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Exercise : Articles Exercise 1

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Directions: Fill in the blank with the appropriate article, a , an , or the , or leave the space blank if no article is needed.

1. I want ____ apple from that basket.

2. ____ church on the corner is progressive.

3. Miss Lin speaks ____ Chinese.

4. I borrowed ____ pencil from your pile of pencils and pens.

5. One of the students said, "____ professor is late today."

6 Eli likes to play ____ volleyball.

7. I bought ____ umbrella to go out in the rain.

8. My daughter is learning to play ____ violin at her school.

9. Please give me ____ cake that is on the counter.

10. I lived on ____ Main Street when I first came to town.

11. Albany is the capital of ____ New York State.

12. My husband's family speaks ____ Polish.

13. ____ apple a day keeps the doctor away.

14. ____ ink in my pen is red.

15. Our neighbors have ____ cat and ____ dog.

Cambridge Dictionary

  • Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

A/an and the

A/an and the: meaning.

A/an and the are articles. They are a type of determiner and they go before a noun.

A/an before a noun shows that what is referred to is not already known to the speaker, listener, writer and/or reader (it is the indefinite article):

Do you have a car?
A: Do you live in a house ? B: No, actually, I live in an apartment .

The before a noun shows that what is referred to is already known to the speaker, listener, writer and/or reader (it is the definite article):

Where did we park the car? (The speaker and the listener know what car is being referred to.)
We had to paint the apartment before we sold it. (The speaker and the listener know what apartment is being referred to.)

The makes a noun specific.

Determiners ( the, my , some , this )

When do we use a and when do we use an ?

In speaking, we use a /ə/ before a consonant sound:

a car a house a big truck a wheel a grey day

Some words that begin with a vowel letter in writing have a consonant sound:

/ə ju:ˈnaɪtɪd …/ /ə ju:niˈvɜ:sɪti/ /ə wʌn …/

a united group a university a one-year-old child

We use an /ən/ before a vowel sound:

an apple an old shoe an orchestra an umbrella

How do we pronounce the ?

We pronounce the in two ways depending on whether the sound which comes after the is a vowel or a consonant:

/ðə/ before consonant sounds

When do we use articles, a/an and the with types of nouns, countable nouns.

We only use a/an with singular countable nouns:

I have a sister and a brother.
That was an excellent meal.

We can use the with singular and plural countable nouns:

Uncountable nouns

We don’t use a/an before uncountable nouns:

Could I have rice instead of potatoes with my fish?
Not: Could I have a rice
I hope we have nice weather.
Not: I hope we have a nice weather .

We can use the before uncountable nouns when they refer to a specific example:

The rice we bought in the Thai shop is much better than the supermarket rice.
The weather was awful last summer.

To talk about an individual quantity or more than one quantity of an uncountable noun, we use expressions such as a bit of, a piece of or a [specific measure] of :

That’s an amazing bit of news.
Not: That’s an amazing news .
We just made a big bowl of pasta.
Not: We just made a pasta .
Could I have a litre of milk, please?
Not: Could I have a milk, please?

General nouns

We only use the with general plural nouns when we are referring to a specific set within a general class of people or things.

We can make general nouns specific by using an article and adding more information after the noun.

Inventions, musical instruments and cultural institutions

When we talk in general about inventions, musical instruments or cultural institutions (such as the cinema, the theatre, the circus, the opera, the ballet), we often use the :

The computer must be the greatest invention ever. (The computer as an invention in general, not a specific computer)
The violin sounds different to the viola.
I love a night at the opera .

No article before determiners ( any, some, my, this )

We don’t use an article with other words that specify a noun (determiner ), e.g. any, some, my, her, this, that :

The with things that are universally known

We use the with things known to everyone (the sun, the stars, the moon, the earth, the planet) because they are a part of our physical environment or part of the natural world:

The earth moves around the sun .
We lay on the grass and watched the stars .

The with everyday things

We use the with things that we know as part of our daily lives. The does not refer to particular things in this context.

I don’t buy the newspaper these days. It’s free on the Internet . (newspapers in general)
They always take the train . (trains in general)

Jobs and professions

When we talk about a person’s job, we use a :

She’s a gardener.
He’s an ambulance driver.

We use the with mountain ranges and some mountains ( the Alps, the Eiger ), groups of islands ( the West Indies ), rivers ( the Danube ), deserts ( the Gobi Desert ), seas ( the Black Sea ), geographical regions or habitats ( the Amazon rainforest ), motorways ( the M42 ), the names of some countries ( the People’s Republic of China ).

We don’t usually use articles with individual mountains or lakes when the name includes Mount or Lake : Mount Fuji , Lake Victoria . We don’t use articles with continents ( Asia ), countries ( Romania ), towns ( Edinburgh ), and streets ( Lombard Street ).

Geographical places

Nationalities, languages, countries and regions

Place names

The with groups within society

When we talk about particular groups or people within society, we use the + adjective:

I think the rich should pay more tax and that the poor shouldn’t pay any.
The young need to be encouraged and supported in society.

The with dates

When we say a specific date, we use the , but when we write it, we don’t use the :

Speaking: ‘I’ll see you on the twenty fourth of May.’ Writing: I’ll see you on 24th May .

When we talk about months, we don’t use the :

My birthday is in September .
May is my favourite month of all.

When we talk about seasons in general, we can use either in or in the. In without the is often used in more formal or literary contexts:

These birds arrive in Britain in summer , and leave as the winter begins.
In the summer , we usually go to the mountains.
We rarely get snow in the winter .

When we talk about a specific season, we use the :

The winter of 1947 was one of the coldest in Britain.
We’ll definitely visit you in the summer . (meaning next summer)

The with Internet, radio and newspaper but mostly not with TV

I looked it up on the Internet .
Not: on internet
She was on the radio once.
Not: on radio
Did you see that story about parrots in the newspaper ?
Not: in newspaper
There’s usually nothing on TV. (TV means television)
There’s usually nothing on the television . (less common)

The with go to , be at , be in hospital , school , prison

When we talk about the activity that happens in a building rather than about the building itself, we don’t use the .

We don’t use the with bed when we go there to sleep:

I always go to bed at eleven o’clock.
Not: I always go to the bed …

We don’t use the before work when we talk about the place where we do our job:

They go to work at 8 am every morning.
Not: They go to the work …

At , on and in (time)

Possessive expressions

We don’t use the to refer to an individual’s behaviour or to parts of an individual’s body:

He spends most of his free time playing computer games.
Not: He spends most of the free time …
I must wash my hands.
Not: I must wash the hands .

This , that and articles

We can use this instead of a/an or the , and these instead of zero article or some when we tell stories and jokes to create a sense of the present:

[beginning of a joke]

There was this chicken who wanted to cross the road … (compare There was a chicken who wanted to cross the road … )
These tourists came into the restaurant once and they ordered fifteen Irish coffees. (compare Some tourists came into the restaurant once and they ordered … )

In informal speaking, we can use that as an alternative to the in stories when we refer to something familiar or known to the listener. That highlights the fact that the thing being referred to is known to the speaker and listener:

A: Where did you buy your skirt? I really like it . B: I got it at that new shop next to Green’s Hotel . (compare I got it at the new shop next to Green’s Hotel .)

A/an and the : typical errors

We don’t use the with plural nouns when we are referring to things in general:

We have to protect wild animals. (referring to wild animals in general)
Not: the wild animals .

We don’t use the when we refer in general to something abstract or uncountable:

I love Japanese food. (all Japanese food/Japanese food in general)
Not: I love the Japanese food .

We don’t use the when the noun is not known to the listener or reader:

Last Sunday, we saw a film called ‘Nightmare’. (The speaker doesn’t think that the listener knows of this film.)
Not: … we saw the film called ‘Nightmare’ .

We don’t use the instead of a possessive pronoun:

The police asked us to put our hands up.
Not: The police asked us to put the hands up .

We don’t use an article with go to bed :

I go to bed at eleven most nights.
Not: I go to the bed at eleven most nights .

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  • How to use articles (a, an, the) in English

How to use articles (a, an, the) in English

  • Posted on 15/02/2022
  • Categories: Blog
  • Tags: English Grammar , Grammar , Learn English , Resources to learn English

Knowing what articles are and when to use them in English can be difficult for language learners to pick up . Especially considering that in some situations there is no article at all.

But don’t worry, we’re here to help.

In English there are three articles: a, an, and the. Today we’re going to look at what these are, the differences between them and when to use them – or not, in some cases.

What is an article?

Articles are a type of determiner. They function like adjectives, as they modify the noun in the sentence. The only articles in English are ‘the’ and ‘a/an’. Yet, the tricky part is that we use them differently – and sometimes not at all.

We call ‘the’ the definite article and ‘a/an’ the indefinite article.

When to use a/an, the and no article

So when do we use articles in English? We’re going to show you some explanations, examples and activities to practise so that by the time you finish reading, you’ll be an articles pro!

Definite and indefinite articles

1_OH How to use articles (a, an, the) in English

We use ‘the’ before a noun when:

  • referring to something specific
  • there is only one of something (e.g. the cathedral)
  • the noun has been mentioned before

We use ‘a/an’ before a noun when:

  • referring to something in general
  • mentioning something for the first time
  • describing someone’s profession (eg. I am a teacher)

Compare these two sentences:

Let’s watch the TV series that we love (a specific TV series that is familiar to us or that we know about.)

Let’s watch a TV series after dinner (we don’t have a specific TV series in mind – it could be any series.)

It’s important to remember that we use ‘a’ and ‘an’ differently: ‘a’ comes before a noun beginning with a consonant sound and ‘an’ comes before a noun beginning with a vowel sound. For example:

2_OH How to use articles (a, an, the) in English

If you were observant, you may be wondering why ‘hotel’ and ‘hour’ don’t use the same indefinite article, even though they both start with ‘h’. Remember, we need to look at the starting sound, not letter, and since ‘hour’ is pronounced with a silent ‘h’, it starts with a vowel sound – which means you need ‘an’.

Here are some more examples of definite and indefinite articles:

  • Somebody call a policeman!
  • Did you see the film that was on Channel 4 last night?
  • Would you like a glass of milk?
  • I love to swim in the ocean.
  • The announcement lasted for 10 minutes.

Learn more about the basics of definite and indefinite articles in this video:

We never use a/an with uncountable nouns. However, ‘the’ is sometimes used with uncountable nouns in the same way it is used with plural countable nouns. This is when we want to refer to a specific object, group, or idea.

For example:

  • Electricity has become more expensive recently.
  • Can you pass me the sugar please?

It’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with countable and uncountable nouns so you can make the right choice of article. See the table below for examples.

3_OH How to use articles (a, an, the) in English

However, we use ‘no article’ in other situations without grammatical rules. In this case, it’s something you have to remember.

Check out some of the following situations for knowing where you must leave out the article.

Use ‘no article’ before:

  • Names of languages and nationalities : Chinese, Russian (unless referring to the population of the place e.g. ‘The Italians are known for their delicious food.’).
  • Names of sports : cricket, baseball.
  • Names of subjects : Art, Mathematics.

Geographical places

When it comes to geographical places, such as countries or continents, we use ‘the’ in some cases, and no article in others. Unfortunately, there aren’t any rules to help you here – you just have to familiarise yourself with the ones that need ‘the’ or not.

Do NOT use ‘the’ before:

  • Lakes : Lake Geneva, Lake Placids
  • Mountains : Mount Fuji, Mount Everest.
  • Continents : Europe, Asia.
  • Most countries : England, Sweden.
  • Counties/states/provinces/regions : Oxfordshire, Catalunya, California.
  • Cities, towns, villages : London, Paris.
  • Islands : Bali, Hawaii.
  • Street names : Main Street, 5th Avenue.

Use ‘the’ before:

  • Rivers : The Nile, The Mississippi.
  • Mountain ranges : The Andes, The Pyrenees.
  • Deserts : The Sahara, The Atacama.
  • Oceans and seas : The Pacific, The Mediterranean.
  • Groups of islands : The Maldives, The Seychelles.
  • Some countries : The USA, The Netherlands.
  • Points on the globe : The Equator, The North Pole.
  • Geographical areas : The Middle East, The West.

Check out some of the most common mistakes with articles in this video:

Now you know the grammar, here’s a short test for you to test your knowledge. Find the answers at the end of the blog – don’t peek !

Answer the questions with: ‘a/an’, ‘the’ or ‘no article’.

1. I love going on holiday to ____ Maldives.

2. Did you watch ____ the Mel Gibson film on TV last night?

3. Do you still live in ____ Bristol?

4. I’ve had ____ terrible headache all day.

5. The book is about someone who lives on ____ small island.

6. She lives in ____ Scotland now, but is from ____ Netherlands.

7. They speak ____ Chinese.

8. I’d love to go sailing along ____ Ganges river.

9. Who is that woman in ____ photograph?

10. Can I have _____ sugar in my coffee please?

More grammar lessons

Congratulations – now you’re an articles expert! But it doesn’t have to stop here. We’ve got plenty more grammar lessons for you to check out . Try these:

4 present tenses and how to use them

4 past tenses and when to use them

4 future tenses and how to use them

4 conditionals and when to use them

4 types of modal verbs

Quiz answers

3. no article

6. no article, the

7. no article

10. no article

Want more help with your grammar? Sign up for one of our courses!

Glossary for Language Learners

Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn’t know.

Pick up (pv): obtain, acquire, or learn something in an informal way.

Tricky (adj): difficult.

Leave out (pv): fail to include something.

Peek (v): look quickly.

Check out (pv): look at or take notice of someone or something.

pv = phrasal verb

adj = adjective

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  • All TIP Sheets
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  • Definite and Indefinite Articles
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Definite and Indefinite Articles (a, an, the)

TIP Sheet DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE ARTICLES

In English there are three articles: a , an , and the . Articles are used before nouns or noun equivalents and are a type of adjective. The definite article ( the ) is used before a noun to indicate that the identity of the noun is known to the reader. The indefinite article ( a , an ) is used before a noun that is general or when its identity is not known. There are certain situations in which a noun takes no article.

As a guide, the following definitions and table summarize the basic use of articles. Continue reading for a more detailed explanation of the rules and for examples of how and when to apply them.

Definite article

the (before a singular or plural noun)

Indefinite article

a (before a singular noun beginning with a consonant sound) an (before a singular noun beginning with a vowel sound)

Count nouns - refers to items that can be counted and are either singular or plural

Non-count nouns - refers to items that are not counted and are always singular

For the purposes of understanding how articles are used, it is important to know that nouns can be either count (can be counted) or noncount (indefinite in quantity and cannot be counted). In addition, count nouns are either singular (one) or plural (more than one). Noncount nouns are always in singular form.

For example, if we are speaking of water that has been spilled on the table, there can be one drop ( singular ) or two or more drops ( plural ) of water on the table. The word drop in this example is a count noun because we can count the number of drops. Therefore, according to the rules applying to count nouns, the word drop would use the articles a or the .

However, if we are speaking of water in general spilled on the table, it would not be appropriate to count one water or two waters -- there would simply be water on the table. Water is a noncount noun. Therefore, according to the rules applying to noncount nouns, the word water would use no article or the , but not a .

Following are the three specific rules which explain the use of definite and indefinite articles.

Rule #1 - Specific identity not known : Use the indefinite article a or an only with a singular count noun whose specific identity is not known to the reader. Use a before nouns that begin with a consonant sound, and use an before nouns that begin with a vowel sound.

