Articles & Determiners — GK Questions with Answers

1. Fill in the blanks with suitable articles; put × where no article is needed: ___ Neil Armstrong was ___ first man on ___ moon.
   1. The, the, the
   2. ×, ×, the
   3. ×, the, the
   4. ×, a, the
   Show answer

   Answer: (C) ×, the, the

   No article before a proper name; the before an ordinal; the before a unique object.

2. Fill in the blanks: There’ll always be a conflict between ___ old and ___ young. Young people want change but old people want ___ things to stay ___ same.
   1. the, the, ×, the
   2. an, a, ×, the
   3. the, the, the, a
   4. an, ×, the, a
   Show answer

   Answer: (A) the, the, ×, the

   The before an adjective used as a plural noun; no article before a general plural; the same always takes the.

3. Fill in the blanks: The wicked man stole my money and was sent to ___ prison; the virtuous man went to ___ prison sometimes to give motivational lectures.
   1. a, the
   2. ×, the
   3. ×, ×
   4. the, the
   Show answer

   Answer: (B) ×, the

   As a prisoner — no article. As a visitor to the building — the.

4. Which is correct?
   1. an university
   2. a university
   3. an unique
   4. a hour
   Show answer

   Answer: (B) a university

   University begins with a /y/ sound, so it takes a.

5. Fill in the blank: She is ___ M.A. in English.
   1. a
   2. an
   3. the
   4. no article
   Show answer

   Answer: (B) an

   The letter M is pronounced em, which begins with a vowel sound.

6. Fill in the blanks with suitable determiners: Our house is ___ than ___ hundred metres from ___ station.
   1. most, a, the
   2. fewer, a, the
   3. less, a, the
   4. little, a, ×
   Show answer

   Answer: (C) less, a, the

   Less with an uncountable measure of distance; a hundred; the station.

7. Fill in the blank with the most suitable determiner: Sorry I can’t stop. I haven’t got ___ time.
   1. any
   2. none
   3. some
   4. more
   Show answer

   Answer: (A) any

   Any is used in negative sentences.

8. Fill in the blank: She had a child holding on to ___ hand.
   1. both
   2. every
   3. any
   4. each
   Show answer

   Answer: (D) each

   A person has exactly two hands, and each takes them one at a time.

9. Which sentence uses the article correctly?
   1. He plays violin.
   2. He plays the violin.
   3. He plays a violin in general.
   4. He plays an violin.
   Show answer

   Answer: (B) He plays the violin.

   Musical instruments take the.

10. Fill in the blanks: Where there is ___ life, there is ___ hope.
    1. a, a
    2. a, an
    3. the, the
    4. zero article, zero article
    Show answer

    Answer: (D) zero article, zero article

    Both are uncountable nouns used in a general sense, so no article.

11. Fill in the blanks: I had ___ very bad night; I didn’t sleep ___ wink.
    1. a, the
    2. the, a
    3. a, a
    4. a, an
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) a, a

    A bad night — first mention; a wink means one wink.

12. Fill in the blank with an appropriate article: ___ water must be pure if it is to be drunk.
    1. A
    2. No article
    3. An
    4. The
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) No article

    Here water is uncountable and general, so it takes no article.

13. Fill in the blank with the most suitable determiner: ___ is known about the side effects of this drug.
    1. Most
    2. Few
    3. Little
    4. Such
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) Little

    Little means hardly any and goes with the uncountable noun knowledge.

14. Which is the correct use of "few"?
    1. He has few friends, so he is never lonely.
    2. He has few friends, so he is often lonely.
    3. He has few money.
    4. Few water was left.
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) He has few friends, so he is often lonely.

    Few is negative — hardly any. With money and water you would need little.

15. Fill in the blank: ___ room in this hotel has a private bathroom.
    1. Some
    2. Every
    3. All
    4. Oneself
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) Every

    Every takes a singular noun and verb and means all of them, considered as a group.

16. Which needs "the"?
    1. ___ Mount Everest
    2. ___ Himalayas
    3. ___ India
    4. ___ Jaipur
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) ___ Himalayas

    Mountain ranges take the; single peaks and most countries do not.

17. Choose the correct sentence.
    1. He plays flute well.
    2. He plays the flute well.
    3. He plays a flute well.
    4. He plays flutes well.
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) He plays the flute well.

    Musical instruments take the.

18. "He went to school" means that he went —
    1. to the school building as a visitor
    2. to study
    3. to meet the principal
    4. past the school
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) to study

    Without the article the noun means its purpose.

19. Choose the correct article: He is ___ M.A. in English.
    1. a
    2. an
    3. the
    4. no article
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) an

    An — the letter M is said /em/, beginning with a vowel sound.

20. Choose the correct article: She is ___ university student.
    1. a
    2. an
    3. the
    4. no article
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) a

    A — university begins with the sound /juː/, a consonant sound.

21. Choose the correct article: We waited for ___ hour.
    1. a
    2. an
    3. the
    4. no article
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) an

    An — the h of hour is silent.

22. Complete: ___ more you read, ___ more you learn.
    1. A … a
    2. The … the
    3. The … a
    4. No article … the
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) The … the

    The double comparative takes the in both halves.

23. "He has few friends" means —
    1. he has some friends
    2. he has hardly any friends
    3. he has many friends
    4. he has no friends at all
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) he has hardly any friends

    Few is negative; a few would mean some.

24. Which sentence needs NO article?
    1. ___ honesty is the best policy.
    2. ___ sun rises in the east.
    3. ___ Taj Mahal is beautiful.
    4. ___ Ganga is holy.
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) ___ honesty is the best policy.

    An abstract noun in a general sense takes no article.

25. Choose the correct sentence.
    1. He is taller of the two.
    2. He is the taller of the two.
    3. He is tallest of the two.
    4. He is the tallest of the two.
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) He is the taller of the two.

    Two things take the comparative, and it takes the.

More chapters in this subject

• Malgudi Days12 questions
• Macbeth12 questions
• Active & Passive Voice27 questions
• Conditional Sentences23 questions
• Degrees of Comparison15 questions
• Direct & Indirect Speech27 questions