Articles A An The

Respuesta correcta: A) an

• A) anCorrect! 'Engineer' begins with a vowel sound, so the indefinite article takes the form 'an'.
• B) aNo. 'A' is used before a consonant sound, and the vowel sound of 'engineer' rules it out.
• C) theNo. 'The' would point to a specific engineer already identified by the listener.
• D) no articleNo. Every singular countable noun needs an article in English, so leaving it out is not possible here.

Respuesta correcta: B) Look at the tower; it is the tallest one in the town.

• A) Look at a tower; it is a tallest one in the town.No. 'A tower' introduces something new, which is not the meaning of 'look at' pointing to a known object.
• B) Look at the tower; it is the tallest one in the town.Correct! 'The tower' points to a specific tower already mentioned, and 'the tallest' identifies a unique member of a group.
• C) Look at tower; it is the tallest one in the town.No. A singular countable noun cannot appear without an article in English.
• D) Look at the tower; it is a tallest one in the town.No. 'A tallest' contradicts the superlative, which is already definite and takes 'the'.

Respuesta correcta: C) an

• A) aNo. 'A' is used before consonant sounds, and the silent 'h' does not count as a consonant sound here.
• B) theNo. 'The' would mean a specific hour already agreed upon, not the indefinite period waited.
• C) anCorrect! 'Hour' begins with a vowel sound because the 'h' is silent, so the form is 'an hour'.
• D) no articleNo. Singular countable nouns always require an article, even when the period is not specified.

Respuesta correcta: D) She bought a new book for the library.

• A) She bought an new book for the library.No. 'An' is used before vowel sounds, and 'new' starts with a consonant sound.
• B) She bought a an book for the library.No. Two articles cannot sit together before the same noun phrase.
• C) She bought the new book for the library.No. 'The new book' would point to a specific book already identified, not to any book.
• D) She bought a new book for the library.Correct! 'Book' begins with a consonant sound, so the indefinite article is 'a'.

Respuesta correcta: A) The

• A) TheCorrect! The sun is unique, so the definite article 'the' is used to identify a single obvious thing.
• B) ANo. 'A sun' would imply there are several suns, which is not what the sentence means.
• C) AnNo. 'An sun' has the wrong form and the wrong meaning, since there is only one sun.
• D) no articleNo. Proper celestial names such as the sun take the definite article in English.

Respuesta correcta: B) My cousin is a nurse at the hospital in Arecibo.

• A) My cousin is nurse at the hospital in Arecibo.No. A singular countable noun cannot appear without an article before it.
• B) My cousin is a nurse at the hospital in Arecibo.Correct! 'A nurse' introduces a job the listener does not know yet, so the indefinite article is correct here.
• C) My cousin is an nurse at the hospital in Arecibo.No. 'An nurse' has the wrong form, because 'nurse' begins with a consonant sound.
• D) My cousin is the nurse at the hospital in Arecibo.No. 'The nurse' would point to a specific person already identified, which is not the meaning here.

Respuesta correcta: C) It was a rainy afternoon in San Juan.

• A) It was the rainy afternoon in San Juan.No. 'An' is chosen by vowel sounds, and 'rainy' starts with a consonant sound.
• B) It was an rainy afternoon in San Juan.No. 'The rainy afternoon' would identify a specific afternoon already known to the listener.
• C) It was a rainy afternoon in San Juan.Correct! The indefinite article agrees with the first sound of the adjective 'rainy', which is a consonant, so 'a' is used.
• D) It was rainy the afternoon in San Juan.No. The article cannot be placed after the adjective; it always comes before it.

Respuesta correcta: D) Life on planet Earth depends on the ocean.

• A) Life on planet Earth depends on a ocean.No. 'A ocean' would imply more than one ocean exists, and 'a' also has the wrong form before a vowel.
• B) Life on planet Earth depends on ocean.No. A singular noun such as 'ocean' cannot appear without an article in English.
• C) Life on planet Earth depends on an ocean.No. 'An ocean' would again suggest a choice among several oceans, which does not exist.
• D) Life on planet Earth depends on the ocean.Correct! There is only one ocean on the planet, so 'the ocean' is the correct definite reference.

Respuesta correcta: A) The

• A) TheCorrect! Multi word country names that include 'States' or 'Republic' take the definite article in English.
• B) ANo. 'A' introduces something that is not unique, and the United States is a single country.
• C) AnNo. 'An' would be the wrong form in any case, and the meaning here requires definiteness.
• D) no articleNo. Leaving the article out would break the standard name of the country.

Respuesta correcta: B) I bought a laptop yesterday. The screen is very bright.

• A) I bought laptop yesterday. A screen is very bright.No. 'Bought laptop' lacks the article that a singular countable noun requires.
• B) I bought a laptop yesterday. The screen is very bright.Correct! 'A laptop' introduces the object and 'the screen' refers back to a part of it already mentioned.
• C) I bought a laptop yesterday. A screen is very bright.No. 'A screen' introduces something new and unrelated, losing the link with the laptop.
• D) I bought the laptop yesterday. The laptop is very bright.No. Repeating 'the laptop' is possible, but the sentence uses 'a laptop' first, so 'the' would not match that first mention.