  • Use the article a or an to indicate any non-specified member of a group or category.
I think an animal is in the garage That man is a scoundrel. We are looking for an apartment.
  • Use the article a or an to indicate one in number (as opposed to more than one).
I own a cat and two dogs.
  • Use the article a before a consonant sound, and use an before a vowel sound.
a boy, an apple
◊ Sometimes an adjective comes between the article and noun:
an unhappy boy, a red apple
  • The plural form of a or an is some . Use some to indicate an unspecified, limited amount (but more than one).
an apple, some apples

Rule #2 - Specific identity known : Use the definite article the with any noun (whether singular or plural, count or noncount) when the specific identity of the noun is known to the reader, as in the following situations:

  • Use the article the when a particular noun has already been mentioned previously.
I ate an apple yesterday.  The apple was juicy and delicious.
  • Use the article the when an adjective, phrase, or clause describing the noun clarifies or restricts its identity.

The boy sitting next to me raised his hand. Thank you for the advice you gave me.

  • Use the article the when the noun refers to something or someone that is unique.

the theory of relativity the 2003 federal budget

Rule #3 - All things or things in general : Use no article with plural count nouns or any noncount nouns used to mean all or in general .

Trees are beautiful in the fall. (All trees are beautiful in the fall.) He was asking for advice. (He was asking for advice in general.) I do not like coffee. (I do not like all coffee in general.)

Additional Information Regarding the Use of Articles

  • When indicating an unspecified, limited amount of a count or noncount noun, use some .

My cousin was seeking some advice from a counselor (not advice in general or advice about everything, but a limited amount of advice).

I would love some coffee right now (not coffee in general, but a limited amount of coffee).

We might get rain tomorrow . Some rain would be good for the crops (a certain amount of rain, as opposed to rain in general).

There are some drops of water on the table (a limited number, but more than one drop).

  • Noncount nouns are those which usually cannot be counted. Following are some common examples:

◊ Certain food and drink items : bacon, beef, bread, broccoli, butter, cabbage, candy, cauliflower, celery, cereal, cheese, chicken, chocolate, coffee, corn, cream, fish, flour, fruit, ice cream, lettuce, meat, milk, oil, pasta, rice, salt, spinach, sugar, tea, water, wine, yogurt

◊ Certain nonfood substances : air, cement, coal, dirt, gasoline, gold, paper, petroleum, plastic, rain, silver, snow, soap, steel, wood, wool

◊ Most abstract nouns : advice, anger, beauty, confidence, courage, employment, fun, happiness, health, honesty, information, intelligence, knowledge, love, poverty, satisfaction, truth, wealth

◊ Areas of study : history, math, biology, etc.

◊ Sports : soccer, football, baseball, hockey, etc.

◊ Languages : Chinese, Spanish, Russian, English, etc.

◊ Other : clothing, equipment, furniture, homework, jewelry, luggage, lumber, machinery, mail, money, news, poetry, pollution, research, scenery, traffic, transportation, violence, weather, work

  • Geographical names are confusing because some require the and some do not.

◊ Use the with : united countries, large regions, deserts, peninsulas, oceans, seas, gulfs, canals, rivers, mountain ranges, groups of islands

the Gobi Desert the United Arab Emirates the Sacramento River the Aleutians

◊ Do not use the with : streets, parks, cities, states, counties, most countries, continents, bays, single lakes, single mountains, islands

Japan Chico Mt. Everest San Francisco Bay

Examples of the Use of Articles

I do not want a gun in my house (any gun). The gun is in his closet (implies there is a specific gun). I am afraid of guns (all guns in general).

She sent me a postcard from Italy (an unspecific postcard - not a letter, not an e-mail). It's the postcard that I have in my office (one specific postcard). Getting postcards makes me want to travel (any postcard in general).

I have a dog (one dog). The dog is very friendly (the dog that I have already mentioned). Dogs make great pets (dogs in general).

Greta needs furniture in her apartment (furniture is a noncount noun). She is going to select the furniture that she needs (the specific furniture that she needs). She hopes to find some furniture this weekend (an unspecified, limited amount of furniture).

We are going to see the Statue of Liberty this weekend (the only Statue of Liberty).

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Free English Lessons

Articles in english – 5 levels – video.

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Articles in English - 5 Levels thumbnail

In this lesson, you can test your ability to use articles in English: ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’.

When should – and shouldn’t – you use ‘the’ what’s the difference between ‘a/an’ and ‘the’ how can you remember the rules and exceptions you’ll see how to deal with these questions in this lesson., quiz: articles—levels 1 to 3.

Test your understanding of the rules and exceptions for using articles by trying this quiz.

It’s divided into two parts, following the order of the lesson. The first part covers levels one, two and three.

You’ll get your score when you’ve finished. After that, click ‘View Questions’ to see what you answered correctly and read our explanations for anything you didn’t get right.

If you do well, have a go at Levels 4 and 5 below.

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1 . Question

Level One Choose the correct option: ‘a’, ‘an’, ‘the’ or no article.

There’s ________ new supermarket on the High Street.

There are many supermarkets in your town. You are mentioning this new one for the first time.

2 . Question

My dad’s ________ engineer.

There’s a rule about which article to use for professions – check level one of the lesson. There’s also a rule about what happens before a vowel.

3 . Question

I don’t like ________ horror films.

This is a general comment about all horror films.

4 . Question

Please turn off ________ light when you leave the room.

This refers to a specific light in a specific room.

5 . Question

Level Two Decide if the highlighted words are necessary, incorrect or optional.

That’s the best play I’ve ever seen.

  • It’s necessary to use ‘the’.
  • It’s incorrect to use ‘the’.
  • You can use 'the' or no article, with different meanings.

The word ‘best’ is a superlative adjective. There’s a fixed rule for this, mentioned in level two of the lesson.

6 . Question

I don’t like driving to work, because there’s so much traffic, so I go by the train.

There is a rule for what happens with transport and the word ‘by’. It’s mentioned in level two.

7 . Question

I usually have the toast for the breakfast.

  • It’s necessary to use ‘the’ both times.
  • It’s incorrect to use ‘the’ both times.
  • You can use 'the' or no article both times, with different meanings.

There is an example in the lesson of using ‘the’ to choose a specific item from a menu on one particular morning. However, this is not the case here. This sentence is about a regular habit, not a specific breakfast.

8 . Question

Many of the people who went to my school have moved away from our hometown.

  • It’s necessary to use ‘of the’.
  • It’s incorrect to use ‘of the’.
  • You can use 'of the' or no article, with different meanings.

Remember that if you use the word ‘of’, you also need the word ‘the’ – so ‘many of people’ is always incorrect. Here, you’re choosing between ‘many people’ and ‘many of the people’. Is there a difference?

9 . Question

Level Three Rearrange the words to create a sentence. Each sentence in this section includes one name that requires ‘the’ and one that doesn’t.

  • White House
  • is situated on
  • Pennsylvania Avenue.

View Answers:

Use ‘the’ with most buildings but not with street names.

10 . Question

Level Three Rearrange the words to create a sentence.

  • the highest mountain in

Mont Blanc is the name of one mountain. The other name – Alps – refers to more than one. Use the punctuation to help you (a full stop at the end and a capital letter at the start).

11 . Question

  • flows out of
  • Lake Victoria.

White Nile is the name of a river. Lake Victoria is (obviously!) a lake.

12 . Question

  • Magdalen College.
  • University of Oxford
  • are found at
  • Some of the most beautiful buildings at the

There is a rule, mentioned in level three, about using ‘the’ with buildings that include other names.

QUIZ: Articles—Levels 4 and 5

Now try the harder challenge of our quiz for the higher levels.

You can do this and any of our quizzes as many times as you like before looking at the correct answers. Just click ‘Restart Quiz’ when you’ve seen your score.

0 of 8 Questions completed

0 of 8 Questions answered correctly

That’s an excellent score on a very difficult quiz! Congratulations!

A perfect score on a very difficult quiz! Congratulations!

Level Four This section includes sentences about groups of animals, people and things. Mark all sentences that are grammatically correct.

  • Cheetahs can run faster than any other animals.
  • The cheetah can run faster than any other animal.

There is a similar example in the lesson about orangutans.

Level Four Mark all sentences that are grammatically correct.

  • When I was at school, I learned to play the violin.
  • When I was at school, I learned to play a violin.
  • When I was at school, I learned to play violins.

Only one option is correct.

  • I donate to a local charity every month to support the poor.
  • I donate to a local charity every month to support poor people.
  • I donate to a local charity every month to support the poor people.
  • I donate to a local charity every month to support the poor people in my area.

Hint: There are three correct sentences. Two of these mean the same thing and one means something different, but you should mark all three as grammatically correct.

Level Four Mark the sentences that are grammatically correct and refer to all people of the nationalities mentioned.

  • The British are famously more reserved than the American.
  • The British are famously more reserved than the Americans.
  • The British are famously more reserved than Americans.
  • British people are famously more reserved than American people.

Three options are correct, so there’s just one that you shouldn’t click.   This requires a bit of knowledge that wasn’t explained in the lesson – it’s a spelling rule for when you can use ‘the’ + adjective to refer to people from a specific country. If the nationality ends with ‘n’, you can’t use the adjective, so you have to use the plural noun instead.

Level Five Write one article – the , a or an – in each gap, or if no article is required, write n/a

Sometimes more than one option is possible – you only need to write one. Do not leave any gaps blank.

Liverpool have had appalling first half. They need to get their act together in second.

This is similar to an example in the lesson. You should know which article to use when there is only one of something. However, if you are describing it with an adjective, which article should you use instead?

People are more aware of airborne infections following coronavirus pandemic, so it should lead to more hygiene-conscious future.

You need the definite article once, the indefinite article once and no article once.

For your information, breakfast is served in dining room, which is located behind reception on ground floor.

This time, you need the definite article twice and no article twice.

We had great holiday in Maldives last year, but it was only short. We arrived late on Monday night and left again on Friday.

There is only one correct answer in each of the first three gaps. In the last two, more than one answer is possible.

Here’s how this lesson works.

There are five levels. Each level is more difficult than the previous one.

Level one is beginner. Levels two to four are intermediate. Level five is high intermediate to advanced.

If you’re not a beginner, start at level two! At each level, you can see what you need to focus on if you have difficulties.

Got it? Let’s start with level one.

Look at five sentences using articles in English. Each sentence has a gap. You can put ‘a’, ‘an’, ‘the’ or nothing in the gap.

  • There’s ________ lemon tree in my garden.
  • She’s ________ doctor, and her brothers are ________ pilots.
  • I really like ________ strawberries.
  • Can I ask ________ question?
  • It’s cold! Can you close ________ window?

Pause the video and find your answers now!

Ready? Let’s see the answers together.

  • There’s a lemon tree in my garden.
  • She’s a doctor, and her brothers are pilots.
  • I really like strawberries.
  • Can I ask a question?
  • It’s cold! Can you close the window?

Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ after ‘there is’, when you’re talking about one thing.

Use the article 'a' when talking about one thing: man holding up the number one

Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ to say what someone is, for example to say someone’s job .

Remember that you can’t use ‘a’ or ‘an’ with a plural noun. Use nothing.

Don’t use ‘a’ or ‘the’ to talk about things in general. If you say ‘I like strawberries’, you mean that you like *all* strawberries, in general.

Image of strawberries

Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ to mean ‘one of many’. This is a common way to use ‘a’ or ‘an’, so it’s useful to remember this idea.

Here, there are many possible questions you could ask, but you just want to ask one.

Use ‘the’ when it’s obvious which thing you mean. You often use ‘the’ in this way to talk about things around you which you can see and touch.

There are many windows in the world, but if someone asks you to close the window, you probably know which window they mean.

Now, let’s move on to level two.

Here are your sentences for level two.

  • We had smoked fish for breakfast.
  • He’s always been tallest one in his class.
  • I mostly watch TV on Internet these days.
  • Most of people in my class take bus to college.
  • I need to stop at post office on my way to work.

Here, we’ll focus on when to use ‘the’ or not.

Some of these sentences are missing ‘the’. Some are correct. Your job is to decide which sentences are incorrect, and add ‘the’ where needed. Pause the video and think about it.

Could you do it? Take more time if you want!

OK, let’s see the answers.

  • He’s always been the tallest one in his class.
  • I mostly watch TV on the Internet these days.
  • Most of the people in my class take the bus to college.
  • I need to stop at the post office on my way to work.

In number one, ‘fish’ is general – you aren’t talking about some specific fish.

However, you could say ‘the smoked fish’. Do you know when?

You could say ‘the smoked fish’ if you were talking about food from a menu. You often use this when ordering in a restaurant . For example: ‘I’ll have the salmon, please.’ In this case, it’s something specific. ‘The smoked fish’ means ‘the smoked fish which is on your menu and which you serve here.’

Ording in a restaurant - using the article 'the'

Meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner – don’t usually have an article.

Use ‘the’ before a superlative adjective, like ‘tallest’, ‘most’ or ‘best’.

Learn more in this Oxford Online English lesson: Adjectives in English .

In many phrases, you just have to remember whether to use ‘the’ or not. Why do you say ‘on TV’, without ‘the’, but ‘on the Internet’, with ‘the’? There’s no real logic to this; you just need to remember. Try to learn phrases like this as whole chunks, so you don’t have to think about whether to use ‘the’ or not when you’re using them in speech.

If you’re talking about people in general, then you don’t use ‘the’. For example: ‘Most people in the UK live in houses, not apartments.’

But, if you’re talking about a specific group of people, then you need ‘the’. That’s why you say ‘most of the people in my class’ – you’re talking about a specific, limited group of people.

When you’re talking about transport , you need ‘the’ if you use the verb ‘take’: take the bus, take the train, take the subway, and so on.

However, don’t use ‘the’ after ‘by’: go by bus, get there by train, travel by subway, and so on.

Finally, you often need to use ‘the’ with places in a city, like shops, supermarkets, banks and so on.

Let’s think about something; look at two sentences.

  • I need to stop at a post office on my way to work.

Both are possible, but what’s the difference?

Sentence number one, with ‘the’, means that you know which post office you’re going to and where it is.

The second sentence, with ‘a’, means that there are many post offices, and maybe you haven’t decided which one you’re going to stop at.

Usually, when you talk about places in a city, you have a specific place in mind. That’s why you often need ‘the’.

Got it? In the next two sections, you’ll see more details about when to use ‘the’, and when not to when talking about articles in English.

Level Three

One of the biggest challenges with using ‘the’ accurately is different kinds of name. There are many rules to remember, and they aren’t very consistent. Let’s practise this now!

  • We’re going to ________ Odeon on ________ George Street to see a film – want to come?
  • ________ Philippines consists of thousands of islands, the largest of which is ________ Luzon.
  • ________ Nile flows into ________ Mediterranean Sea.
  • ________ Stansted airport is often described as being in London, although it’s actually in ________ Essex, about 45 minutes away from the city.
  • Why do some people say ‘________ Edinburgh University’ and other people say ‘________ University of Edinburgh’?

Each sentence has two spaces. The question is: do you need ‘the’ or not? Pause the video and think about it.

Ready? Let’s check!

  • We’re going to the Odeon on George Street to see a film – want to come?
  • The Philippines consists of thousands of islands, the largest of which is Luzon.
  • The Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea.
  • Stansted airport is often described as being in London, although it’s actually in Essex, about 45 minutes away from the city.
  • Why do some people say ‘Edinburgh University’ and other people say ‘ The University of Edinburgh’?

Many building names, like cinemas, museums, theatres and other famous buildings have names with ‘the’. The Odeon is a well-known cinema chain.

Street names don’t use ‘the’.

