Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one. Some sentences have two correct answers. Choose both.
1After the accident, he spent three nights in ............... before he was discharged.
Wrong!
We usually use the zero article with institutions like hospital when we mean their primary purpose, as a patient.
2She speaks ............... at home with her grandparents, but uses English at work.
Wrong!
Names of languages normally take no article when used generally.
3We grabbed ............... at the station cafe before the early train.
Wrong!
Meals often take the zero article when we mean the meal in general, not a specific one.
4The committee agreed that ............... is essential if the policy is to work in practice.
Wrong!
Abstract nouns like trust are often used with the zero article when speaking generally.
5He was sent to ............... for six months after the fraud conviction.
Wrong!
We use the zero article with prison when someone is there as a prisoner.
6If you want to sound natural, avoid putting ............... before plural nouns when you mean people in general.
Wrong!
We use the zero article with plural countable nouns for general statements, so we avoid adding an article like the.
7The lecturer insisted that ............... is not the same as being right.
Wrong!
Abstract nouns like knowledge are usually used with the zero article when used in a general sense.
8She went to ............... to pick up her niece, not to study.
Wrong!
With school, the zero article means attending as a student; the school refers to the building as a place.
9On ............... he tends to work late, but he keeps Sundays free.
Wrong!
Days of the week usually take the zero article in time expressions like on Monday.
10The guide warned us that ............... can change in minutes in the mountains.
Wrong!
Weather is typically used with the zero article when talking about it generally.
11The report concluded that ............... is a matter of perspective, not a fixed rule.
Wrong!
With abstract nouns like beauty, the zero article is common for a general concept; the beauty would point to a specific, identified beauty.
12In her memoir, she writes that ............... was the hardest part of starting over.
Select 2 answers.
Wrong!
Both forms can be correct here: zero article for the feeling in general, and the + abstract noun to refer to a specific, defined experience in context.
Done.
Score: 0/12
Answers
- After the accident, he spent three nights in hospital before he was discharged.
- She speaks Spanish at home with her grandparents, but uses English at work.
- We grabbed breakfast at the station cafe before the early train.
- The committee agreed that trust is essential if the policy is to work in practice.
- He was sent to prison for six months after the fraud conviction.
- If you want to sound natural, avoid putting the before plural nouns when you mean people in general.
- The lecturer insisted that knowledge is not the same as being right.
- She went to the school to pick up her niece, not to study.
- On Monday he tends to work late, but he keeps Sundays free.
- The guide warned us that weather can change in minutes in the mountains.
- The report concluded that beauty is a matter of perspective, not a fixed rule.
- In her memoir, she writes that loneliness/the loneliness was the hardest part of starting over.
