A (an ) or the ?

A (an ) or the ? (English exercise n°9478 - Please quote this number when contacting us)

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A (an ) or the ?

Determiners

Articles:

a, an, the

Possessives:

my, your, his, her, our, their

Other determiners:

each, every

either, neither

any, some, no

much, many; more, most

little, less, least

few, fewer, fewest

what, whatever; which, whichever

both, half, all

several

enough

When we are talking about one thing in particular, we use the. When we are talking about one thing in general, we use a or an.

I heard the owl last night. ( = The owl we have already heard => a definite one )

I heard an owl last night. ( = an owl, it's not a definite one )

the a, an

The capital of Italy is Rome.

I have bought the bag I wanted

Has he parked the car?

There isn't any milk in the fridge.

Please switch off the light of the bathroom

I was born in a village.

He had an orange juice for breakfast.

James ate a steak.

They want to have an armchair

Has your grandmother got a chair?
The red shoes

Read this short paragraph, it can help you :

A little girl ( = any little girl ) and a woman ( = any woman ) were walking in Lincoln Avenue. The little girl ( = the one I have talked about before ) saw a pair of shoes ( = non - definite ) in a shop ( = any shop ). She asked the woman ( = the woman I have mentioned ) if she could buy the shoes ( = the shoes she has seen ) for her. The woman ( = the woman is the one I have mentioned twice ) said: 'I don't think the red shoes ( = the shoes mentioned ) will suit you. Look ! There is a pair of blue shoes ( = another one ) at the back ( = there's only one back ) of the shop-window. ( = the shop-window they were looking at )'

Test : a, an, the

Intermediate
English exercise "A (an ) or the ?" created by anonyme (04-08-2006) with The test builder
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1. We are very surprised by words he knows.
2. Will you take picture of the church ?
3. They have loveliest garden I have ever seen.
4. It's really interesting piece of news, don't you think so ?
5. That's incredible story !
6. They were hidden in this village till end of the war.
7. He gave me excellent piece of advice.
8. I have emptied the content of the bottle in sink.
9. We have theatre and several cinemas in the town.
10. His father, bank clerk, will be retired at the end of the year.
11. Mum was very happy because we put end to this scandal.
12. Have you got book about the Greek myths ? Anyone will be all right.
13. All sick passengers were well looked after.
14. Sorry, I can't give an objective opinion, I am not musician.
15. We all believe in freedom of the press in the country.

End of the free exercise to learn English: A (an ) or the ? (15.10.2009 20:41)
A free English exercise to learn English.
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