There’s a confusing rule with islands: if you’re talking about a group of islands, you need ‘the’, but for an individual island, you don’t use ‘the’. So, you say ‘the Philippines’ but ‘Luzon’. You say ‘the Seychelles’ but ‘Hawaii’, without ‘the’.

There’s something similar with mountains and mountain ranges. If you’re talking about a mountain range, like ‘the Himalayas’, you need ‘the’. But for a single mountain, like ‘Mount Everest’, you don’t use ‘the’.

Use ‘the’ with names of rivers, seas and oceans. What about lakes? No ‘the’ for lakes!

This is the kind of time you might be feeling annoyed with the English language. Why are there all these rules? Why don’t they make sense?

First, don’t worry about these things too much. It’s good to speak and write accurately, but it’s also not the end of the world if you make a mistake with ‘the’ in these situations.

Second, learning language in chunks can really help here. If you learn the sentence ‘Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines’, and you remember the sentence, you don’t have to think about when to use ‘the’ or not.

Then, if you learn in this way, you have many examples in your head of when to use ‘the’ or not. This can build your instinct for what’s correct, which makes it easier to decide when to use ‘the’ or not in new sentences.

Here’s a rule which is useful: if a name has a place as part of the name, it probably won’t have ‘the’. Stansted is a place, so the name ‘Stansted airport’ doesn’t have ‘the’.

Like countries, names of counties, states, provinces and so on mostly don’t have ‘the’. Essex is a county in the east of England.

In number five, you can see another example of a name with a place: Edinburgh University. It doesn’t use ‘the’.

But, if a name has ‘of’ in it, it generally will need ‘the’, even if it includes a place name.

And, sometimes there are two names for the same thing! You can say Edinburgh University, or the University of Edinburgh. The first one is more common, but both are possible.

OK? Remember that you might need to review a section more than once to get it. Also, remember that these five levels lessons are designed to help you find out what you know and what you don’t know. If you find a section difficult, that can help you to understand where your weaknesses are, and what you need to spend more time on.

Here, you’re going to see a topic which is – in our experience – one of the most confusing for English learners relating to using ‘the’.

Before you see your sentences for level four, look at an example.

  • The orangutan is found in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Orangutans - using the article 'the' to talk about all of them

Here, are we talking about one orangutan?

No, here, we mean all orangutans. We’re talking about orangutans generally. So, why use a singular noun with ‘the’? Why not use a plural noun and say: ‘Orangutans are found in Malaysia and Indonesia.’?

Well, you can. Both sentences are possible.

  • Orangutans are found in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Using ‘the’ here means that you’re talking about a group or category. It can be confusing, because usually you use ‘the’ to talk about a specific thing, but here ‘the’ has a general meaning.

Let’s practise this a little more. Look at your sentences for this level.

  • The Siberian tiger is considered endangered, with just a few hundred individuals living in the wild.
  • I think the rich should be taxed more to reduce the wealth divide in society.
  • Although Switzerland is not part of the EU, the Swiss can live and work in other EU countries, just like EU citizens can.
  • Many cities are planning for a future in which the electric car is the most popular form of road transport.
  • Playing any musical instrument to a high standard is difficult, but I think the piano is the most difficult to master.

So, what do you have to do? Focus on the highlighted phrases with ‘the’. Some of these phrases can be replaced with a plural noun, without ‘the’, like in the example about orangutans you just saw. Your job is to find the sentences where this is possible, and change the noun phrase. You might need to add some words. Pause the video, take your time, and think about it!

Ready? Confused? Let’s do one together. Here’s the answer for number one only.

  • Siberian tigers are considered endangered, with just a few hundred individuals living in the wild.

Here, it’s possible to use a plural noun with the same meaning, like this. If you want more time to think about the others, pause the video now.

Done? Let’s see the remaining answers.

  • I think rich people should be taxed more to reduce the wealth divide in society.
  • Although Switzerland is not part of the EU, Swiss people can live and work in other EU countries, just like EU citizens can.
  • Many cities are planning for a future in which electric cars are the most popular form of road transport.

In sentences two and three, ‘rich’ and ‘Swiss’ are adjectives. You can use ‘the’ plus an adjective to talk about a group or category in general. If you want to use a plural noun instead, you need to add the noun – ‘people’.

In sentence five, you can’t use a plural noun. With musical instruments, you can only use ‘the’ plus a singular noun to talk about the category in general.

Again, if you’re questioning your life choices in watching this video, don’t worry about it. Many English learners find this difficult, and need time to understand it in depth.

On the other hand, these aren’t strange sentences or rules that you only need sometimes. These rules and topics are relevant for speaking and writing in almost any situation, so they’re worth spending time on if you want to communicate accurately and clearly!

OK, you’re nearly done – one more level to go!

This is it – level five – the hardest questions we could make using articles in English.

Here are five sentences.

  • There is a Jamie in my office, but that’s not the Jamie I was telling you about yesterday.
  • The invention of the quantum computer will lead to the future we can’t imagine today.
  • Your birthday was on a Thursday last year; don’t you remember? We went to see your parents together on following Saturday.
  • I’m staying at the Four Seasons, on the 16th floor, in the room 515.
  • We had a terrible first half of the year; let’s hope a second half will be better!

Four of these sentences have mistakes; one is correct. Can you find the correct sentence, and correct the mistakes in the other four? Pause the video and try it now!

Difficult? Here’s a clue: you might need to forget about the rules you know. These sentences test your knowledge of exceptions and unusual cases which don’t fit the general rules about using articles.

Finished? Let’s look together.

  • The invention of the quantum computer will lead to a future we can’t imagine today.
  • Your birthday was on a Thursday last year; don’t you remember? We went to see your parents together on the following Saturday.
  • We had a terrible first half of the year; let’s hope the second half will be better!

Sentence one is correct. How do you explain this?

Normally, you don’t use articles with people’s names. However, here, you’re talking about multiple people who have the same name, and contrasting them. ‘The Jamie I was telling you about’ is specific, and needs ‘the’ to show this. ‘a Jamie in my class’ is one of many Jamies, but not the Jamie we’re interested in right now.

In most cases, you say ‘the future’. In sentence two, you’re talking about one of many possible futures, so you use ‘a’. This is common when you use an adjective with ‘future’: ‘a bright future’, ‘a difficult future’, and so on.

Again, sentence three shows you an exception to a rule. You don’t usually use articles with days of the week, but if you’re talking about which day a specific date falls on, then you can use ‘a’. You also need an article with days of the week if you use certain adjectives, like ‘following’ or ‘previous’.

Image of days of the week - articles in English

Sentence four is a good example of how inconsistent the ‘rules’ are here. You need ‘the’ for the hotel name, and for the floor number, but you don’t use ‘the’ with the room number. Don’t try to look for the logic – there isn’t any.

In sentence five, it would be easy to think that the two noun phrases – ‘first/second half of the year’ – should have the same article. However, in this case there is some logic to why they’re different.

In the first one, you say ‘a terrible first half’ because, although there’s only one first half of the year, there are many ways it could have gone. It could have been good, or amazing, or average, or bad, and so on.

In the second one, there’s no adjective. Here, you use regular rules – there’s only one second half of the year, so you use ‘the’. The adjective makes all the difference.

That’s all. We hope you found the lesson interesting!

Keep practicing with another lesson: 5 Levels – Adverbs and Adjectives.

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Grammar Exercise: Article Gap Fill

  • Pre-Intermediate

For each space, decide if you need to write in an article or not. Use "the", "a" or "an". If you decide no article is needed, just put a 'X' in the space.

1. lions are dangerous animals for people.

2. They said on the radio this morning that lions at the zoo have all got flu!

3. I went to Paris last year and we visited the Eiffel Tower.

4. And we also saw Louvre Art Gallery.

5. You should go to bed if you feel sick.

6. The Mississippi is one of biggest rivers in the world.

7. music always helps me to relax when I am studying.

8. I hated music they were playing last night at the party.

9. Let's go to the shops. We only have few eggs!

10. pollution is a big threat to the world.

11. I am often ill because of pollution in this city.

12. United States is the fourth biggest country in the world.

13. There was a fire at Regency Hotel last night.

14. I'm teacher. I teach children in a large, private school.

15. I had breakfast in a cafe today.

16. My house is very close to River Thames in London.

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Understanding grammar: a, an, or the.

Football match at dusk.

In this week's Premier Skills English Podcast, Jack and Rich talk about Indian food (Jack loves it, but Rich is not a big fan). The language focus is on articles (a, an, the) which is an area of English that lots of learners have problems with as they are often used differently in your first language or don't exist at all. More specifically, we are going to focus on how we use articles when we are talking in a general sense and when we are talking about a specific thing.  Your task is to complete some sentences and use the correct article. As always, we also have a new football phrase for you to guess. Enjoy!

Introduction

Warning : This section contains jokes!

Jack : Excuse me ... waiter ...

Rich : Yes sir. Is everything OK?

Jack : No. It’s not. Look. There's a fly in my soup! 

Rich : Its OK, sir, there's no extra charge! 

Jack : But what’s the fly doing there?

Rich : Hmmm. It looks like it’s floating.

Jack : I can see that. But why? Why is there a dead fly in my soup?

Rich : It probably drowned. Oh no, look. It’s still alive 

Jack : But what’s it doing in my soup?

Rich : I think it’s praying.

Jack : Well take it away. I can’t eat it now.

Rich : Ah! Its prayers were answered.

Rich : Hello my name’s Rich

Jack : and I’m Jack

Rich : and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast

Jack : Where we talk about football and help you with your English.

Rich : Those jokes at the beginning were very funny. 

Jack : Yes - and there were some examples of language that we’re going to look at in the podcast.

Rich : Are we talking about dead flies?

Jack : Ha ha. Let me give you a clue. I said. There’s a dead fly in my soup. And then I said what’s the fly doing there.

Rich : A fly then the fly. So we’re talking about articles. This will be really useful for my students. They often make mistakes and say things like I like the football or I’m doctor. 

Jack : Lots of students have problems with articles. It’s tricky in English; when do you say the or a or an or when not to use an article. They should be saying I like football and I’m a doctor.

Rich : The problem is articles don’t exist in lots of languages or are used very differently in other languages.

Jack : And the rules are complicated. There are lots of different rules and there always seem to exceptions. I always tell my students to think about the rules as guides. 

Rich : So, in this week’s podcast we’re going to try to help you with this difficult area of English and we’re going to focus on the most difficult rules or guidelines.

Jack : And later on, there’s going to be a quiz for you to do that will test how well you use articles.

Topic Focus

Rich : It was a good match the other day, wasn’t it?

Jack : Yeah, it was a really good match and we won!

Rich : Did you do anything after the match? I didn’t see you.

Jack : I had to rush off. I had a date with a curry.

Rich : You had a date with a curry?

Jack : Well, not really. I was meeting my wife at an Indian restaurant in town.

Rich : Ah! I see. Which one did you go to?

Jack : The Taj Mahal. You know, the one on the high street in the centre of town.

Rich : I’ve not been to that one ... I’m not a big fan of curry. 

Jack : You don’t like curry! The curry at the Taj Majal is amazing. On Saturday I had a chicken jalfrezi. It was delicious. It’s possibly the best curry in the UK!

Rich : I don’t like the smell.

Jack : The smell? The smell in Indian restaurants is wonderful. When you can smell all the spices in the air, you know the food is being freshly cooked and prepared. In the Taj Mahal in town, the smell hits you when you walk in and really makes your mouth water.

Rich : It’s all a bit too spicy for me.

Jack : I love spicy food. As I said, I had a chicken jalfrezi. It was so good. I mean, they’re always good, but the one I had on Saturday was super spicy. The waiter knows how I like it.

Rich : No thanks - that would blow my head off. I do like poppadoms and naan bread though.

Jack : The naan bread in the Taj Mahal is really tasty and it’s massive too! Yum!

Rich : Do you want to hear a joke about an Indian restaurant?

Jack : Is the joke funny? Your jokes aren’t always very funny.

Rich : Of course, it is. So, do you want to hear a joke?

Jack : Go on then.

Rich : Well it’s too bad. I’ve got naan.

Jack : What?

Rich : Naan - like naan bread... I’ve got naan.

Jack : Groan - Your jokes are generally pretty bad, but that one was terrible.

Rich : That’s not true. Well, maybe that one wasn’t very funny. But normally my jokes make my students laugh.

Language Focus

Jack : This week we’re looking at articles, a, an, the and when you use no article. Articles can be really difficult to use because there are lots of rules or guides, but there are always exceptions. 

Rich : In the last section, Jack told us about an Indian restaurant he visited last weekend and while we were speaking we used lots of articles. 

Jack : However, we’re going to focus on one particularly difficult rule. It’s difficult because it’s hard to explain - or that’s how it seems to me. The first thing to remember is, we don’t use articles when we are talking about something in a general way. 

Rich : In the example conversation, I said ‘I don’t like curry’. We don’t use an article because we don’t use articles when talking about countable or uncountable nouns in a general sense.

Jack : What do you mean ‘a general sense’?

Rich : When we are not being specific. I’m not talking about one curry. I’m not talking about one curry in a restaurant. I’m talking about all curries in general. I don’t like curry, or I don’t like curries. 

Jack : I was talking about the curry I ate at the restaurant, but Rich was talking about all curry. Another example is when I said, ‘I love spicy food’. I was talking about spicy food in general, so you wouldn’t say ‘I love the spicy food’ if you’re talking in a general sense about all spicy food.

Rich : Good, but you could say ‘I love the curry they cook at the Taj Mahal’ or ‘I love the spicy food you can get at Thai supermarkets’.

Jack : That brings us to the second thing to remember. We usually use the definite article - the - with nouns when we are talking about something specific, that is, when we are talking about one thing and not others, for example, one curry and not all curries. 

Rich : In the roleplay, I said, ‘I like naan bread’ and Jack replied by saying ‘the naan bread at the Taj Majal is really tasty’. I was speaking in a general sense, so I didn’t use an article.

Jack : But I was speaking about some specific naan bread so I said ‘the naan bread’.

Rich : Another way of thinking about it is if you are being specific, it means that the noun you are talking about is known - it is something that the listener already knows - he or she knows what you are speaking about and we use the in these situations.

Jack : There are reasons for this. Sometimes the listener knows what the noun refers to because there is only one of something. For example, the moon, the president, the pope.  

Rich : Often, this is because the listener understands the context of the conversation. Jack said ‘the waiter knows how I like it’.

Jack : When you are watching football, you can say ‘the referee’ because everyone knows from the context who you are talking about. 

Rich : Finally, what you are referring to might be known because you’ve already spoken about it. In the conversation earlier, I said to Jack ‘Did you do anything after the match?’ I said the match because he already knew which match I was speaking about. 

Jack : Or in the joke at the beginning of the podcast, I said there’s a fly in my soup, but once Rich knew the fly was there my next sentence was ‘but what is the fly doing there’.

Rich : Remember, there are lots of exceptions when we use articles so it’s difficult to give you specific rules. We’ve got some more activities and examples for you to look at in the activities on the page below this podcast. 

Rich : This week’s task is a little quiz about articles. We’re going to give you five sentences and you have to decide if you need to use an article and if you do, whether you need to use a, an, or the.

Jack : Think about whether the noun refers to something specific or something general. Right here are the five sentences. 

Rich : Number one: I like ______ football.

Jack : Number two: I like watching ______ football on Saturday afternoons.

Rich : Number three: I’m going to watch ______ match between Liverpool and Real Madrid.

Jack : Number four: Have you got ______ car fixed yet?

Rich : Number five: I hadn’t played _____ computer games for ages but  _____ one I played the other day was brilliant. 

