English Grammar Test: Articles (a, an, the)
- Articles
- 15 questions
- 12 minutes
This test covers when to use a, an, the or no article at all. Tip: choose a or an by the first sound, not the first letter (an hour, a university), and use the when the listener knows exactly which one you mean.
Tap an option to mark your answer. You can change your mind, or tap the same option again to leave the question blank. The correct answers and explanations appear when you finish the test.Tap an option to answer; tap it again to leave the question blank.
Your result
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Question 1
She wants to be ____ engineer.
Correct answer: C
Jobs take a or an, and engineer starts with a vowel sound, so it is an engineer. Without an article the sentence is not correct.
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Question 2
The bus was late, so we waited for almost ____ hour.
Correct answer: B
The h in hour is silent, so the word starts with a vowel sound and takes an. The choice depends on the sound, not the letter.
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Question 3
Jake is 19. He's ____ university student.
Correct answer: B
University begins with a "you" sound, which is a consonant sound, so it takes a. An university is a common error caused by looking at the letter u.
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Question 4
____ sun rises in the east.
Correct answer: D
There is only one sun in our sky, so it takes the. The same rule applies to the moon and the sky.
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Question 5
I usually play ____ tennis on Saturdays.
Correct answer: C
Names of sports and games such as tennis, soccer and chess take no article after play: I play tennis.
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Question 6
I bought a lamp and a rug. ____ lamp was cheap, but the rug was expensive.
Correct answer: D
The lamp was already mentioned, so the listener knows which lamp it is: use the for the second mention.
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Question 7
____ Nile is the longest river in Africa.
Correct answer: A
Names of rivers, seas and oceans take the: the Nile, the Amazon, the Pacific. Names of single lakes and mountains usually do not.
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Question 8
Which sentence is correct?
Correct answer: C
Most country names take no article (Canada), but names with words like States, Kingdom or Republic take the: the United States.
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Question 9
Mount Everest is ____ highest mountain in the world.
Correct answer: B
Superlatives such as highest, best and most important take the, because there can be only one.
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Question 10
____ honest answer is always better than a lie.
Correct answer: C
The h in honest is silent, so the next word starts with a vowel sound and takes an. Answer is a countable noun, so it needs an article here.
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Question 11
Could you pass me ____ salt, please?
Correct answer: B
Both people know which salt is meant (the salt on the table), so use the. Salt is uncountable, so a salt is wrong.
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Question 12
I've got ____ idea! Let's have a picnic.
Correct answer: A
This is a new idea the listener has not heard yet, so use the indefinite article. Idea starts with a vowel sound, so it is an idea.
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Question 13
She is ____ only person who knew the answer.
Correct answer: D
Only makes the person unique, so it takes the: the only person. An only person is not used in this meaning.
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Question 14
Which underlined part of the sentence contains an error?
Last year I read an interesting book about the history of a Amazon rainforest.
Correct answer: A
The Amazon is one specific rainforest, so it takes the: the Amazon rainforest. In addition, a could never come before the vowel sound in Amazon.
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Question 15
Which underlined part of the sentence contains an error?
He goes to the work by car, and he listens to the radio on the way.
Correct answer: A
After go to, the noun work takes no article: He goes to work. Listen to the radio and on the way are fixed expressions with the.
Questions you leave blank are not counted as wrong.
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