Unit 9 Articles

9.1 When are articles used?

9.2 a or an?
9.3 The definite article the
9.4 Other points to remember
9.5 Useful expressions
Grammar Practice
Part A Part B Part C
Language Practice
Part D Part E Part F

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Unit 9 Articles
9.1 When are articles used?
The indefinite article a or an is used when:
• a singular countable noun is mentioned for the first time
in a passage

I saw a car parked in front of our school.

• the listener doesn’t know which person or thing the

speaker is referring to

Please pass me a ruler, Amy.

Compare: Pass me the ruler on the desk
just there.
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Unit 9 Articles

• we have to define something

An encyclopedia is a book containing

information about different
subjects.

• we talk about a universal example that applies to someone

or something (meaning any)

A child can do this trick.

Compare: Mrs Chan loves children.

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Unit 9 Articles
9.2 a or an?
The choice of a or an is determined by the pronunciation
of the word immediately following the article. We use a
when the word following starts with a consonant sound.
When the following word begins with a vowel sound, we
use an (even if the letter is a consonant).

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Unit 9 Articles

a cup an apple an
egg
an item an
orange
an umbrella
a house an hour
a hotel an honest man
a horse an HSBC branch

a unit an urgent message

a university
a uniform
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Unit 9 Articles
Grammar Practice
Add a, an or the to the sentences where necessary. Put a
cross () in the blank if no article is needed. The first one
has been done for you as an example.

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Unit 9 Articles

1 the
Have you finished _________ book I lent you last week?

2 He’s gone to buy _________

a newspaper. He’ll be back in
a
_________ minute.

3 the
Did _________ police find the person who stole your car?

4 a
Would you like to go for _________ swim?

5 a
The farmers claimed that they saw _________ UFO when
they the
were working in _________ fields.

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Unit 9 Articles

6 the
I went to _________ hospital to visit my uncle who had

been admitted for _________ acute appendicitis.

7 The
My sister got married last week. _________ marriage

ceremony, which was held at _________ City Hall, was

attended by _________ friends and relatives.

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Unit 9 Articles

8 the
As I was walking along _________ street on my way to

_________ a
school, I saw _________ 500-dollar note lying
the
on _________ pavement.

9 Kate’s brother, who is _________

an electrical engineer, had
an
_________ accident yesterday.

the
10 Heavy rainfall in _________ 
southeast during _________
the
late February and _________ first week of March brought

_________ the
badly needed water to _________ region, which

is suffering from its worst drought in _________ 50 years.
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Unit 9 Articles

Complete the sentences using a suitable noun, and

an article when necessary. The first one has been done for
you as an example.

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Unit 9 Articles

1 It’s very late. You’d better take _______________home.

a taxi

2 My uncle lives in Kowloon but his office is in Central. He

has to takethe MTR/a ferry/a bus
______________________ to get to work.

3 I’ve finished writing the letter. Would you pass me

an envelope
______________ , please?

4 Our plane was delayed. As a result, we had to wait at

the airport
________________ for more than two hours.

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Unit 9 Articles

5 She was due for a check up, so she made an

_______________
appointment
____________________ with her dentist for the following
Tuesday.
the supermarket
6 She had to go to _______________________ because she
had run out of sugar. a cigarette/
a cigar
7 As I don’t smoke, I refused his offer of _______________ .
a rest/a break
8 Feeling tired, we took ________________ under a tree
before we continued.
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Unit 9 Articles

9 She’s a vegetarian, so she doesn’t eat ________________

meat .

10 Andy is out of work. He’s looking for _______________

a job .

11 We spent our holiday in Spain. I’ll show you

the photos/videos
_____________________ we took next time
I see you.

12 breakfast
I didn’t have time to have _________________________
this morning. I just showered, brushed my teeth and
a bus
then caught ________________ to school.
(Note: accept all reasonable answers)
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Unit 9 Articles

Circle the correct words to complete the sentences. The first

one has been done for you as an example.

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Unit 9 Articles

1 Who invented a telephone / the telephone?

2 Mr Chan is out of town / the town. He won’t be back until

a day / the day after tomorrow.

3 The Lees have bought a house near a sea / the sea.

4 China / The China has launched a rocket carrying a weather

satellite / weather satellite.

5 She enjoys long walks in country / the country.

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Unit 9 Articles

6 ‘Life / The life is hard,’ said the man, who had been out of
a work / work for months.

7 They say the actress died of heart attack / a heart

attack.

8 I have an allergy / the allergy to seafood / the seafood.

9 We’d better wait until snow / the snow stops.

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Unit 9 Articles

10 50 flights due to take off from London Heathrow Airport /

the
London Heathrow Airport have been cancelled because of a

bad weather / bad weather.

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Unit 9 Articles
Language Practice
Complete the news report using the correct article. Put a
cross () in the blank if no article is needed. The first two
have been done for you as examples.

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Unit 9 Articles

Sai Wan Swimming Shed

the
Located on (1) _________ western edge of Kennedy Town

near (2) _________ 
Mount Davis, (3) _________ Sai Wan
a
Swimming Shed used to be (4) _________ popular place for

(5) _________ the
swimmers. It was built next to (6) _________
an
sea in (7) _________ era when there were not as many
swimming pools as now. In those days there were about ten

swimming sheds like (8) _________ this in Hong Kong.