Jack : Write the most common answers in the comments section at the bottom of the page. If you can think of any other possible answers, let us know and describe the situation.

Football Phrase

Rich : Have you got a football phrase for us this week? 

Jack : Yes, I have, but first, last week’s football phrase. The phrase was all-rounder. It’s a noun that you use to describe a player who can dribble, pass, shoot, attack and defend very well. If a player is strong in all aspects of the game, you can call them an all-rounder.

Rich : You said it was easy, but I think it was quite difficult - only a couple of you got it right so well done to Liubomyr from Ukraine and Lakerwang from China. What’s this week’s football phrase?

Jack : This week’s football phrase is to **** *** (on something).  You’ll probably hear this phrase a lot in this next few weeks. Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny is going to **** *** on the World Cup after getting injured last week. It means to not do something or not to take part in something that is usually enjoyable. Some players will **** *** on the World Cup because of injury and some will **** *** because they’re not selected.

Rich : Quite tricky. Let’s see who gets it right? Right, that’s all we have time for this week! Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and make a guess at our football phrase in the comments below.

Jack : If you have enjoyed this podcast or found it useful, leave us a rating or review and that will help other people find us. 

Rich : Bye for now and enjoy your football!

How much did you understand?

In the podcast, Rich and Jack used some words and phrases that might be new for you. Do you know the words  in bold ?

Sorry I had to rush off . I had a date with a curry. You know, the one on the high street in the centre of town.

There were a few tricky words in the podcast. Do you know what they all mean? Try the activity below, then, listen to the podcast again to hear how we used the words.

Do you know what this place is called? Where is it? It's not where Jack went for his date last week!

In this week's podcast, Jack and Rich spoke about articles. You probably already know lots of rules or guides about when to use articles in English. In this podcast, we've tried to concentrate on one difficult idea, the articles we use when we are talking in a general way and when we are talking about something specific. If you'd like to learn more about articles we've got another podcast about articles we did last year that you can take a look at.

General and Specific

When we are talking about things in general, we don't normally use an article before the noun. Take a look at these examples from the podcast:

I don't like curry. I love spicy food.

We don’t use an article because we don’t use articles when talking about countable or uncountable nouns in a general sense. In the sentences above, we're talking about all curries and all spicy food so we're talking in a general way.

When we are talking about a specific thing, we usually use the definite article (the) before the noun:

I love the curry they cook at the Taj Mahal. I love the spicy food you can get at Thai supermarkets.

These sentences are very similar to the general sentences above, but we're now talking about a specific curry and some specific food, so we use the definite article (the).

Is there a fly in that soup?

The context (the situation) of a conversation is also very important. We often use the definite article (the) when something is known to both the speaker and the listener. Here are three examples we spoke about in the podcast:

The waiter knows how I like it. Did you do anything after the match? What is the fly doing there?

In all three of these situations, the noun was known to the listener, but the reasons are different. In the first sentence, it is known because it is obvious that there are waiters in a restaurant, in the second it is because Rich knew which match Jack had gone to and in the third sentence it is because Jack had spoken about the fly a few seconds earlier (using the indefinite article a ).

Indian Food

In the podcast, Jack and Rich spoke about Indian food and Indian restaurants in the UK. Did you know that curry is the most popular dish in the UK? It's even more popular than fish and chips! If you visit the UK, there is a good chance that someone will recommend going to an Indian restaurant. In the podcast, Jack and Rich used a lot of vocabulary you can use at Indian or other types of restaurants. Have a go at the activity below and learn the words.

Have you ever tried a curry?

Complete the sentences

In the podcast, Rich and Jack gave you five sentences. Your task is to complete the sentences either using an article (a, an, the) or leaving the gap blank (no article).  Think about the situation of each sentence - is it general or specific? Write your answers in the comments section at the bottom of the page. If you can think of any situations where two or even three options are possible, let us know in the comments.

I like ______ football.

I like watching ______ football on Saturday afternoons.

I’m going to watch ______ match between Liverpool and Real Madrid.

Have you got ______ car fixed yet?

I hadn’t played _____ computer games for ages but _____ one I played the other day was brilliant. 

Write your answers in the comments section below.

Please login to take this quiz.

What do you think?

In this week’s podcast, Jack and Rich spoke about articles and Indian food.

Did you understand the 'jokes' in this podcast? Were they funny?

Look at the task above and write your answers. Also, answer other learner's questions in the comments section below.

Remember to write your guess at this week's football phrase, too!

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hsn's picture

Hi Rich; We've been living holy Ramadan and fasting in these days. The podcasts which related to the delicious foods make our mouth water-:) It was my selection and timing wasn't right-:)

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COMMENT; 1- Once I’ve tried "Fajita" that is a Mexican spicy dish. It was so bitter and blowed my head off-:) 2- I don’t like spicy foods.I’m suffering from ulcer. I like trying different types of food. I don’t just prefer foods from my country. 3- Rich's 'joke' based on using "naan" instead of "none" They were funny. I liked them.

TASK 1. I like NO ARTICLE football. 2. I like watching NO ARTICLE football on Saturday afternoons. 3. I’m going to watch THE match between Liverpool and Real Madrid. 4. Have you got THE car fixed yet? 5. I hadn’t played A computer games for ages but THE one I played the other day was brilliant.

• I had wished a well marriage and having a good job , to own a house and a car. All my prayers were answered . Thanks God.

• The robber rushed off from the bank when seeing policemen and left money's bag in order to escape from date with prison officer-:)

• A footballer who is at the beginning of her/his career have to aim to be best on the pitch as an all-rounder.

P.S. • “Naan” is a Persian originated word that means “Bread” It’s also used in old Turkish.

Stefano Mac's picture

1. I like football. 2. I like watching football on Saturday afternoons. 3. I’m going to watch the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid. 4. Have you got the car fixed yet? 5. I hadn’t played computer games for ages but the one I played the other day was brilliant.

mobeckham's picture

This week's football phrase is either to be ( sidelined ) or ( eliminated ) or ( excluded )

Task : I like __-__ football. I like watching __-__ football on Saturday afternoons. I’m going to watch __the__ match between Liverpool and Real Madrid. Have you got __the___ car fixed yet? I hadn’t played __-__ computer games for ages but __the__ one I played the other day was brilliant.

I have tried a curry before but not the Indian one and I liked it a lot I do like to try different cuisines and mostly I find new food tasty I like Turkish food and other dishes from different cultures as well The jokes were obvious and clear for me and I found them quite funny but I don't think Jack would agree with me :)

wsanta's picture

1. - 2. - 3. The 4. The 5. - ; the

Rich's picture

Thanks Rich

write a an or the in each gap

Footbal is my life i love Barcelona

ldzingirai's picture

1.No article. 2. No article. 3. The or no article. The match could be women football between Liverpool and Real Madrid. Lower division teams of the two teams is another possibility. 4.The 5. No article and the

Crist Kyaw's picture

1. - 2. the 3. the 4. the 5. -, the

MU

1. No article 2. No article 3. The 4. The 5. No article; the

assemjuve's picture

I like football I like watching football on saturday afternoons I am going to watch the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid. Have you got the car fixed? the last sentece is correct as it is

I understood your jokes Rich and the first one is really pretty.All respect to you teacher Rich.

Actually i do not look the the country that the foods come from,the main thing that the food suits my desires.

I have tried curry as long as i remember,It is really spicy so you ca not taste the food well.

DE

I have tried several curries and find them to be delicious. They're not all that spicy, which is good for me, since excessively spicy food blows may head off. I like trying different types of food, and I'm thus happy when I find places where the dishes are cooked the traditional way and have not been watered down to suit a general taste. The jokes were brilliant, thanks for them!

OM

I think Germany is back in the game.

1. I like football 2. I like watching football on Saturday afternoons. 3. I'm going to watch the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid (the definite article is more suitable since a game between two specific teams is not a very common event, so probably people talking about football will assume the other one knows that game is coming up. If the two teams were playing regularly against each other, the indefinite article "a" could be also used). 4. Have you got the car fixed yet? 5. I hadn't played computer games for ages, but the one I played the other day was brilliant.

AT

I like football.

I like watching football on Saturday afternoons.

I’m going to watch the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid.

Have you got the car fixed yet?

I hadn’t played computer games for ages but the one I played the other day was brilliant.

MilaHenneveld's picture

1. I like football. 2. I like watching football on Saturday afternoons. 3. I am going to watch the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid. 4. Have you got the car fixed yet? 5. I hadn't played computer games for ages but the one I played the other day was brilliant.

write a an or the in each gap

whoop whoop done

PE

1 I like football 2 I like watching football on Saturday afternoon 3 I am going to watch the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid. 4 have you got a car fixed yet? 5 I hadn't played computer games for ages but the one I played the other day was brilliant.

I like spicy food, and off course Indian food is nice, It,s fresh and with many vegetables I like it, When I eat this food my stomach run very good, not efforts.

elghoul's picture

I like watching football on saturday afternoons.

I am going to watch the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid.

I hadn't played computer games for ages but the one I played the other day was brilliant.

I have not understand the last joke but the first  was a brilliant one.

word, missing.

Thanks for liking my joke, Elghoul, you are very kind. In the comments below, Lakerwang has explained the joke.

All your answers are correct, well done! But, you'll have to think about the football phrase again!

Rich - The Premier Skills English Team

write a an or the in each gap

1.- I like football 2.- I like watching football on Saturday afternoons 3.- I’m going to watch the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid. 4.- Have you got the car fixed yet? 5.- I hadn’t played computer games for ages but the one I played the other day was brilliant.

Hi Luis_Carlos,

All your answers are spot on. Well done!

CN

1.I like football. 2.I like watching the football on Saturday afternoons. 3.I’m going to watch the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid. 4.Have you got the car fixed yet? 5.I hadn’t played computer games for ages but the one I played the other day was brilliant. I think the joke is a pun. "I've got naan" sounds like "I've got none". This week's football phrase is "**** ***".

JP

1. I like football. 2. I like watching _a_ football on Saturday afternoons. 3. I’m going to watch _a_ match between Liverpool and Real Madrid. 4. Have you got _the_ car fixed yet? 5. I hadn’t played computer games for ages but _the_ one I played the other day was brilliant.

I think this week’s football phrase is to rule ***.

Your answers to questions two and three are grammatically possible but probably not the best answers. Why do think this?

Rich - The Premier Skills English Team

UA

I think football phrase is"**** ***"

Ahmed Adam Mamado's picture

This week's football phrase is just a walk in the park! I would never have thought that it could be this one ▶ to '**** ***'. I love it and also use it quite a lot. No need to guess it because I've already used it today. LOL!

RS

I like football. I like watching football on Saturday afternoons. I’m going to watch a match between Liverpool and Real Madrid. Have you got the car fixed yet? I hadn’t played computer games for ages but the one I played the other day was brilliant. I didn t try a curry,but if I have oppurtunity I will try it. I didn't try a curry,but if I have opportunity I will try it.I love Chinese food and I like food from my country.Food from my country is so delicious and some food can be spicy like Indian food too.In most cases I love to eat meat,and something that in my country we call it cook food.I mean cook food in sense that is difrerente from fast food and cook food take more time to prepare.Someting like musaka or sarma is delicious.Musaka include ingredients such as potato,beef meat,onion,and spices.I didn't understand joke about naan bread.I think the football phrase for these week is **** ****.

All your answers are grammatically correct but I  the one about Liverpool and Madrid has a better answer. What do you think it is and why?

Look at Lakerwang's comment above for an explanation of my terrible 'joke'!

I’m going to watch the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid.'The' is a better answer,because we are talking about a specific thing,I mean we know the match between Liverpool and Madrid is going to happen and there is not any other match like this. I looked at Lakerwang's comment and now I understand your joke.

Great work and sorry about the joke!!

1) I like football. 2) I like watching football on Saturday afternoons. 3) I’m going to watch the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid. 4) Have you got the car fixed yet? 5) I hadn’t played computer games for ages but the one I played the other day was brilliant.

I had never tried a curry and I agree with Rich about spicy food. Nevertheless, I like to try different types of food but most of time I eat Ukrainian food. It tastes the best to me. For about jokes, they were funny and I understood it. Thank you for interesting podcast. It was really useful.

kwesimanifest's picture

I like __a__ football.

I like watching ___the___ football on Saturday afternoons.

I’m going to watch *** match between Liverpool and Real Madrid.

Have you got *** car fixed yet?

I hadn’t played __the___ computer games for ages but *** one I played the other day was brilliant.

Hi Kwesimanifest,

You've got most of them right, well done! Number two is also right, but I've left it open for others to see because I think many people would choose a different answer. I would choose the same answer as you. Why do you think other people would choose a different answer? Let's see if we can get anybody else to give their opinion on this ...

I love trying different meals from different countries even though my tommy is very reactive to meals it doesn't recognize readily. Ideally I would prefer a local meal to a foreign one because like I stated earlier, my immune system is more used to it than that of a foreign one.

I have tried a curry and I loved it.

Liubomyr's picture

I think that the phrase is to '**** ***'.

baktislam's picture

The football phrase is **** ***

Hi Baktislam,

blush

Hello greetings from VENEZUELA i love my own food but also tried some others food like italian,chinesse,even indian..but for me the best is our PABELLON NACIONAL rice,blacks beans,banana and beef..i invite you to taste it..thanks alot.have a nice day.

Rich: Number one: I like *** football.

Jack: Number two: I like watching *** football on Saturday afternoons.

Rich: Number three: I’m going to watch *** match between Liverpool and Real Madrid.

Jack: Number four: Have you got *** car fixed yet?

Rich: Number five: I hadn’t played *** computer games for ages but *** one I played the other day was brilliant.

I didnt get the jokes from Rich was funny. Anyone can explain? Im sorry haha

This week's phrase is **** *** like I somewhat did for last week's phrase

Brilliant, Kwesimanifest! A much better performance than last week :)

Leaderboard

Skills: Listening

Language: Moving from the general to the specific

Task: Choose the right articles in the sentences

This player scored the first Premier League hat-trick. Who is he?

Understanding Grammar: How to use articles

In this week's podcast, Jack and Rich have a quiz for you that tests your knowledge of articles (a, an, the) and football.

A Premier League assistant referee flagging for offside.

Learning Vocabulary: Phrases with go

In this week's podcast, Jack and Rich look at some phrases with  go that we use in everyday English.

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Articles Worksheet 5 - A / An / The

A/An Exercise 2 Video

GrammarBank YouTube Video Exercises

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

What to Know The rule for choosing whether a or an should be used is usually remembered as depending upon whether the following word begins with a consonant (for using a ) or a vowel (for using an ). This is incomplete, however: these indefinite articles are used according to the sound that starts the following word, not the letter. So, we say “a dog” and “a balloon” or “an urgent message” and “an ant” but also “a useless pen” and “an hour.” Some words, like historic , can follow either a or an .

In the eternal, and generally fruitless, quest to find some way to make English make sense, many people look for simple rules to apply to our language. One such rule is the one concerning whether to use a or an as an indefinite article (“the word a or an used in English to refer to a person or thing that is not identified or specified”).

a vs an

Some people feel strongly that words like 'historic' and 'historical' should be preceded by 'an', not 'a'. We recommend using whichever article suits your own pronunciation. Just remember that 'ahistorical' means something else entirely.

The rule that many people vaguely remember is that one uses a if the word that follows it begins with a consonant, and one uses an if the following word begins with a vowel. That would be so easy, wouldn’t it?

It would, which is why that is not the way that the rule for using a or an works.

It's About the Sound

The deciding factor for which of these words should be used is the sound that begins the word which follows these indefinite articles, rather than the letter which does. And there are scads of words in English that begin with a vowel, but which are initially voiced with a consonant sound (and vice versa ).