Respuesta correcta: C) the, the

• A) a, aNo. 'A violin' and 'a piano' are not used for this, since instruments take the definite article in English.
• B) an, aNo. 'An' is the wrong form before 'violin', which begins with a consonant sound.
• C) the, theCorrect! Musical instruments are the classic case where English uses 'the', because the instrument is unique to the player.
• D) a, anNo. 'An piano' has the wrong form, and in any case instruments do not take the indefinite article.

Respuesta correcta: D) We had the breakfast at seven and then went out.

• A) We had a breakfast at seven and then went out.No. 'A breakfast' would treat it as one meal among many rather than the meal of that time.
• B) We had breakfast at seven and then went out.No. Meals named alone usually take no article at all, but 'the' appears as soon as a time is mentioned.
• C) We had the a breakfast at seven and then went out.No. Two articles cannot appear together before the same noun.
• D) We had the breakfast at seven and then went out.Correct! When a meal is described by the hour, English uses 'the' before 'breakfast', 'lunch' and 'dinner'.

Respuesta correcta: A) A dog was waiting by the gate.

• A) A dog was waiting by the gate.Correct! 'A dog' introduces one animal that has not been mentioned before, which is the standard first mention.
• B) The dog was waiting by the gate.No. 'The dog' would point to a specific animal already known, and nothing has been mentioned yet.
• C) An dog was waiting by the gate.No. 'An' is the wrong form because 'dog' begins with a consonant sound.
• D) Dog was waiting by the gate.No. A singular countable noun cannot be used bare in English; it always needs an article.

Respuesta correcta: B) He waited an hour before the train arrived.

• A) He waited a hour before the train arrived.No. 'A' is chosen by consonant sounds, and 'hour' begins with one here.
• B) He waited an hour before the train arrived.Correct! The 'h' in 'hour' is silent, so the word begins with a vowel sound and takes 'an'.
• C) He waited the hour before the train arrived.No. 'The hour' would name a specific hour already agreed upon.
• D) He waited a the hour before the train arrived.No. Two articles cannot be placed together before the same noun phrase.

Respuesta correcta: C) The table is made of wood.

• A) The table is made of a wood.No. 'A wood' would name a particular forest or a type of timber, not the material in general.
• B) The table is made of the wood.No. 'The wood' would point to a specific piece of wood already mentioned.
• C) The table is made of wood.Correct! Material nouns such as 'wood' are used without an article when the meaning is general.
• D) The table is made of wood the.No. The article cannot be placed after the noun in this construction.

Respuesta correcta: D) She is the best student in her class.

• A) She is a best student in her class.No. 'A best' contradicts the superlative, which by definition selects a single top item.
• B) She is best student in her class.No. Superlatives in English always appear with the definite article.
• C) She is an best student in her class.No. 'An' is the wrong form, and a superlative does not take an indefinite article in any case.
• D) She is the best student in her class.Correct! A superlative identifies a unique member of a group, so it takes the definite article 'the'.

Respuesta correcta: A) The mountains are covered with clouds this morning.

• A) The mountains are covered with clouds this morning.Correct! The plural definite article 'the' matches the plural noun 'mountains' and the plural verb 'are'.
• B) A mountains are covered with clouds this morning.No. 'A' cannot govern a plural noun in English.
• C) Mountains are covered with a clouds this morning.No. 'A clouds' mixes an article meant for a singular noun with a plural one.
• D) The mountain are covered with clouds this morning.No. 'The mountain' is singular, so it cannot agree with the plural verb 'are'.

Respuesta correcta: B) My father works at the hospital that serves the whole region.

• A) My father works at a hospital that serves the whole region.No. 'A hospital' would introduce an unspecified institution among several, which is not the meaning here.
• B) My father works at the hospital that serves the whole region.Correct! Naming one specific institution in the area calls for the definite article 'the'.
• C) My father works at hospital that serves the whole region.No. A singular noun such as 'hospital' cannot appear without an article.
• D) My father works at an hospital that serves the whole region.No. 'An hospital' has the wrong form, since 'hospital' begins with a consonant sound.

Respuesta correcta: C) an

• A) aNo. 'A' is used before consonant sounds, and this noun starts with a vowel sound.
• B) theNo. 'The' would mean a specific electrician already known to the listener.
• C) anCorrect! 'Electrician' begins with a vowel sound, so the indefinite article takes the form 'an'.
• D) no articleNo. A job name used as a singular countable noun always needs an article.

Respuesta correcta: D) I bought a book and the book that you recommended.

• A) I bought a book and the book what that you recommended.No. 'What that' would introduce two relative pronouns at once, which is not allowed.
• B) I bought the book and a book that you recommended.No. 'The book' cannot be a first mention, and 'a book' would break the back reference to the first one.
• C) I bought a book and a book that you recommended.No. 'A book' twice loses the link between the two mentions, so the sentence no longer makes sense.
• D) I bought a book and the book that you recommended.Correct! 'A book' is a first mention and 'the book' refers back to it, so the two articles do different jobs.