Exercise 9. Fill in a, an, the or – (nothing). 1. She spent ___ adventure holiday in the summer in the heart of Africa.
2. Although it was deep night, he could find his way through ___ woods.
3. I’m sure I’m doing ___ right thing.
4. My office is on ___ third floor of ___ old building.
5. A career in this field can be ___ hard work but it’s rewarding.
6. ___ most trains start badly on cold mornings.
7. Traffic jams are almost unavoidable in ___ morning rush hour.
8. I had ___ sandwich in ___ school canteen for ___ lunch today.
9. ___company wants us to pay for ___ goods in ___ advance.
10. Mary lives in ___ large town in ___ middle of London but she wants to live in ___ country.
11. The Department of Linguistics at West Point is located on the west bank of ___ Hudson River,
north of California.
12. ___Sahara, the world’s largest desert, extends over eight million square kilometres.
13. ___Pacific Ocean keeps ___ San Francisco cool.
Explanation: The correct answer is "an" because the word "adventure" starts with a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u) and we use "an" before words that begin with a vowel sound.
2. Although it was deep night, he could find his way through the woods.
Explanation: The correct answer is "the" because the speaker is referring to specific woods, not just any woods.
3. I’m sure I’m doing the right thing.
Explanation: The correct answer is "the" because the speaker is referring to a specific right thing.
4. My office is on the third floor of the old building.
Explanation: The correct answers are "the" and "the". We use "the" before ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.) and before specific buildings.
5. A career in this field can be hard work but it’s rewarding.
Explanation: The correct answer is "hard work" because it is a general statement about a career. We do not use an article before uncountable nouns (work).
6. Most trains start badly on cold mornings.
Explanation: The correct answer is "Most" because it is a general statement about trains, not referring to a specific train.
7. Traffic jams are almost unavoidable in the morning rush hour.
Explanation: The correct answer is "the" because the speaker is referring to a specific morning rush hour.
8. I had a sandwich in the school canteen for lunch today.
Explanation: The correct answers are "a", "the", and "lunch". We use "a" when the noun following it is not previously mentioned and is a countable noun. We use "the" before specific places (the school canteen) and "lunch" because it is a specific meal.
9. The company wants us to pay for the goods in advance.
Explanation: The correct answers are "the" and "the". We use "the" before specific organizations (the company) and "the" before specific goods.
10. Mary lives in a large town in the middle of London but she wants to live in the country.
Explanation: The correct answers are "a", "the", and "the". We use "a" when the noun following it is not previously mentioned and is a countable noun. We use "the" before specific towns (the middle of London) and "the" before the country.
11. The Department of Linguistics at West Point is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, north of California.
Explanation: The correct answers are "the" and "the". We use "the" before specific departments (the Department of Linguistics), specific rivers (the Hudson River), and specific locations (the west bank).
12. The Sahara, the world's largest desert, extends over eight million square kilometers.
Explanation: The correct answers are "the" and "the". We use "the" before specific deserts (the Sahara) and specific measurements (the world's largest, eight million square kilometers).
13. The Pacific Ocean keeps San Francisco cool.
Explanation: The correct answers are "the" and "the". We use "the" before specific oceans (the Pacific Ocean) and specific places (San Francisco).