One , useless , unicorn all clearly begin with a vowel; yet one sounds as though one is saying W , and the other two are voiced with an initial Y sound, and so these would be preceded by a , rather than an (“ A one hundred dollar bill”). On the flip side, we have plenty of words that begin with consonants, but which are voiced as though they begin with a vowel (especially for H -words, such as heir , honesty , hourly ), and these words are preceded by an , even though they begin with a consonant (“He was an honest man”).

The same rule applies to acronyms and initialisms , which when viewed on the printed page may lead to a certain visual incongruity, especially if readers are not silently voicing the words in their head as they read. For instance, if one were to write about a memo sent by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (in its initialized form) it would be “ an FBI memo”; even though the word following an clearly begins with a consonant, it is voiced as a vowel (“eff-bee-eye”). Should one, however, write about a memo sent by the Central Intelligence Agency (again using the initialism for the name) it would be “ a CIA memo.”

This all makes a certain amount of sense, and once one accepts that we are applying a rule for the spoken form of English to the printed page it is generally not so hard to figure out which form of the indefinite article to use. If in doubt, simply say the word which will follow the a or an out loud, and decide accordingly.

Which Words Can Use 'A' and 'An'?

But! There always seems to be a but—what about problematic cases such as historic ? Should this be preceded with a or an ? Some people, it must be said, do appear to feel very strongly that historic and historical should be preceded by an , rather than a . The reason for this is that in these two words the initial H was, for a long time, unstressed to the point of inaudibility, and so one would typically see “ an historic(al”) written (and some people still do not pronounce the initial H of these two words). As many of the people reading this have only waded through this article so far in order to get a definite answer on the use of this indefinite article in this definite sense, here is what the Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage has to say about historic :

A few words, such as historic and (especially in England) hotel , are in transition, and may be found with either a or an . You choose the article that best suits your own pronunciation.

If you begin to dig into written English use from more than a few decades ago it is very easy to find a large number of words which were apparently pronounced differently than they are today, as evidenced by the author’s choice of a or an before them.

A Letter to a Friend, Touching Dr. Jeremy Taylor's Disswasive from Popery. Discovering Above an Hundred and Fifty False, or Wretched Quotations, in It . —A.L., 1665 An History of the Corruptions of Christianity —Joseph Priestley, 1793

There are very few people today who still put an before the words hundred or history , for the simple reason that it would sound funny. Yet some have held onto the notion that historic requires an an before it. Should anyone tell you that you’ve made a mistake in this matter you may always fall back on the sage advice offered above by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage and say “I am choosing the article that suits my own pronunciation.”

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Lesson 3.1 How to Use Articles in English

How to Use Articles in English

Using Articles in English - Quick Guide

Using Articles in English – Quick Guide

Using Articles in English – Quick Guide [PDF Version]

3.1.1   There are only three articles in the English language – a , an (indefinite articles), and the (definite article) – but they cause an enormous amount of confusion among students! They can be difficult to understand because many languages do not include them so they cannot be translated, e.g. Polish, Japanese, and Russian. Articles are function words , rather than content words , and belong to a larger group of words called determiners . Unfortunately, we need to study articles because these words are very common in the English language. In fact, the is the most common word in written English, while a is #6 and an is #32. We often need to put an article before a noun. Which article we use and whether we use one at all depends on the type of noun and the context :

write a an or the in each gap

If you are unsure about using articles you should check your writing when you finish: look at each noun, think about what type it is and the context, and whether an article is required – or not.

See also the larger photocopiable version of this table use-of-articles-in-english .

3.1.2   Why do we even need articles anyway? One of the advantages they have is that they introduce a weak stressed syllable with a schwa sound right before a content word, which often has a strong stressed first syllable.This helps to emphasis the content word, from which we get meaning, as well as creating the typical rhythm and ‘bounce’ of spoken English. For example:

write a an or the in each gap

It sounds more like English.

3.1.3   As you can see from the table above, if the noun is singular and countable there must be an article before it. If the context is general, you can use a or an. We use an before a noun that begins with a vowel sound, e.g.

A: I need a book.     noun begins with a consonant sound = use a B: I need an egg.     noun begins with a vowel sound = use an

In both sentences the context is general – we don’t know anything about the book or the egg. It is the first time they are mentioned = first mention .

In the following sentence, because we now know about the two nouns (book and egg), the context becomes specific and we use the.

C: This is the book I need. C: This is the egg I need.

If a countable noun is plural and the context is general or it is first mention, we don’t use an article. This is called “zero article” – when there is no article, e.g.

D: I like books.

But if the context is specific – the noun is defined in some way – then we use the:

E: The books in this library are really old.

The same applies to uncountable nouns – both real (concrete):

F: I use water every day.     general context, i.e. any water = no article G: The water is very hot.     specific context, i.e. this water = use the

…and abstract:

H: I love music.     general context, i.e. all music = no article I: The music in this club is great.     specific context = use the

Proper nouns are words which always start with a capital letter, like the names of people (“Eric Harrison”), cities (“Birmingham”), countries (“Mexico”), companies (“McDonalds”), products (“Coke Zero”), days (“Monday”), months (“December”), etc. We do not usually put an article before a proper noun.

Exception 1: when the proper noun is made up of an adjective + noun (e.g. “United” = adjective + “Kingdom” = noun) we need to use the definite article: “I live in the United Kingdom.”

J: Barcelona is such a beautiful city. NOT The Barcelona…

Exception 2: We use the definite article with plural place names, e.g. the Bahamas. If you are still not sure which article to use with each noun in your text, use this flow chart use-of-articles-in-english-flow-chart .

3.1.4   Some example errors:

“I live in the house in Bristol.” Use a because there is more than one house in Bristol!

“What’s a phone number for the swimming pool?” Use the because the swimming pool has got one specific phone number.

“Music was too loud so we had to leave.” Use the because in this context music is specific – the music in that place.

3.1.5   We use the when the noun is specific or known to each person in the conversation. For example:

I went to the new cinema on Leyland Street last night. It is a specific cinema – not just any cinema. We cannot say “…a cinema on Leyland Street” because it is very unlikely for there to be more than one!

Let’s switch on the TV and watch Coronation Street. The person or people I am talking to know about the TV and can probably see it because we are all in the same room.

We also use the before superlative adjectives and ordinal numbers:

It is the best TV programme.     best is the superlative form of the adjective ‘good’

I’m the first person to finish!     first is an ordinal number (of one)

Interestingly, the word the has two different pronunciations:

  • before a consonant sound:    th     with an embedded schwa sound
  • before a vowel sound     thii     with a short ii sound

3.1.6   We can use the determiner some before plural and uncountable nouns instead of zero article:

I would like spaghetti. > I would like some spaghetti.

It sounds better because the weak stressed word some has a schwa sound and this extra weak syllable improves the rhythm and ‘bounce’ of the sentence. It sounds more naturally English:

write a an or the in each gap

If the sentence is negative or a question form we use any instead of some:

Would you like any spaghetti? / No, I wouldn’t like any spaghetti.

3.1.7   We use a when we talk about frequency or quantity:

‘Once a week.’ ‘Three times a day.’ ‘£1.15 pence a litre.’

3.1.8   If the thing has one or more modifier before it – e.g. an adjective or an intensifier – the article goes before the first modifier:

‘It was a great party.’ ‘My grandma had a really lovely day.’

3.1.9   We can use a possessive adjective (e.g. my, your, our, etc.) instead of an article – but never with an article! – when the noun belongs to somebody:

This is a book. > This is my book.     This is a my book. / This is her the book.

Or we can use different determiners, e.g. this, that, these, those instead of an article –but never with an article:

I want a book. > I want this book.     I want this a book. / I want these the books.

See also this information regarding articles and how to use them: understanding-articles-in-english .

Ex. 3.1.1 Writing  Which indefinite article should we write in front of the following words – ‘a’ or ‘an’?

1. __________ chair 2. __________ girl 3. __________ school 4. __________ egg 5. __________ hour 6. __________ apple 7. __________ exam 8. __________ hospital 9. __________ year 10. __________ university 11. __________ address 12. __________ ear 13. __________ sheep 14. __________ tie 15. __________ union 16. __________ orange 17. __________ ice cream 18. __________ pencil 19. __________ umbrella 20. __________ shoe 21. __________ number 22. __________ heater 23. __________ interview 24. __________ appliance 25. __________ heir 26. __________ computer 27. __________ bag 28. __________ octopus 29. __________ ewe 30. __________ fridge

Ex. 3.1.2 Writing  Complete the four gaps in each question with a, an, the, and – (zero article):

1. – Do you like a)_______________ Copenhagen? – Yes, I do. b)_______________ first time I came here I stayed in c)_______________ tiny guest house. The owner had d)_______________ enormous dog!

2. I read a)_______________ good book last week. b)_______________ book was by Alfredo Montessori. He is c)_______________ Italian writer. I got a lot of d)_______________ pleasure from it.

3. a)_______________ Sarah works at b)_______________ bank. c)_______________ bank is forty miles from her home. She has d)_______________ eighty-minute commute each way.

4. I really love a)_______________ fish, and b)_______________ fish in this restaurant is superb. I’m looking forward to eating c)_______________ big juicy fish in d)_______________ hour from now!

5. I went to a)_______________ swimming pool yesterday. b)_______________ little boy fell over and had to have c)_______________ treatment on his leg. d)_______________ assistant said that he would be OK.

6. – I can meet you tomorrow. – Have you got a)_______________ time? -Yes. I’ve got b)_______________ appointment with c)_______________ builder at eleven, but I can change d)_______________ time.

7. – Don’t be late for a)_______________ work, or b)_______________ manager will be angry with you. – OK, I will use c)_______________ alarm clock and also ask d)_______________ friend to give me a wake-up call at six o’clock.

8. – I bought a)_______________ blue guitar on Wednesday. – The one I saw? Super! Can you play it? – No, but I’m having b)_______________ few lessons with c)_______________ old guy called d)_______________ Barry.

9.- Have you seen a)_______________ old jumper anywhere? – Is it b)_______________ one with the blue collar? – Yes, and it’s got c)_______________ orange stripes. – It’s over there, under d)_______________ pile of cushions.

10.I went to a)_______________ post office yesterday to post b)_______________ parcel. It cost about c)_______________ twenty pounds, which I thought was d)_______________ extortionate amount of money.

11.One of our neighbours is a)_______________ guy who hails from b)_______________ Finland. He is c)_______________ interpreter who works at d)_______________ same firm as my uncle.

12.- Let’s put a)_______________ kettle on and have b)_______________ nice cup of tea. – Good idea! There’s c)_______________ open packet of chocolate biccies in the cupboard! What shall we drink to? – To d)_______________ friendship!

13.I haven’t been to a)_______________ work for fourteen days because I’ve had b)_______________ really bad back. I got c)_______________ awful pain at the base of my spine and d)_______________ doctor told me that I had to rest.

14.- Shall we meet at a)_______________ Burger King, or b)_______________ new coffee house in Market Street? – They’ve got c)_______________ offer on at the moment – if you buy d)_______________ latte, you get two free mini doughnuts.

15.Geoffrey Chaucer was a)_______________ English poet and philosopher who is considered by b)_______________ scholars to be c)_______________ greatest writer of the Middle Ages. The Canterbury Tales is d)_______________ wonderfully rich piece of literature.

16.- Is there a)_______________ free table anywhere in this café? – Yes, look – b)_______________ table by the window is available. Oh – hang on – c)_______________ old feller’s just sat down. – Just our d)_______________ luck!

Ex. 3.1.3 Reading  Print this worksheet – entitled ‘Noun Categories’ – and follow the instructions: noun-categories .

Ex. 3.1.4 Reading  Write a, an, or the in each gap, or put – to mean zero article:

1.He was born in __________ August. 2.John sells __________ bikes every day. 3.Do you want __________ spaghetti today? 4.It was __________ hottest day ever! 5.He prefers __________ Adidas. 6.I put __________ unopened letters over there. 7.Is __________ clock slow, or is it me? 8.Would you like __________ apricot? 9.We were moved by __________ kindness that he showed. 10.I got __________ puppy yesterday.

11.We’ve booked __________ taxi for you. 12.Do you believe in __________ justice for everybody? 13.Please would you put __________ rubbish out? 14.What about __________ beef for dinner? 15.Is __________ milk semi-skimmed or skimmed? 16.It seems that __________ mobiles are getting bigger rather than smaller! 17.Do you fancy __________ omelette? 18.Has __________ power come back on yet? 19.I didn’t know that __________ dictionary belonged to you. 20.Have you eaten __________ chocolate from Grandma?

21.Both of us took __________ umbrella just in case. 22.We’ll ask her for __________ information tomorrow. 23.There were __________ toys everywhere! 24.It’s so important that you tell me __________ truth about them. 25.These are __________ channels that I watch most often. 26.He lived on __________ Porter Road when I used to know him. 27.Surprisingly, __________ unemployment had fallen again. 28.I need __________ new kettle, because this one is broken. 29.Can you bring me all __________ empty coffee cups, please? 30.You are __________ first person I have truly loved!

31.We’ll be upset if he gets __________ infection. 32.Be careful! It’s made of __________ glass. 33.How essential is __________ quality to you? 34.You need to replace __________ printer paper. 35.We start to develop __________ teeth when only a few months old. 36.She found __________ pen outside. 37.I don’t like __________ peanut butter. 38.He was pleased with __________ poetry that he had written. 39.I told them about __________ Amanda. 40.Our swimming costumes were dry, but __________ children’s weren’t.

Ex. 3.1.5 Writing  Remember the main point: we know which article to use because of the type of noun and the context – general or specific. Look at the summary of rules for using articles in English from 3.1.1:

i) Underline the noun in each sentence. Say what kind of noun it is ii) Write a, an, or the in each gap, or put – to mean zero article iii) Write a letter A-J to show which rule the sentence follows

write a an or the in each gap

Ex. 3.1.6 Writing  Follow the instructions from Ex. 3.1.5 :

write a an or the in each gap

Ex. 3.1.7 Reading  a) Read the text, which has a gap before every noun. Complete the gaps with a, an, the, or – (zero article):

Yesterday 1. ____________ Ellen went to 2. ____________ new clothes shop on 3. ____________ Bude Street and bought 4. ____________ new dress. 5. ____________ dress was light green and had 6. ____________ white collar. She also went to 7. ____________ supermarket and bought 8. ____________ groceries. She needed to get 9. ____________ chocolate cake and 10. ____________ candles for 11. ____________ birthday party on 12. ____________ Monday. On the way home she had 13. ____________ idea and phoned 14. ____________ friend. 15. ____________ Mandy is 16. ____________ florist who works near 17. ____________ health centre. 18. ____________ Ellen asked 19. ____________ Mandy to order 20. ____________ flowers.

b) Look at the 7 statements below and say which one applies to each article in the text:

A. We use a or an because the noun is singular, countable, and in a general context. It is first mention. B. We use the because the noun is used again – after first mention. We are already familiar with it. C. We use the because it is logical that there is only one of these nouns, so it is something specific. D. We use the because the noun is something specific or something familiar to us. E. We do not use an article (zero article) because the noun is a proper noun. F. We do not use an article (zero article) because the noun is plural or uncountable and in a general context. G. We use a possessive adjective (e.g. my / her) because it is clear that the noun is something that belongs to somebody or is closely connected with them.

