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📚 Articles & Determiners Practice
Choose an answer, then open the short learning card. Explanations are kept small so students can continue practising without losing rhythm.
Q1. My mother bought me ______ new Pair of shoes.
"A" is the indefinite article used before singular countable nouns that start with a consonant sound.
Q2. He always practised _______ ahimsa.
No article needed
Ahimsa is an uncountable abstract noun referring to a concept/virtue. In general, abstract or uncountable nouns used in a broad sense do not take an article when referring to the concept itself (not a specific instance). Therefore, no article is required here: "practised ahimsa."
Use no article with uncountable/abstract nouns when speaking about the concept in general, unless you specify a particular instance or countable form.
He valued honesty above all else; he lived by honesty every day. (no article with the abstract noun used in general)
Q3. I first met him _______ year ago.
Explanation: Use an indefinite article before a singular countable noun. Choose "a" before a consonant sound and "an" before a vowel sound. "Year" starts with a consonant sound /j/, so the correct form is "a year ago." The other options don’t fit: "an year" is wrong because "year" does not begin with a vowel sound; "the" and no article aren’t needed for a single, non-specific instance here. ? Did You Know? Indefinite articles are used when mentioning something for the first time or when it is not specific. ? Remember: Consonant sound → a; Vowel sound → an.
Q4. He sent _______ word that he would come soon.
Idea: In "He sent _______ word that he would come soon," the phrase is an idiom: "send word" meaning to inform someone. Correct answer: No article needed Rule: Use zero article with certain verbs in fixed expressions (send word, give notice, make way) where the noun is singular but the phrase is idiomatic. Why others are wrong: - A/an: would imply a specific, countable word; not used in this idiom. - the: would refer to a specific word already known, which isn’t the case here.
Q5. Last year I spent _______ few days in Mumbai with a cousin from America. (appropriate article)
"a few" is used to indicate a small, unspecified number of days spent in Mumbai with a cousin from America.
Q6. Her father is ____________ industrialist who emigrated year ago to the USA. (appropriate article)
"an" is used because "industrialist" begins with a vowel sound ( 'i' in "industrialist").
Q7. My cousin is now a student at _________ Michigan University. (appropriate article)
use "the" before referring to a specific university name.
Q8. _________ elephant is the largest land animal. (appropriate article)
"the" is used because referring to the specific category of "the largest land animal," which is a well-known fact.
Q9. Copper is __________ Useful metal. (appropriate article)
"a" is correct because "useful" starts with a consonant sound. "An" is used before words that start with vowel sounds.
Q10. Give me __________ one-rupee note.
"a" is an indefinite article. It is used before a singular countable noun to refer to any one item of that kind.