1. Complete the sentences with a, an and the.
1) I saw ______ great film at ______ weekend. It was ______ romantic comedy.
2) uncle is ______ architect. He works for ______ government.
3) There’s ______ beautiful river near house, but ______ water is very cold.
4) On ______ sunny day, we can see ______ sea from our balcony.
5) There’s ______ Chinese restaurant and ______ café near here, but ______ café is closed on Sundays.
6) The police are searching for ______ tall man with ______ broken nose.
7) Is there ______ cinema in this town?
8) I got ______ phone and ______ tennis racket for birthday.
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1) a, the, a 2) an, the 3) a, the 4) a, the
5) a, a, the 6) a, a 7) a 8) a, a
2. Complete one sentence in each pair with the definite article (the) and tick ✓ the other.
1) a Do you like ______ biscuits? ✓
b Don’t eat __the__ biscuits, they’re for sister.
2) a We moved to this town because ______ school is very good.
b She works hard when she’s at ______ school.
3) a The neighbours knocked on our door to complain about ______ music.
b We sometimes listen to ______ music in the car.
4) a In December, ______ cold weather is normal in northern areas.
b They decided not to go camping because of ______ cold weather.
5) a uncle buys ______ books, but he never reads them.
b I enjoyed the Harry Potter films, but I think ______ books are better.
6) a I’d rather not go to the Italian restaurant because I don’t eat ______ pasta.
b The food is fantastic and all ______ pasta is home-made.
Show answers
2) a the / b ✓
3) a the / b ✓
4) a ✓ / b the
5) a ✓ / b the
6) a ✓ / b the
Challenge!
Find out which countries need the definite article (the).
1) ____ __ United States
2) ____ __ Wales
3) ____ __ France
4) ____ __ Philippines
5) ____ __ Ukraine
6) ____ __ Netherlands
7) ____ __ South Africa
8) ____ __ Czech Republic
9) ____ __ New Zealand
10) ____ __ United Kingdom
Show answers
1) the 2) – 3) – 4) the 5) – 6) the 7) – 8) the 9) – 10) the
3. Correct the errors in some of these sentences by crossing out the extra word. Tick ✓ the correct ones.
1) sister is a vegetarian – she doesn’t eat the meat.
2) Before he became a teacher, dad was a scientist. ✓
3) Yesterday, parents came into school to speak to the head teacher.
4) We’re planning a trip to the South America.
5) I had the fun in Scotland, but the journey home was terrible.
6) Sarah doesn’t usually like the rap music, but she loves the Black Eyed Peas.
7) grandparents live in a tiny cottage near the coast.
8) Some animals, like foxes, only come out at the night.
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3) ✓
4) We’re planning a trip to South America.
5) I had fun in Scotland, but the journey home was terrible.
6) Sarah doesn’t usually like rap music, but she loves the Black Eyed Peas.
7) ✓
8) Some animals, like foxes, only come out at night.
4. Complete the dialogue, Write a / an, the or – in the gaps.
Amanda Why weren’t you at 1) _____ school yesterday?
Joey I had 2) _____ really bad headache. In fact, I was in 3) _____ bed all morning.
Amanda Poor you. But at least you missed history. We had 4) _____ exam.
Joey Were 5) _____ questions difficult?
Amanda Not really. They were about 6) _____ Second World War.
Joey I’m glad I missed 7) _____ exam. I’m not really interested in 8) _____ military history.
Amanda Me neither. Are you going to 9) _____ Grace’s party at 10) _____ weekend? It’s fancy dress.
Joey I can’t. There’s 11) _____ rehearsal for 12) _____ school play that evening.
Amanda Oh. Why don’t you come to 13) _____ party after 14) _____ rehearsal?
Joey Oh, OK. That’s 15) _____ good idea. I like 16) _____ fancy dress parties.
Amanda Me too, but I need to find 17) _____ costume. The theme is ‘horror’.
Joey Cool! 18) _____ school play is Dracula. I can wear 19) _____ same costume for 20) _____ rehearsal and 21) _____ party!
Show answers
1) – 2) a 3) – 4) an 5) the 6) the 7) the 8) – 9) –
10) the 11) a 12) the 13) the 14) the 15) a 16) – 17) a
18) The 19) the 20) the 21) the