1. _________________ 2. _________________ 3. _________________ 4. _________________ 5. _________________ 6. _________________ 7. _________________ 8. _________________ 9. _________________ 10. _________________ 11. _________________ 12. _________________ 13. _________________ 14. _________________ 15. _________________ 16. _________________ 17. _________________ 18. _________________ 19. _________________ 20. _________________

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Complete the gaps

In this exercise you have to put the right word in the gaps. Follow these tips to get top marks.

  • Read the text carefully before and after the gap to help you choose the right word.
  • The words are often in a box. Careful! Sometimes there are more words than gaps.
  • If the words aren’t in a box, be careful with your spelling.
  • Start with the words you know and tick them off so you know which ones you've used.
  • If you don’t know an answer, write a word. You may be right!
  • If you write a word in the wrong gap, then another word in the exercise may be wrong too.
  • Check your answers carefully when you finish. Read the whole text to see what it sounds like.

Check your vocabulary: gap fill - city of London

Check your vocabulary: gap fill - film and cinema.

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Exercise 3: Articles Gap Fill

Articles exercise.

Please complete the following exercise using a/an/the (or leave the space blank to indicate no article) in the spaces below where appropriate.

After doing the exercise, click on the 'submit' button at the bottom of the page to have your work graded and to view the passage with the correct articles inserted, together with an explanation of their use. You can also click the 'reset' button to try again after this.

There has never been more exciting time to produce new dictionary. Everything is changing and expanding: English language itself, technology that helps us to describe it, and needs and goals of those learning and teaching English. 1980s saw development of first large corpora (special collections) of English text.

Another of Macmillan English Dictionary's innovations is that two similar but separate editions have been created from same database: one for learners whose main target variety is American English, other for learners of British English. differences are small but significant.

Macmillan English Dictionary is product of good linguistic data and high-quality people. It has been unique privilege to work with such talented and creative team, and I would like to thank team for producing such excellent book. I hope you enjoy results of our hard work and find dictionary pleasure to use.

Click the ticks or crosses to see the full answers. Click on the ticks or crosses to see the full answers.

The articles a/an and the in English – Exercise

Task no. 1225.

Put in the article a , an or the where necessary. Choose x where no article is used.

Do you need help?

Articles – English Grammar Explanations

  • I like a an the x blue T-shirt over there better than a an the x red one.
  • Their car does 150 miles a an the x hour.
  • Where's a an the x USB drive I lent you last week?
  • Do you still live in a an the x Bristol?
  • Is your mother working in a an the x old office building?
  • Carol's father works as a an the x electrician.
  • The tomatoes are 99 pence a an the x kilo.
  • What do you usually have for a an the x breakfast?
  • Ben has a an the x terrible headache.
  • After this tour you have a an the x whole afternoon free to explore the city.
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A. Complete using a , an or the .

1   We had ………………. really good science lesson at school today.

2   I found ………………. unusual insect on the wall outside our house.

3   It’s your birthday next week. Are you going to have ………………. party?

4   We waited for hours, but we finally saw ………………. Queen.

5   Why don’t we listen to ………………. radio?

6   Have you got ………………. euro I could borrow?

7   Mum has gone to ………………. bank, but she’ll be back soon.

8   Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for over ………………. hour!

1 a   2 an   3 a   4 the   5 the   6 a   7 the   8 an

B. Write an article in each gap where necessary. If an article is not necessary, put a dash (-).

I had ( 1 ) ………………. really bad day on ( 2 ) ………………. Tuesday. I bought ( 3 ) ………………. new game on CD-ROM for my computer, but ( 4 ) ………………. game didn’t work properly. I took it back to ( 5 ) ………………. shop on ( 6 ) ………………. North Street, but ( 7 ) ………………. manager blamed me! He pointed to ( 8 ) ………………. scratch on ( 9 ) ………………. CD-ROM and said I’d done it. I couldn’t believe it! I had to buy ( 10 ) ………………. new one!

1 a   2 –   3 a   4 the   5 the

6 –   7 the    8 a   9 the   10 a

C. Circle the extra word in each sentence.

1   Do you think we will ever send a person to the Mars?

2   When you go to the London, don’t forget to see the London Eye.

3   When we use the cars, we damage the environment.

4   I’m not telling a lies! It’s the truth.

5   I’m looking for a teacher who can teach me the German.

6   Ray needs a warm hat and a new coat for his visit to the Russia.

7   Dad has gone to a work and forgotten the car keys.

8   Some people have an unusual pets, such as lions or tigers.

1 the   2 the   3 the   4 a

5 the   6 the   7 a   8 an

D. In each sentence there is a word missing. Put an arrow (↑) to show where the missing word should go and write the word.

1   English music was popular in America in 1960s.   …………………….

2   Would you prefer to read book or watch television?   …………………….

3   We had maths at school yesterday and our teacher gave us surprise test!   …………………….

4   Peter joined police and caught ten thieves in his first month!   …………………….

5   Gordon wanted to be writer, so he studied English at university.   …………………….

6   Suddenly, two UFOs appeared in sky over Washington.   …………………….

1 … in the sixties

2 … read a book

3 … gave us a surprise test

4 … joined the police

5 … to be a writer

6 … in the sky

E. Rewrite the sentences correctly, adding articles where necessary.

1   We had great time in USA.

      ……………………………………….

2   Let’s go to Belgium for week this summer.

3   Where’s money I gave you on fifteenth of last month?

4   I’d like to join army and become soldier.

5   For Christmas, I got book, DVD and latest CD by my favourite band.

6   They say that English drink lot of tea.

7   I heard song on radio that I really liked.

8   Do Japanese and other people in Asia eat cheese?

      ……………………………………….

1   We had a great time in the USA.

2    Let’s go to Belgium for a week this summer.

3   Where’s the money I gave you on the fifteenth of last month?

4   I’d like to join the army and become a soldier.

5   For Christmas, I got a book, a DVD and the latest CD by my favourite band.

6   They say that the English drink a lot of tea.

7   I heard a song on the radio that I really liked.

8   Do the Japanese and other people in Asia eat cheese?

F. Underline ten mistakes in the dialogue and correct them.

Gary :   It’s the lovely day, isn’t it? Let’s walk down to a shops and look around.

Helen :   That’s an good idea. I’ll just have a look in a kitchen and see what we need.

Gary :   I got a milk yesterday, so we don’t need any more. We might need a bread, though.

Helen :   Okay. Bread … oh, and the packet of sugar. After shopping, we could go to a new market in a town centre and see what they have.

Gary :   Right. You get your coat and I’ll get a car keys.

Gary :   It’s the /a lovely day, isn’t it? Let’s walk down to a /the shops and look around.

Helen :   That’s an /a good idea. I’ll just have a look in a /the kitchen and see what we need.

Gary :   I got a /some milk yesterday, so we don’t need any more. We might need a /some bread, though.

Helen :   Okay. Bread … oh, and the /a packet of sugar. After shopping, we could go to a /the new market in a /the town centre and see what they have.

Gary :   Right. You get your coat and I’ll get a /the car keys.

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  • 12 English Tenses — Gap filling — Exercise 1
  • 1. We coffee when the phone rang. (to drink) were drinking
  • 2. When they arrived at the station, the train already . They had to wait for the next train. (to leave) had left
  • 3. She at this school for over 15 years. She is still teaching here. (to teach) has been teaching
  • 4. you Kate? I don't know where she is. (to see) Have seen
  • “What you now?” (to watch)
  • “A TV show.”
  • “How long you it?” (to watch)
  • “I for an hour.” (to watch)
  • 6. Matthew as a journalist for 10 years by the next month. (to work) will have been working
  • 7. Last night he had finished the book which he for 2 years. (to write) had been writing
  • 8. Sorry, I won’t come to the party. I for my exam for the whole evening. (to prepare) will be preparing
  • 9. By the end of July, students all their exam. They will finally have time to rest. (to pass) will have passed
  • 10. Emma usually to the gym twice a week. (to go) goes
  • 12 English Tenses — Usage and Examples
  • 12 English Tenses — Identifying the tense
  • 12 English Tenses — When to use tenses
  • 12 English Tenses — Gap filling — Exercise 2
  • 12 English Tenses — Gap filling — Exercise 3
  • 12 English Tenses — Gap filling — Exercise 4

Grad Coach

The Research Gap (Literature Gap)

Everything you need to know to find a quality research gap

By: Ethar Al-Saraf (PhD) | Expert Reviewed By: Eunice Rautenbach (DTech) | November 2022

If you’re just starting out in research, chances are you’ve heard about the elusive research gap (also called a literature gap). In this post, we’ll explore the tricky topic of research gaps. We’ll explain what a research gap is, look at the four most common types of research gaps, and unpack how you can go about finding a suitable research gap for your dissertation, thesis or research project.

Overview: Research Gap 101

  • What is a research gap
  • Four common types of research gaps
  • Practical examples
  • How to find research gaps
  • Recap & key takeaways

What (exactly) is a research gap?

Well, at the simplest level, a research gap is essentially an unanswered question or unresolved problem in a field, which reflects a lack of existing research in that space. Alternatively, a research gap can also exist when there’s already a fair deal of existing research, but where the findings of the studies pull in different directions , making it difficult to draw firm conclusions.

For example, let’s say your research aims to identify the cause (or causes) of a particular disease. Upon reviewing the literature, you may find that there’s a body of research that points toward cigarette smoking as a key factor – but at the same time, a large body of research that finds no link between smoking and the disease. In that case, you may have something of a research gap that warrants further investigation.

Now that we’ve defined what a research gap is – an unanswered question or unresolved problem – let’s look at a few different types of research gaps.

A research gap is essentially an unanswered question or unresolved problem in a field, reflecting a lack of existing research.

Types of research gaps

While there are many different types of research gaps, the four most common ones we encounter when helping students at Grad Coach are as follows:

  • The classic literature gap
  • The disagreement gap
  • The contextual gap, and
  • The methodological gap

Need a helping hand?

write a an or the in each gap

1. The Classic Literature Gap

First up is the classic literature gap. This type of research gap emerges when there’s a new concept or phenomenon that hasn’t been studied much, or at all. For example, when a social media platform is launched, there’s an opportunity to explore its impacts on users, how it could be leveraged for marketing, its impact on society, and so on. The same applies for new technologies, new modes of communication, transportation, etc.

Classic literature gaps can present exciting research opportunities , but a drawback you need to be aware of is that with this type of research gap, you’ll be exploring completely new territory . This means you’ll have to draw on adjacent literature (that is, research in adjacent fields) to build your literature review, as there naturally won’t be very many existing studies that directly relate to the topic. While this is manageable, it can be challenging for first-time researchers, so be careful not to bite off more than you can chew.

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2. The Disagreement Gap

As the name suggests, the disagreement gap emerges when there are contrasting or contradictory findings in the existing research regarding a specific research question (or set of questions). The hypothetical example we looked at earlier regarding the causes of a disease reflects a disagreement gap.

Importantly, for this type of research gap, there needs to be a relatively balanced set of opposing findings . In other words, a situation where 95% of studies find one result and 5% find the opposite result wouldn’t quite constitute a disagreement in the literature. Of course, it’s hard to quantify exactly how much weight to give to each study, but you’ll need to at least show that the opposing findings aren’t simply a corner-case anomaly .

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3. The Contextual Gap

The third type of research gap is the contextual gap. Simply put, a contextual gap exists when there’s already a decent body of existing research on a particular topic, but an absence of research in specific contexts .

For example, there could be a lack of research on:

  • A specific population – perhaps a certain age group, gender or ethnicity
  • A geographic area – for example, a city, country or region
  • A certain time period – perhaps the bulk of the studies took place many years or even decades ago and the landscape has changed.

The contextual gap is a popular option for dissertations and theses, especially for first-time researchers, as it allows you to develop your research on a solid foundation of existing literature and potentially even use existing survey measures.

Importantly, if you’re gonna go this route, you need to ensure that there’s a plausible reason why you’d expect potential differences in the specific context you choose. If there’s no reason to expect different results between existing and new contexts, the research gap wouldn’t be well justified. So, make sure that you can clearly articulate why your chosen context is “different” from existing studies and why that might reasonably result in different findings.

Get help finding a research topic

4. The Methodological Gap

Last but not least, we have the methodological gap. As the name suggests, this type of research gap emerges as a result of the research methodology or design of existing studies. With this approach, you’d argue that the methodology of existing studies is lacking in some way , or that they’re missing a certain perspective.

For example, you might argue that the bulk of the existing research has taken a quantitative approach, and therefore there is a lack of rich insight and texture that a qualitative study could provide. Similarly, you might argue that existing studies have primarily taken a cross-sectional approach , and as a result, have only provided a snapshot view of the situation – whereas a longitudinal approach could help uncover how constructs or variables have evolved over time.

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Practical Examples

Let’s take a look at some practical examples so that you can see how research gaps are typically expressed in written form. Keep in mind that these are just examples – not actual current gaps (we’ll show you how to find these a little later!).

Context: Healthcare

Despite extensive research on diabetes management, there’s a research gap in terms of understanding the effectiveness of digital health interventions in rural populations (compared to urban ones) within Eastern Europe.

Context: Environmental Science

While a wealth of research exists regarding plastic pollution in oceans, there is significantly less understanding of microplastic accumulation in freshwater ecosystems like rivers and lakes, particularly within Southern Africa.

Context: Education

While empirical research surrounding online learning has grown over the past five years, there remains a lack of comprehensive studies regarding the effectiveness of online learning for students with special educational needs.

As you can see in each of these examples, the author begins by clearly acknowledging the existing research and then proceeds to explain where the current area of lack (i.e., the research gap) exists.

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How To Find A Research Gap

Now that you’ve got a clearer picture of the different types of research gaps, the next question is of course, “how do you find these research gaps?” .

Well, we cover the process of how to find original, high-value research gaps in a separate post . But, for now, I’ll share a basic two-step strategy here to help you find potential research gaps.

As a starting point, you should find as many literature reviews, systematic reviews and meta-analyses as you can, covering your area of interest. Additionally, you should dig into the most recent journal articles to wrap your head around the current state of knowledge. It’s also a good idea to look at recent dissertations and theses (especially doctoral-level ones). Dissertation databases such as ProQuest, EBSCO and Open Access are a goldmine for this sort of thing. Importantly, make sure that you’re looking at recent resources (ideally those published in the last year or two), or the gaps you find might have already been plugged by other researchers.

Once you’ve gathered a meaty collection of resources, the section that you really want to focus on is the one titled “ further research opportunities ” or “further research is needed”. In this section, the researchers will explicitly state where more studies are required – in other words, where potential research gaps may exist. You can also look at the “ limitations ” section of the studies, as this will often spur ideas for methodology-based research gaps.

By following this process, you’ll orient yourself with the current state of research , which will lay the foundation for you to identify potential research gaps. You can then start drawing up a shortlist of ideas and evaluating them as candidate topics . But remember, make sure you’re looking at recent articles – there’s no use going down a rabbit hole only to find that someone’s already filled the gap 🙂

Let’s Recap

We’ve covered a lot of ground in this post. Here are the key takeaways:

  • A research gap is an unanswered question or unresolved problem in a field, which reflects a lack of existing research in that space.
  • The four most common types of research gaps are the classic literature gap, the disagreement gap, the contextual gap and the methodological gap. 
  • To find potential research gaps, start by reviewing recent journal articles in your area of interest, paying particular attention to the FRIN section .

If you’re keen to learn more about research gaps and research topic ideation in general, be sure to check out the rest of the Grad Coach Blog . Alternatively, if you’re looking for 1-on-1 support with your dissertation, thesis or research project, be sure to check out our private coaching service .

