The is also used before:
1. nouns which are unique. Haven't you been to the
Acropolis yet?
2. names of cinemas (the Odeon), hotels (the
Hilton), theatres (the Rex), museums (the Prado),
newspapers (the Times), ships (the Queen Mary)
3. names of rivers (the Thames), seas (the Black
Sea), groups of islands/states (the Bahamas, the
USA), mountain ranges (the Alps), deserts (the Gobi
desert), oceans (the Pacific) and names with .... of
(The Tower of London)
4. musical instruments. Can you play the guitar?
5. names of people/families/nationalities in the
plural. The Smiths, the English, the Dutch, etc.
6.titles without proper names. The Queen, the
President.
7. adjectives used as plural nouns (the rich) and the 7. bed, school, church, hospital, prison, when they
superlative degree of adjectives/adverbs (the best). are used for the reason they exist. John was sent to
He's the most intelligent student of all.
The is omitted before:
1. proper nouns. Paula comes from Canada
2. names of sports, activities, colours, substances
and meals. He plays tennis well. She likes blue. coke
isn't healthy. Lunch is ready.
3. names of countries (England), cities (London),
streets (Bond Street), parks (Hyde Park), mountains
(Everest), islands (Cyprus), lakes (Lake Michigan),
continents (Europe).
4. the possessive case of possessive adjective. This
isn't your coat, it's Kate's.
5. the words „home“ and „father/mother“ when we
talk about our own home/parents. Father isn't at
home.
6. titles with proper names. Queen Elizabeth,
President Kennedy.
prison. BUT: His mother went to the prison to visit him
last week.
1. Fill in with: a/an or the.

Last night I went to (1) ........ Indonesian restaurant. I had

(2) ........ very nice meal with (3) ........ good friend, Helen.
(4) ........ waiter was Chinese. (5) ....... food was great. We
drank (6) ....... bottle of Coke. When we asked for (7) .........
bill we didn't have enough money, so we had to do (8)
........ washing-up. It was not (9) ........ good way to end (10)
......... evening.
2. Fill in with: a/an or the.

I arrived at (1) ....... airport just in time to see (2) ...... aeroplane
take off. There is nothing unusual about this, except that I was
supposed to be on that plane! When I went to (3) ....... desk to ask
when (4) ....... next available flight was, I heard (5) ..... awful noise.
I turned to see (6) .......car crashing through (7) ....... front windows
with (8) ....... police car just behind it. As I ran towards (9) ........
departure gate (10) ......... policeman stopped me to see if I was
(11) ...... armed tobber they were chasing. I told him I was not (12)
........ armed robber but (13) ........ businessman who had missed
his plane. He let me go and I was able to catch (14) ........ last flight
to my destination.
3. Fill in THE where necessary:

1. Is ....... Lisbon ........ capital of ......... Portugal?

2. Is ....... Malta in ........ Mediterranean?
3. Is ....... Paris in ....... United Kingdom or in ........ France?
4. Where is ........ Sahara Desert?
5. What is ......... biggest island in ........ Greece?
6. What is ......... capital of ......... Italy?
7. Is ........ Indian Ocean bigger than ........ Arctic Ocean?
8. Is ......... Everest the highest mountain in ....... world?
9. Where are ........ Malta and ........ Corsica?
10.Where are ........ Mississippi River and ........ Thames?
4. Fill in: a/an or the

At (1) ....... weekend, Alex and Amanda went to (2) ........ theatre.
They say (3) ........ great play called „I would die for you“. (4) ...... play
was (5) ........... romantic story about (6) ........ lives of (7) ........ couple
in love. After going to (8) ....... theatre, Alex and Amanda went to (9)
........ restaurant. They both ate (10) ....... very large meal. Amanda
had (11) ........ huge bowl of spaghetti and Alex had (12) ......
enormous plate of various kinds of meat. (13) ...... spaghetti and
meat were followed by chocolate cake. After leaving (14) ........
restaurant, Alex and Amanda got (15) ........ taxi home. On the way
home they saw (16) ........ nasty car accident. (17) ......... yellow car
run straight into (18) ........ black van. (19) ....... yellow car was badly
damaged. (20) ........ taxi driver had to take Alex and Amanda home
by another route.
6. Fill in „a“, „an“or „the“ where necessary

1. Is ........ tomato ........ fruit or ......... vegetable?

2. Is ....... apple ......... red or ......... blue?
3. What is ......... capital of ......... France?
4. When we visited ........ London we stayed at ......... Hilton Hotel.
5. Does ....... River Seine run through ......... Paris or .......... Madrid?
6. Is .......... Indian Ocean larger than ........... Mediterranean Sea?
7. Is ......... New York in ........ USA or in ............ Canada?
8. Is ......... elephant bigger than ......... alligator?
9. Does ........ Amazon run through ......... Africa or .......... South America?
7. Fill in a, an or the

A: Oh, 1) .......... glove! Where's that from?

B: It's 2) ......... glove Michael Jackson wore in the „Bad“ video!
A: Why's there 3) ........ can of Pepsi here?
B: Oh, that's 4) ......... can that Michael drank from in Pepsi
advertisement.
A: Oh and 5) ........ old pair of flared trousers. They're horrible.
B: They're my prize possession. Those are 6) ......... trousers he wore
when he was with the Jackson five!
A: Oh and let me guess, this was one of 7) ......... bananas Bubbles
ate!
B: No, don't be silly, that was my breakfast!
1. “Can you recommend me ………… good hotel in …………… city centre?”
2. “I think ………… Plaza is ………… best hotel in ………… New York.”
2. Pam’s really into ………… British literature of ………… 19th century.
3. My grandma has been in ……… hospital for three years now.
We’re going to ………… hospital to visit her this evening.
4. There’s ………… exhibition at ………… Tate Gallery.
………… exhibition is on ………… cubist painting.
5. ………… Prime Minister will appoint ……… new Foreign
Secretary ……… next week.
6. Dan’s studying ………… medicine at ………… Oxford University.
7. Let’s go to ……… pub on ……… corner; it’s really nice.
8. Pat’s playing ………… piano; switch ……… TV off, please!
9. Some celebrities are always on ……… media.
10. Sally presents ………… talk show on …………… Channel 4.