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Unit 9 Articles


Many people went to these swimming sheds in (9) ________
summer as they were convenient.

With more public swimming pools being built and (10)

the
_________ harbour getting more polluted, many swimming

sheds have closed and (11) _________ Sai Wan Swimming
Shed is now (12) _________
the only operating swimming shed
in Hong Kong.

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Unit 9 Articles

The
(13) _________ a
shed has (14) _________ bridge and (15)
a
_________ the
ladder that leads into (16) _________ sea. It also
a
has (17) _________ bathroom and some lockers for
a
swimmers, but you have to be (18) _________ member of
the
(19) _________ the
swimming club operating (20) _________
shed in order to use these facilities, which open from 5 am to
a
1 pm. You do not have to be (21) _________ member to
swim, though.

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Unit 9 Articles

the
Now, (22) _________ a
shed is more of (23) _________ place
for photographers than for swimmers. Lots of photographers
the
go there in (24) _________ late afternoon to capture (25)
the
_________ a
stunning sunset view. It is also (26) _________
popular spot for taking wedding photos.

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Unit 9 Articles

Correct the sentences. No line has more than one mistake

and some lines are correct. Your corrections should
be done as follows:

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Unit 9 Articles

incorrect word/form - underline the incorrect word, then

missing word - mark the position of the mi

extra word - put a cross () on th

no mistake - put a tick () at the

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Unit 9 Articles

The first two have been done for you as examples.

a
(1) Drug abuse has been an prevalent phenomenon around the world, especially for the
a
(2) younger generation. Adventurous and curious, adolescents who lack sense of self
the ^
(3) discipline could be led astray easily. Attracted by huge market of teen
^
(4) drug users, drug dealers often employ a young people to help them sell

(5) and distribute drugs. These young pushers will target their friends, trying 

(6) to get them to try drugs. Unable to distinguish a right from wrong, many
their
(7) take its irrevocable first step simply out of curiosity and peer pressure.

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Unit 9 Articles
a
(8) Although many scientific studies and medical reports have indicated series
a ^
(9) of disorders that drug abuse could possibly contribute to, the lot of teenagers
a
(10) still choose to turn deaf ear to what they are told. According to a recent survey
the ^
(11) conducted in United States, 43.7% of the interviewed students aged from 14 to 21
^
(12) admitted that they had tried illegal drugs at least once; more than half of the 
were
(13) interviewees said that they was willing to experiment with drugs if given such
The
(14) chance. A result is astonishing, and should be perceived as a wake up call for
(15) the wider community. 

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Unit 9 Articles
minutes
(16) A wrong step takes just a few minute to make; turning back often requires
much
(17) many strength. In the effort to promote a healthy attitude towards life among

(18) young people, the responsibility falls to the government, parents and 
the
(19) schools to educate and guide them back to right path. On the other hand,
teenager ^
(20) every teenagers ought to learn to be more responsible for taking charge of

(21) his or her life, being strong, and not succumbing to a peer pressure.

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Unit 9 Articles

Read the newspaper report. Then, fill in each blank in Sally’s

diary with a suitable word. Put a cross () in the blank if no
word is needed. Make sure your answers are grammatically
correct. The first one has been done for you as an example.

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Unit 9 Articles

More than 400 people puffed and panted in the Walk Up

Jardine House event yesterday, raising over $1.5 million for
young people with mental illness.
It was the 20th anniversary of the event, which sees entrants
run up 947 stairs to the top of the 49-storey building.
Yesterday’s programme involved team races, individual races
and the school relay. Runners were also encouraged to wear
costumes to compete for the Fancy Dress Award.

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Unit 9 Articles

Taking place today, Walk Up Jardine House is

(1) annual event that sees participants climbing (1) an
__________
up stairs to (2) top of the building. Though I had the
__
practised climbing (3) stairs for weeks, I was 
(2)
still (4) bit nervous. a
__________
__
(3)
__________
__
(4)
__________
NEWSPAPER REPORT __ P.93
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Unit 9 Articles

Everybody, myself included, (5) extremely (5) was

__________
excited before the race officially started. The
_
section that I took part in (6) the individual was
race. Most of (7) participants, much to my the
(6)
surprise, (8) a lot slower than me! I managed were
__________
_
to finish in 4 minutes and 32 seconds. Peter’s
(7)
and Marie’s scores (9) almost (10) same – were
__________
5 minutes, 11 seconds. For the school relay, _ the
(11) finish time (12) 3 minutes, 19 seconds. (8) the
____________
was
_
NEWSPAPER REPORT P.93
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Unit 9 Articles

While we (13) not interested in the Fancy Dress (13) were

__________
Award, other participants (14) quite enthusiastic were
__
about it. Some even came up with (15) idea of the
(14)
wearing Qing Dynasty costumes. __________
__
We were so happy that over $1.5 million (16) (16) was
(15)
__________
raised today. The sum will be donated to (17) a
__________
__
__
charity that helps youths with mental illness. I (17)
the
__________
think (18) result was quite encouraging!
(Note: accept all reasonable answers)
__

NEWSPAPER REPORT P.93

(18) _______________
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