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Psst… there’s more (for free)

This post is part of our dissertation mini-course, which covers everything you need to get started with your dissertation, thesis or research project. 

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How To Find a Research Gap (Fast)

29 Comments

ZAID AL-ZUBAIDI

This post is REALLY more than useful, Thank you very very much

Abdu Ebrahim

Very helpful specialy, for those who are new for writing a research! So thank you very much!!

Zinashbizu

I found it very helpful article. Thank you.

fanaye

Just at the time when I needed it, really helpful.

Tawana Ngwenya

Very helpful and well-explained. Thank you

ALI ZULFIQAR

VERY HELPFUL

A.M Kwankwameri

We’re very grateful for your guidance, indeed we have been learning a lot from you , so thank you abundantly once again.

ahmed

hello brother could you explain to me this question explain the gaps that researchers are coming up with ?

Aliyu Jibril

Am just starting to write my research paper. your publication is very helpful. Thanks so much

haziel

How to cite the author of this?

kiyyaa

your explanation very help me for research paper. thank you

Bhakti Prasad Subedi

Very important presentation. Thanks.

Best Ideas. Thank you.

Getachew Gobena

I found it’s an excellent blog to get more insights about the Research Gap. I appreciate it!

Juliana Otabil

Kindly explain to me how to generate good research objectives.

Nathan Mbandama

This is very helpful, thank you

Favour

Very helpful, thank you.

Vapeuk

Thanks a lot for this great insight!

Effie

This is really helpful indeed!

Guillermo Dimaligalig

This article is really helpfull in discussing how will we be able to define better a research problem of our interest. Thanks so much.

Yisa Usman

Reading this just in good time as i prepare the proposal for my PhD topic defense.

lucy kiende

Very helpful Thanks a lot.

TOUFIK

Thank you very much

Dien Kei

This was very timely. Kudos

Takele Gezaheg Demie

Great one! Thank you all.

Efrem

Thank you very much.

Rev Andy N Moses

This is so enlightening. Disagreement gap. Thanks for the insight.

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Write Like a Scientist

A Guide to Scientific Communication

Gap Statements

  A gap is something that remains to be done or learned in an area of research; it’s a gap in the knowledge of the scientists in the field of research of your study. Every research project must, in some way, address a gap–that is, attempt to fill in some piece of information missing in the scientific literature. Otherwise, it is not novel research and is therefore not contributing to the overall goals of science.

Identify the gap.

  A gap statement is found in the Introduction section of a journal article or poster or in the Goals and Importance section of a research proposal and succinctly identifies for your audience the gap that you will attempt to address in your project.

A gap might be a lack of understanding about how well a particular instrument works in a certain situation. It could be introducing a new method that needs to be tested. Or it could be that you are studying a whole new organism, system, or part of a process. Your project may also address multiple gaps, in which case you should be sure to identify each of them clearly!

In a class, you might not always be studying something brand “new.” But, in most cases, you should still try to come up with something unique about your project, however small. Talk to your professor about what they expect for your gap statement if nothing seems to work.

Here, the authors signal to us that this is a gap because they use the words “has not yet been clarified.” Other phrases that might help you identify (or form!) a gap statement are:

  • …has/have not been… (studied/reported/elucidated)
  • …is required/needed…
  • …the key question is/remains…
  • …it is important to address…

Fill the gap.

  Once you identify the gap in the literature, you must tell your audience how you attempt to at least somewhat address in your project this lack of knowledge or understanding . In a journal article or poster, this is often done in a new paragraph and should be accomplished in one summary statement, such as:

Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of lead on the hepatobiliary system, especially on the liver and on the gallbladder (adapted from Sipos et al. 2003 ).

You’ll often find that the first sentence of the last paragraph in a paper’s introduction will start somewhat like this, indicating the gap fill.  

Remember–always keep your voice professional! Colloquial phrases such as “we looked into” or “we checked if” should be avoided when introducing your gap fill.

So let’s look at this idea in context by looking at some examples from a couple of types of papers. The gap statements are underlined; the fills are italicized.  

In the second and third examples, the gap may be a little less obvious–it doesn’t use any phrases to signal to you that there’s something missing, such as “has not been clarified” or “have not been reported.” But because of the way the paragraph is laid out–following the conventions of our move structures–we can see that the underlined section of text is indeed the missing information in the literature that the group sought to address in their project.

Pedro Pascal shares the 'psychotic' way he memorizes his lines, and people are comparing it to Zodiac Killer's ciphers

  • Pedro Pascal has shared the bizarre mnemonic system he uses to memorize his lines.
  • The actor's technique involves writing down the first letter of every word in a vertical column.
  • Users on X compared his notes to the Zodiac Killer's infamous cipher, which went unsolved for years.

Insider Today

Pedro Pascal  has given an insight into how he learns his lines, and it is, as he put it himself, "psychotic."

The " Last of Us " star revealed the unique method he uses to memorize scripts during a recent   SAG-AFTRA Foundation virtual round table  with his fellow SAG Awards nominees for Outstanding Performance by Male Actor in a Drama Series " The Morning Show " actor Billy Crudup, and " Succession " stars Matthew Macfadyen and Kieran Culkin.

At one point, the nominees were asked about their line-learning techniques, which prompted Pascal to share his.

"I bet I could find and show you the psychotic example, this physical example that I now have to do to learn my lines," he said as he began searching around on his desk.

The actor then held an open notebook to his camera, displaying a page covered in organized columns of letters, resembling an unsolved word search.

As Culkin noted, it looked like "gibberish," Pascal joked: "Basically, I'm the Unabomber."

The "Mandalorian" actor then explained that he jots down the first letter of every word and turns them into a cipher to help jolt his memory when recalling his lines without looking back at a script.

"You just use the first letter of each word and in kind of these sort of towers, these, columns, I guess," he explained. "It's this very, very tedious way of making yourself learn the lines."

He added that he had begun using the mnemonic memorization system to learn his lines after a "horrible experience" where he blanked on what he was supposed to say next during a Shakespeare in the Park production of "Much Ado About Nothing" in 2014.

While the method to Pascal's madness makes sense once you understand it, users on X couldn't help but poke fun at the actor.

"I have information that could lead to the immediate arrest of Pedro Pascal. (He's the Zodiac killer),"  one person joked.

Others also saw the similarity between Pascal's page of notes and the Zodiac Killer's  infamous ‘340 Cipher. '

have we tried giving pedro pascal the zodiac killer’s letters to see if he could unencrypt them — tortured poets department intern (@thenoasletter) February 18, 2024

"Have we tried giving pedro pascal the zodiac killer's letters to see if he could unencrypt them,"  someone else wrote.

Meanwhile, following the recent news, Pascal will be making his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic in the  upcoming "Fantastic 4" reboot , some saw it as confirmation that Pascal will nail the role of "the smartest man on earth."

"I see Reed Richards all over this man. He'll do amazing,"  one person commented  in response to a  widely circulated clip of the interview , while  another added : "I was on the 'Pedro is miscast as Reed' train until I saw this."

Someone else joked : "Imagine if Pedro just flashed the Fantastic Four script and none of us can decipher it."

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Watch: What Tony Robbins is really like — behind the scenes at his private Fiji estate

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Money latest: New energy price cap announced tomorrow with big drop predicted

NatWest has told brokers it will increase mortgage rates on Friday, the Money blog can reveal - after a similar announcement from HSBC earlier today. Read this and more in the Money blog, your place for consumer and economic news. Listen to the latest Ian King podcast as you scroll.

Thursday 22 February 2024 19:50, UK

  • New energy price cap announced on Friday - with 14% drop predicted
  • HSBC increasing mortgage rates | NatWest follows
  • The jobs offering huge 'signing on' bonuses - including at Tesco, NHS, Megabus and schools
  • 61 UK firms trialled four-day week - 54 have kept it going
  • Stealth tax behind jump in income tax receipts
  • Savings Guide : Should you lock your money away in a fixed-rate bond?
  • Cheap Eats : Michelin Guide chef picks favourites in South Yorkshire

Diageo, the FTSE-100 alcoholic beverages giant, is exploring the sale of a trio of non-core brands including Pimm's , the quintessentially English drink.

Read Mark Kleinman's story here ...

Takeaway couriers from Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat are planning to strike every Friday and bank holiday unless they get a pay rise, according to a report . 

About 5,000 couriers in London and others in Liverpool, Newcastle, Brighton and Oxford will not be picking up orders from 5pm until 10pm on those days, The Sun has reported.

They want a fee of at least £5 per order - a rise on the minimum £2.80 paid by Uber Eats and £3.15 by Deliveroo.

Boeing has ousted the executive responsible for rolling out its troubled 737 MAX planes.

The dismissal comes weeks after a panel on a new 737 MAX 9 aircraft blew out in midair, reigniting safety concerns over Boeing's 737 MAX fleet. 

Read more on this here ...

Average pay rises have fallen and they are unlikely to reach levels seen last year, a leading HR site has found. 

Pay rises dropped to 5.1% in the three months to January compared with 6% in the previous quarter, XpertHR data revealed.

XpertHR's senior content manager Sheila Attwood warned there were signs the 6% pay award seen in 2023 will not be matched in 2024. 

"We are already beginning to see that around half of employee groups are receiving settlements worth less than their previous award," she said. 

"The financial pressure from high inflation levels and elevated pay awards budgets in 2023 may mean that organisations will be limiting their budgets in 2024 in response." 

While this might not be welcome news for employees, high wages contribute to inflation - which affects all of us in what we pay for goods.

Wage rises coming down, if these figures are replicated in official data, would make an interest rate cut more likely.

NatWest has just told brokers it will also be increasing mortgage rates tomorrow, the Money blog can reveal following on from HSBC's announcement (see 12.05pm post).

New customers will see hikes of between 0.10 and 0.15 percentage points while for existing customers it's between 0.15 and 0.20.

These are on two and five-year fixed deals.

Speaking to Newspage, Justin Moy, managing director at EHF Mortgages, said: "Today, yet another major high street lender has pushed rates further out of reach of borrowers. 

"NatWest may be following the rest of the mainstream lenders but the collective reaction from lenders to higher swap rates will inevitably kill off all those improvements everyone worked hard for in January this year. 

"Right now, it feels like 2023 is happening all over again. Someone has pressed the mortgage rewind button."

Santander, Coventry and TSB have all raised rates this week - though today Halifax went against the grain and announced some cuts from Friday . It's not clear by how much.

As discussed earlier, swap rates - which dictate how much it costs to offer mortgages - have been creeping up, and lenders are passing this on.

There is a feeling markets may have got carried away with expectations of an early base rate cut this year - leading mortgage rates to fall. What seems to be happening now is a readjustment, with forecasts for a base rate cut having shifted back from May to June.

Four people have been arrested in police raids by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). 

Three residences in Merseyside and Greater Manchester were raided this week as the SFO announced an investigation into Signature Group, which had a portfolio of hotels in Liverpool before it went into administration in 2020. 

When it collapsed, it had losses of up to £140m. 

The business had attracted over a thousand British and international investors to redevelop iconic landmarks such as Belfast's Scottish Mutual Building and the Coal Exchange in Cardiff, the SFO said. 

Signature Group bought up predominantly historic buildings in the UK to be redeveloped into luxury hotels, residential apartments and office spaces. 

Investors either loaned money to Signature Group or bought a hotel room, apartment or office space in one of the group's properties, with promised returns on their investment of between 8% and 15%.

Among the properties in its portfolio was a cruise liner marketed as a "flotel" that would be moored off Canary Wharf in London and travel to Ibiza. 

Nick Ephgrave QPM, director of the SFO, said: "The scheme offered attractive returns and used much-loved local landmarks to lure investors.

 "We have people up and down the country left out of pocket, and buildings left derelict at the centre of our cities."

Respected predictor Cornwall Insight has just released its latest prediction for tomorrow's energy price cap announcement. 

Based on wholesale costs, the cap is expected to fall to £1,656 per year for a typical dual-fuel household - a 14% decrease from the current level.

The current price cap sits at £1,928 a year for a typical household.

Although this means energy bills will get cheaper, this prediction is slightly higher than the previous forecast from Cornwall Insight.

It previously said the cap was likely to drop 15% to £1,635.

Here's what else you need to know... 

We'll be hearing at 7am tomorrow what the new energy price cap will be from April.

The cap is controlled by energy regulator Ofgem and aims to prevent households on variable tariffs being ripped off. 

It doesn't represent a maximum bill. Instead it creates an average bill by limiting how much you pay per unit of gas and electricity, as well as setting a maximum daily standing charge (which all households must pay to stay connected to the grid). 

It changes every three months - in January, April, July and October.

The changes are mostly based on the costs faced by suppliers for providing energy. 

Who is covered by the energy price cap? 

Most households will be covered by the energy price cap. 

You'll know you're on a price-capped tariff if you're on a standard variable tariff. 

Fish and chips could be at risk after Russia pulled out of a long-standing deal with the UK.

A 1956 agreement that allows British boats to fish in the Barents Sea has been ripped up, in the latest sign of growing tensions between Moscow and the West.

The fishing deal was signed by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, but Russian politicians have now claimed it was never in the national interest.

Last year, Sky News reported that up to 40% of cod and haddock consumed in the UK comes from Russia and Russian territory - with Moscow accused of "weaponising food".

Read more on this story here ...

HSBC has announced it will reprice its mortgage rates upwards from tomorrow - following similar moves by Santander, Coventry and TSB this week.

The lender hasn't revealed how much rates are going up but the Money blog understands it will affect existing and new residential customers across all the main loan-to-value and fixed-term categories.

HSBC is the last major lender with a sub 4% deal - this now appears likely to go.

The apparent reason for these increases is that swap rates - which dictate how much it costs lenders to offer mortgages - have been creeping up.

We've got some reaction from the industry.

Ashley Thomas, director at Magni Finance, told Newspage: "HSBC hiking rates is yet another hammer blow to Britain's beleaguered property market. 2024 started on a high but those days now feel like a distant memory as more lenders reprice upwards."

This sentiment was echoed by Michelle Lawson, director at Lawson Financial, who told Newspage: "Another one bites the dust. We have returned to uncertain times in the mortgage and property market. Hopefully things will settle down soon as the property industry is such a trigger for so many others. The yo-yoing is no good for anyone."

David Hollingworth, associate director at L&C Mortgages, offered a more sanguine view, telling the Money blog...

"This could feel like a retrograde step for borrowers but it is a far cry from the very rapid and steep increases that we saw post mini-budget and again last summer.  

"Market rates aren't skyrocketing in the same way that would force a sharp and significant rise in borrowing costs but it is enough that lenders are having to adjust in the face of higher funding costs. 

"I expect there will still be plenty of jockeying for position as the market remains extremely competitive but in the short term we may still see more movement in mortgage rates."

Offering advice to prospective borrowers, Mr Hollingworth said: "For now at least, anyone that was holding off in the hope of further cuts may want to reassess their position."

The supermarket has urgently recalled various cookies over fears they could contain metal. 

Lidl yesterday issued a warning over three of its Tower Gate cookie varieties. 

But it extended it today to include more Tower Gate products, as well as a McEnnedy product. 

Here is the full list of cookies being recalled: 

  • Tower Gate Half Coated Chocolate Chunk Cookies 200g, best before 6 December 2024
  • Tower Gate Half Coated Fruit & Nut Cookies 200g, best before 6 December 2024
  • McEnnedy American Way Nougatelli 175g, 10 December 2024
  • Tower Gate Soft Baked Cookies Lemon 210g, 13 December 2024
  • Tower Gate Chocolate Chip Cookies 150g, 14 December 2024

Lidl has issued point of sale notices in its stores, according to the Food Standards Agency.

