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SPI English · Fill in the Blanks

Articles and Agreement

An article gap asks whether the noun is one of many (a, an), already known or one of a kind (the); an agreement gap asks whether the subject is one or more.

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Why this matters

Five questions in the bank, all from LWS mocks: three EASY, one MODERATE and one HARD. The HARD one joins the two rules: a single 'the' before two job titles makes them one person, and one person takes a singular verb.

Concept 1 of 2: A, an or the

'A' and 'an' point to any one of many: a dog, an apple. 'The' points to one particular thing, either because it has been mentioned, because both speakers know which one, or because there is only one of it. Choose between 'a' and 'an' by the first sound you say, not the first letter you see.

Definition

The rules:

  • a before a consonant sound: a book, a uniform (you-niform), a tall tree.
  • an before a vowel sound: an egg, an hour (the h is silent), an honest man.
  • a or an for something mentioned for the first time, or for one of many: 'I saw a bird.'
  • the for something already known: 'The bird flew away.'
  • the for things that are one of a kind: the sun, the moon, the earth, the sky.
  • the for rivers, canals, seas, oceans and mountain ranges: the Ganga, the Panama Canal, the Arabian Sea, the Himalayas.
NounArticleCorrect example
a consonant soundaa tall tree, a university
a vowel soundanan orange, an hour
Hour starts with a vowel sound, so it is an hour.
first mention, one of manya or anA man knocked at the door.
already known to both speakerstheShut the window, please.
one of a kindthethe sun, the sky, the earth
river, canal, sea, ocean, mountain rangethethe Ganga, the Panama Canal, the Himalayas
A two-blank article question is two separate decisions: settle each gap on its own.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a practice question:

Practice questionEasy

Example 1 · Fill in the Blanks · Articles and Agreement

Choose the correct articles for the below sentence: There was ____ huge crowd of people outside ____ church.

Go by the sound, not the letter

'A university' and 'a one-day match' start with consonant sounds; 'an hour' and 'an MLA' start with vowel sounds. Say the word aloud in your head.

One of a kind takes the

There is only one moon and one sky, so they take 'the'. Writing 'a moon' for our Moon is wrong.
Drill 2 more on a, an or the

Concept 2 of 2: One or more: the verb for the subject

Before you fill a verb gap, decide whether the subject is one person or thing or more than one. Some subjects that sound like many people are grammatically one. Then check that the verb form fits the word after the gap: '-ing' needs a form of 'be', a third form like 'left' needs a form of 'have'.

Definition

The rules:

  • Everybody, everyone, somebody, nobody, each and every are singular: 'Everyone is here.'
  • Two nouns joined by and are plural: 'Ravi and Anu are friends.'
  • But one 'the' before two titles means one person holding both posts: 'The captain and coach is here' (one person). Two people need two articles: 'The captain and the coach are here.'
  • An -ing word after the gap needs is, was, are, were. A third form (gone, left, eaten) needs has, have, had.
SubjectNumberCorrect example
everybody, everyone, nobody, eachsingularEveryone in the bus was singing.
A and B (two people or things)pluralThe pen and the pencil are on the desk.
the + title and title (one article)singular: one personThe poet and painter was honoured.
With 'the poet and the painter', it is two people: were honoured.
one name or one thingsingularMy friend has gone home.
Count the articles before two job titles: one 'the' means one person.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a practice question:

Practice questionEasy

Example 2 · Fill in the Blanks · Articles and Agreement

Everybody at the party ____ enjoying the food.

Everybody sounds like many but is one

'Everybody', 'everyone' and 'nobody' take a singular verb even though they talk about a group: 'Everybody likes him', not 'Everybody like him'.

The word after the gap picks the helper

'-ing' needs a form of be (was singing); a third form needs a form of have (has gone). 'Has singing' is not English, and 'is left' cannot stand for 'has left'.
Drill 1 more on one or more: the verb for the subject

Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance

A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.

Reference tables (2)

A, an or the6 rows
NounArticleCorrect example
a consonant soundaa tall tree, a university
a vowel soundanan orange, an hour
Hour starts with a vowel sound, so it is an hour.
first mention, one of manya or anA man knocked at the door.
already known to both speakerstheShut the window, please.
one of a kindthethe sun, the sky, the earth
river, canal, sea, ocean, mountain rangethethe Ganga, the Panama Canal, the Himalayas
A two-blank article question is two separate decisions: settle each gap on its own.
One or more: the verb for the subject4 rows
SubjectNumberCorrect example
everybody, everyone, nobody, eachsingularEveryone in the bus was singing.
A and B (two people or things)pluralThe pen and the pencil are on the desk.
the + title and title (one article)singular: one personThe poet and painter was honoured.
With 'the poet and the painter', it is two people: were honoured.
one name or one thingsingularMy friend has gone home.
Count the articles before two job titles: one 'the' means one person.

Watch out for (4)

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