High School

Exercise 2: Choose the best answer to complete the sentences:

1. There are billions of stars in ______ space.
A. a
B. an
C. X
D. the

2. He tried to park his car but ______ space wasn't big enough.
A. the
B. a
C. X
D. the

3. Can you turn off ______ television, please?
A. X
B. a
C. an
D. X

4. We had ______ meal in a restaurant.
A. a
B. X
C. an
D. the

5. Thank you. That was ______ very nice lunch.
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. an

6. My daughter plays ______ piano very well.
A. the
B. a
C. the
D. X

7. Jill went to ______ hospital to see her friend.
A. x
B. the
C. X
D. an

8. Mrs. Lan went to ______ school to meet her son's daughter.
A. x
B. the
C. a
D. an

9. We visited ______ two years ago.
A. Canada and the United States
B. the Canada and the United
C. the Canada and United States
D. Canada and United States

10. Are you going away next week? No, ______ week after next.
A. a
B. the
C. some
D. X

11. We haven't been to ______ for years.
A. cinema
B. the cinema
C. a cinema
D. any

12. It took us quite a long time to get here. It was ______ journey.
A. three hour
B. a three-hours
C. a three-hour
D. three-hours

13. I can't work here. There's so much ______.
A. noise
B. noises
C. the noise
D. a noise

14. I've seen ______ good films recently.
A. a
B. the
C. some
D. an

15. I often watch ______ television for two hours every night.
A. some
B. the
C. any
D. X

16. The injured man was taken to ______.
A. hospital
B. any hospital
C. the hospital
D. hospitals

17. She went out without ______ money.
A. any
B. an
C. a
D. X

18. Did ______ police find ______ person who stole your bicycle?
A. a/a
B. the/the
C. a/the
D. the/a

19. Can anyone give me ______ hand, please, because I have just fallen over?
A. a
B. an
C. the
D. X

20. I don't know what to do. It's ______ problem.
A. quite difficult
B. a quite difficult
C. quite a difficult
D. the quite difficult

Answer :

To complete the sentences with the best answers, we need to consider the rules of English grammar concerning articles ('a,' 'an,' 'the') and zero articles (when no article is needed). Here are the correct completions and explanations for each:

  1. There are billions of stars in ______ space.

    • Answer: C. X
    • Explanation: 'Space' in this context refers to outer space, which does not use an article.
  2. He tried to park his car but ______ space wasn't big enough.

    • Answer: A. the
    • Explanation: 'The space' refers to a specific parking space that has been previously identified.
  3. Can you turn off ______ television, please?

    • Answer: D. X
    • Explanation: 'Television' in this context refers to the device or the medium in general, which doesn’t need 'the'.
  4. We had ______ meal in a restaurant.

    • Answer: A. a
    • Explanation: 'A meal' refers to any unspecified meal.
  5. Thank you. That was ______ very nice lunch.

    • Answer: A. a
    • Explanation: 'A very nice lunch' signifies one specific instance of a lunch that is being appreciated.
  6. My daughter plays ______ piano very well.

    • Answer: A. the
    • Explanation: 'The piano' is used when referring to musical instruments in general.
  7. Jill went to ______ hospital to see her friend.

    • Answer: C. X
    • Explanation: In British English, you often go 'to hospital' when no specific hospital is being referred to (context-dependent).
  8. Mrs. Lan went to ______ school to meet her son's daughter.

    • Answer: B. the
    • Explanation: 'The school' is used since it refers to a specific school tied to her son’s daughter.
  9. We visited ______ two years ago.

    • Answer: A. Canada and the United States
    • Explanation: 'The United States' takes the definite article, while 'Canada' does not.
  10. Are you going away next week? No, ______ week after next.

    • Answer: B. the
    • Explanation: 'The week after next' is a set expression.
  11. We haven't been to ______ for years.

    • Answer: B. the cinema
    • Explanation: 'The cinema' refers to a specific kind of place related to viewing films.
  12. It was ______ journey.

    • Answer: C. a three-hour
    • Explanation: 'A three-hour journey' uses a hyphen to turn the phrase into a compound adjective.
  13. I can't work here. There's so much ______.

    • Answer: A. noise
    • Explanation: 'Noise' here is an uncountable noun, so 'much' is the correct usage.
  14. I've seen ______ good films recently.

    • Answer: C. some
    • Explanation: 'Some' good films suggests more than one film, an indefinite number.
  15. I often watch ______ television for two hours every night.

    • Answer: D. X
    • Explanation: As previously mentioned, 'television' being the medium or device requires no article.
  16. The injured man was taken to ______.

    • Answer: C. the hospital
    • Explanation: 'The hospital' is being used here as a particular place where treatment is provided.
  17. She went out without ______ money.

    • Answer: A. any
    • Explanation: 'Any money' is used as it signifies she went out without some unspecified amount of money.
  18. Did ______ police find ______ person who stole your bicycle?

    • Answer: B. the/the
    • Explanation: 'The police' and 'the person' refer to a specific group and person previously mentioned in context.
  19. Can anyone give me ______ hand, please because I have just fallen over?

    • Answer: A. a
    • Explanation: 'A hand' is used in the idiomatic expression meaning assistance.
  20. I don't know what to do. It's ______ problem.

    • Answer: C. quite a difficult
    • Explanation: 'Quite a difficult problem' uses 'quite' as an intensifier followed by 'a' before the adjective and noun.