Customers have been told not to eat these products and to return them to the store for a full refund. 

Security experts have urged Android users to delete five apps from their phones immediately over fears they are infected with malware. 

Samsung Galaxy phones are particularly at risk from the nasty bug called Anatsa, which is a banking trojan. 

It is capable of performing actions on a victim's phone without them knowing, including taking money from their bank account. 

The apps, which had been available on the Google Play Store, are: 

  • Phone Cleaner – File Explorer
  • PDF Viewer – File Explorer
  • PDF Reader – Viewer & Editor
  • Phone Cleaner: File Explorer
  • PDF Reader: File Manager

Experts at security company Threat Fabric said the apps pose a "critical" threat to Android users. 

"A unique aspect of this dropper was its malicious code, specifically targeting Samsung devices," the company said in a statement.

"The malicious AccessibilityService was tailored to interact with the UI [user interface] elements of Samsung devices, meaning only Samsung users were impacted in this phase of the campaign. 

"This suggests that the threat actors initially developed and tested their code exclusively for Samsung devices."

The apps have now been removed from the store, but you should check your device to make sure you don't have them downloaded already because you could be at risk. 

A Google spokesperson told news sites: "All of the apps identified in the report have been removed from Google Play. Android users are automatically protected against known versions of this malware by Google Play Protect, which is on by default on Android devices with Google Play Services.

"Google Play Protect can warn users or block apps known to exhibit malicious behaviour, even when those apps come from sources outside of Play."

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Four full and one empty heparin tubes and a butterfly needle arrayed on a checklist of blood test measurements

What do your blood test results mean? A toxicologist explains the basics of how to interpret them

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Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Public Health, Colorado State University

Disclosure statement

Brad Reisfeld does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Colorado State University provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.

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Your blood serves numerous roles to maintain your health. To carry out these functions, blood contains a multitude of components, including red blood cells that transport oxygen, nutrients and hormones; white blood cells that remove waste products and support the immune system; plasma that regulates temperature; and platelets that help with clotting.

Within the blood are also numerous molecules formed as byproducts of normal biochemical functions. When these molecules indicate how your cells are responding to disease, injury or stress, scientists often refer to them as biological markers, or biomarkers . Thus, biomarkers in a blood sample can represent a snapshot of the current biochemical state of your body, and analyzing them can provide information about various aspects of your health.

As a toxicologist , I study the effects of drugs and environmental contaminants on human health. As part of my work, I rely on various health-related biomarkers, many of which are measured using conventional blood tests.

Understanding what common blood tests are intended to measure can help you better interpret the results. If you have results from a recent blood test handy, please follow along.

Normal blood test ranges

Depending on the lab that analyzed your sample, the results from your blood test may be broken down into individual tests or collections of related tests called panels . Results from these panels can allow a health care professional to recommend preventive care, detect potential diseases and monitor ongoing health conditions.

For each of the tests listed in your report, there will typically be a number corresponding to your test result and a reference range or interval . This range is essentially the upper and lower limits within which most healthy people’s test results are expected to fall.

Sometimes called a normal range, a reference interval is based on statistical analyses of tests from a large number of patients in a reference population . Normal levels of some biomarkers are expected to vary across a group of people, depending on their age, sex, ethnicity and other attributes.

So, separate reference populations are often created from people with a particular attribute. For example, a reference population could comprise all women or all children. A patient’s test value can then be appropriately compared with results from the reference population that fits them best.

Reference intervals vary from lab to lab because each may use different testing methods or reference populations. This means you might not be able to compare your results with reference intervals from other labs. To determine how your test results compare with the normal range, you need to check the reference interval listed on your lab report.

If you have results for a given test from different labs, your clinician will likely focus on test trends relative to their reference intervals and not the numerical results themselves.

Interpreting your blood test results

There are numerous blood panels intended to test specific aspects of your health. These include panels that look at the cellular components of your blood, biomarkers of kidney and liver function, and many more.

Rather than describe each panel, let’s look at a hypothetical case study that requires using several panels to diagnose a disease.

In this situation, a patient visits their health care provider for fatigue that has lasted several months. Numerous factors and disorders can result in prolonged or chronic fatigue.

Based on a physical examination, other symptoms and medical history, the health practitioner suspects that the patient could be suffering from any of the following: anemia, an underactive thyroid or diabetes.

Close-up of a person holding gauze against the crook of their arm while another person holds up two heparin tubes of blood

Blood tests would help further narrow down the cause of fatigue.

Anemia is a condition involving reduced blood capacity to transport oxygen. This results from either lower than normal levels of red blood cells or a decrease in the quantity or quality of hemoglobin , the protein that allows these cells to transport oxygen.

A complete blood count panel measures various components of the blood to provide a comprehensive overview of the cells that make it up. Low values of red blood cell count, or RBC, hemoglobin, or Hb, and hematocrit, or HCT, would indicate that the patient is suffering from anemia.

Hypothyroidism is a disorder in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormones. These include thyroid-stimulating hormone, or TSH, which stimulates the thyroid gland to release two other hormones: triiodothyronine, or T3, and thyroxine, or T4. The thyroid function panel measures the levels of these hormones to assess thyroid-related health.

Diabetes is a disease that occurs when blood sugar levels are too high. Excessive glucose molecules in the bloodstream can bind to hemoglobin and form what’s called glycated hemoglobin, or HbA1c. A hemoglobin A1c test measures the percentage of HbA1c present relative to the total amount of hemoglobin. This provides a history of glucose levels in the bloodstream over a period of about three months prior to the test.

Providing additional information is the basic metabolic panel, or BMP , which measures the amount various substances in your blood. These include:

  • Glucose, a type of sugar that provides energy for your body and brain. Relevant to diabetes, the BMP measures the blood glucose levels at the time of the test.
  • Calcium, a mineral essential for proper functioning of your nerves, muscles and heart.
  • Creatinine, a byproduct of muscle activity.
  • Blood urea nitrogen, or BUN, the amount of the waste product urea your kidneys help remove from your blood. These indicate the status of a person’s metabolism, kidney health and electrolyte balance.

With results from each of these panels, the health professional would assess the patient’s values relative to their reference intervals and determine which condition they most likely have.

Understanding the purpose of blood tests and how to interpret them can help patients partner with their health care providers and become more informed about their health.

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Ask an Expert: How Do I Relaunch My Career After a Long Break?

  • Carol Fishman Cohen

write a an or the in each gap

Consider how your skills and interests have changed.

Returning to work after a career break can be overwhelming. Here are a few tips for determining your new direction and propelling yourself forward.

  • Determine your “job building blocks.” Identify what is at the intersection of what you are best at and what you love doing the most. Start by listing out your prior significant work and volunteer roles. Then, write down the primary responsibilities you had with each opportunity. Finally, circle the responsibilities you loved the most and were the best at. Use this grouping to brainstorm options for rebuilding a new career path for yourself.
  • Consider the 4 C’s to identify your ideal version of work. The “4C’s of relaunching” your career are: control, content, compensation, and culture. Control is about the power you have over your schedule — when, where, and how you work. Content is about your level of satisfaction with the actual work you are doing. Compensation is about financial stability — your salary, paid time off, health insurance, etc. Culture has to do with your work environment, for example, how co-workers collaborate with each other.
  • Take action. Take action based on this information you obtained from the above steps. Start by reigniting your network by “going public” with your job search or plans to launch your business. Also find a relaunch buddy, or someone who can keep you accountable throughout this process. Finally, regain subject matter expertise by doing research on your path of choice, taking courses or certification programs, and having conversations with experts in the field.

Dear Ascend,  

write a an or the in each gap

  • CC Carol Fishman Cohen is the CEO and Co-founder of  iRelaunch , a full-service career reentry company serving professionals returning to work after a career break and the employers that want to hire them. Carol writes regularly for HBR on career reentry topics. Her  TED/TEDx talk “How to get back to work after a career break”  has nearly 3.7 million views and has been translated into 30 languages. Carol’s return to work at Bain Capital after an 11-year career break is documented in a  Harvard Business School case  study. iRelaunch celebrates its 35 th iRelaunch Return to Work Conference in May 2024.

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IMAGES

  1. Calaméo

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  2. B1 USE OF ENGLISH PART 6

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  3. 5 Gap Analysis Tools to Analyze and Bridge the Gaps in Your Business

    write a an or the in each gap

  4. Write one word in each gap

    write a an or the in each gap

  5. Fill in the gaps

    write a an or the in each gap

  6. How to write Gap Analysis

    write a an or the in each gap

VIDEO

  1. Identifying and Defining the Seven Research Gaps (07 Gaps)

  2. How to Find Research Gaps

  3. How to write Gap Analysis

  4. How to Find a Gap in the Literature

  5. Literature Gap and Future Research

  6. 5 Easy Ways To Find The Gap in Literature

COMMENTS

  1. How to Use Articles (a/an/the)

    General Writing Grammar Using Articles Using Articles What is an article? Basically, an article is an adjective. Like adjectives, articles modify nouns. English has two articles: the and a/an. The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns; a/an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns.

  2. Articles Exercise 1

    Directions: Fill in the blank with the appropriate article, a, an, or the, or leave the space blank if no article is needed. 1. I want ____ apple from that basket. 2. ____ church on the corner is progressive.

  3. A/an and the

    A/an and the - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary

  4. How to use articles (a, an, the) in English

    It's important to remember that we use 'a' and 'an' differently: 'a' comes before a noun beginning with a consonant sound and 'an' comes before a noun beginning with a vowel sound. For example: If you were observant, you may be wondering why 'hotel' and 'hour' don't use the same indefinite article, even though they both start with 'h'.

  5. Articles ESL Activities Games Worksheets

    In this free articles board game, students review a, an and the by completing true or false statements and talking about various topics for 30 seconds. Players take it in turns to roll the dice and move their counter along the board.

  6. Definite and Indefinite Articles (a, an, the)

    Use the article a or an to indicate one in number (as opposed to more than one). I own a cat and two dogs. Use the article a before a consonant sound, and use an before a vowel sound. a boy, an apple Sometimes an adjective comes between the article and noun:

  7. Articles in English

    In this lesson, you can test your ability to use articles in English: 'a', 'an' and 'the'. When should - and shouldn't - you use 'the'? What's the difference between 'a/an' and 'the'? How can you remember the rules and exceptions? You'll see how to deal with these questions in this lesson. QUIZ: Articles—Levels 1 to 3

  8. A/an, the, no article

    A/an, the, no article - Grammar chart Download full-size image from Pinterest Use a/an First mention. We use a/an when we mention something for the first time.. I saw an old woman with a dog in the park.; Jobs and descriptions. We use a/an to talk about people's jobs or to say what kind of person or thing something/somebody is.. Paula is a teacher. Paris is an interesting city.

  9. Grammar Exercise

    For each space, decide if you need to write in an article or not. Use "the", "a" or "an". If you decide no article is needed, just put a 'X' in the space. 1. lions are dangerous animals for people. 2. They said on the radio this morning that lions at the zoo have all got flu! 3. I went to Paris last year and we visited the Eiffel Tower. 4.

  10. Understanding Grammar: a, an, or the

    In the podcast, Rich and Jack gave you five sentences. Your task is to complete the sentences either using an article (a, an, the) or leaving the gap blank (no article). Think about the situation of each sentence - is it general or specific? Write your answers in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

  11. English Articles Worksheet

    Fill in the blanks with a, an or the. Put x where nothing is needed. Articles Worksheet 1 with answers at GrammarBank

  12. A vs. An: When to Use Indefinite Articles

    The rule for choosing whether a or an should be used is usually remembered as depending upon whether the following word begins with a consonant (for using a) or a vowel (for using an ). This is incomplete, however: these indefinite articles are used according to the sound that starts the following word, not the letter.

  13. Lesson 3.1 How to Use Articles in English

    i) Underline the noun in each sentence. Say what kind of noun it is ii) Write a, an, or the in each gap, or put - to mean zero article iii) Write a letter A-J to show which rule the sentence follows. Ex. 3.1.6 Writing Follow the instructions from Ex. 3.1.5: Ex. 3.1.7 Reading a) Read the text, which has a gap before every noun. Complete the ...

  14. Complete the gaps

    If you don't know an answer, write a word. You may be right! If you write a word in the wrong gap, then another word in the exercise may be wrong too. Check your answers carefully when you finish. Read the whole text to see what it sounds like. Check your vocabulary: gap fill - city of London Discussion

  15. Exercise 3: Articles Gap Fill

    english for uni Articles (the words a/an/the) Exercise 3: Articles Gap Fill Exercise 3: Articles Gap Fill Articles exercise Please complete the following exercise using a/an/the (or leave the space blank to indicate no article) in the spaces below where appropriate.

  16. The articles a/an and the in English

    Mixed exercise - a, an, the in English - Learning Online. Task No. 1225. Put in the article a, an or the where necessary. Choose x where no article is used.

  17. How to teach a/ an and the

    A/ an and the mini-presentations. Give students a list of topics, each of which has a definite or indefinite article, , perhaps in contrasting pairs or groups such as "The Queen" and "a princess", and "The Earth" and "a planet". Firstly, students choose topics to speak about in one or two minute mini-presentations, taking ...

  18. PDF KET for Schools

    Give out handout 1. There are some words missing from the message. Check how many words students will need to write in each gap (one - given in the instructions). 3. Focus on the gaps and the words in brackets after them.

  19. English Grammar Exercises for B1

    6 Ray needs a warm hat and a new coat for his visit to the Russia. 7 Dad has gone to a work and forgotten the car keys. 8 Some people have an unusual pets, such as lions or tigers. Answer. D. In each sentence there is a word missing. Put an arrow (↑) to show where the missing word should go and write the word.

  20. 12 English Tenses

    Fill in the gaps with the correct tense. 1. 2. When they arrived at the station, the train already. They had to wait for the next train. (to leave) 3. She at this school for over 15 years. She is still teaching here. (to teach) 4.

  21. What Is A Research Gap (With Examples)

    Well, at the simplest level, a research gap is essentially an unanswered question or unresolved problem in a field, which reflects a lack of existing research in that space.

  22. eng Flashcards

    28 terms karinoegema Preview Terms in this set (57) Write a modal or a semi-modal in each gap to replace the phrase in brackets Add any other word you need. Children ... (are not allowed to) ... be left unattended. mustn't Write a modal or a semi-modal in each gap to replace the phrase in brackets (synonym). Add any other word you need.

  23. Gap Statements

    You'll often find that the first sentence of the last paragraph in a paper's introduction will start somewhat like this, indicating the gap fill. Some phrases you can use to indicate your gap "fill:". "We therefore analyzed…". "In this study, we investigated…". "Therefore, the goals of this study are…". "In this ...

  24. Pedro Pascal Shares 'Psychotic' Trick for Learning Lines

    The "Last of Us" star's technique involves writing down the first letter of each word in a vertical column, which looks pretty odd on a page. A vertical stack of three evenly spaced horizontal ...

  25. Money latest: Hidden tax on British workers leads to huge rise in

    UK government finances saw a record surplus in January due in part to a big rise in income tax receipts, with more Britons forced into paying tax. Read this and more in the Money blog, your place ...

  26. What do your blood test results mean? A toxicologist explains the

    For each of the tests listed in your report, ... Write an article and join a growing community of more than 178,800 academics and researchers from 4,893 institutions. Register now.

  27. Ask an Expert: How Do I Relaunch My Career After a Long Break?

    Consider the 4 C's to identify your ideal version of work. The "4C's of relaunching" your career are: control, content, compensation, and culture. Control is about the power you have over ...