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Question
Working in pair, decide which of the following items in italics is definite (or specific) and which is indefinite (or non-specific).
Then complete the following sentence using appropriate articles.
- ................... girl who lives at the corner of our street has been selected for the
civil services.
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Solution
- The girl who lives at the corner of our street has been selected for the
civil services.
Definite (specific)
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RELATED QUESTIONS
In this unit you will use the words which help to identify things – to say whether they are known or unknown to the listener, which one(s) the speaker is talking about, whether the speaker is thinking of specific examples or talking in general. You will also work with words which say ‘how much’ or ‘how many’.
There are twenty determiners in the grid given below. Encircle these determiners.

Articles
1. The building that I visited today is a museum.
2. A building in which antiques are kept is called a museum.
Working in pair, decide which of the following items in italics is definite (or specific) and which is indefinite (or non-specific).
Then complete the following sentence using appropriate articles.
- ___ fruit seller does not earn much during the rainy season.
Working in pair, decide which of the following items in italics is definite (or specific) and which is indefinite (or non-specific).
Then complete the following sentence using appropriate articles.
- The Amazon is considered to be ___ largest river in the world, in terms of volume of water.
Working in pair, decide which of the following items in italics is definite (or specific) and which is indefinite (or non-specific).
Then complete the following sentence using appropriate articles.
- 1950 is ___ year in which India became a republic.
In groups of four, read the following description from a geography book, and underline the geographical names.
The Himalayas, the highest mountain range in the world, protect India from the cold winds blowing from central Asia and the People's Republic of China. Mount Everest, the highest mountain peak of the world belongs to this range and is situated in Nepal. To the south of the Himalayas, the great northern plains extend between the mouth of the rivers Indus and the Ganga. The Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra start in the Himalayas .The Indus starts in Tibet near Mansarovar Lake. The Ganga rises in the Himalayas and the Brahmaputra, also known as Tsang Po, starts in Tibet. The Ganga and the Brahmaputrajoin together before flowing into the Bay of Bengal. Between the fertile Indus and Ganga plains are the Aravalli Hills and the Thar Desert.
Now discuss within your groups how the article is used (or not used) before geographical terms, and complete the following table:
| Names | Category | Use of the | Conclusion | Other examples |
| Himalyas | Mountain range | The' is used before names of mountain ranges |
The Alps The Andes |
|
| Mount Everest | ||||
| Cities | Pune, Delhi | |||
| India Nepal |
||||
|
People's Republic of China |
A country whose name includes words like republic, union etc. | |||
| Rivers | ||||
| Dal lake | ||||
| Deserts |
Determiners with countable and uncountable nouns
Now get into groups of four, compare your answers, and decide which of
the determiners can be used with
..................................... countable nouns only
.................................... uncountable nouns only
........................................... both countable and uncountable nouns
Fill in the table below as you do this activity
| Countable (C) | Uncountable (U) | Both (C) and (U) |
| a pen | some water | some pens / some water |
Read the dialogue and fill in the blanks by using words which will help to make the meaning clear.
A. ( 1) ___ two chairs look so shabby. Don't you think we need to get a
(2) ................ of new ones?
B. We'll talk about it a (3)................ later, I have (4) ................important piece of work to complete tonight. I can't spare (5) ................time right now.
A. I saw (6)................ exquisite chair at 'WOODCRAFT'. I think they would fit beautifully in (7) ................drawing-room.
B. WOODCRAFT! It is (8) ................most expensive show-room in town.
A But they have authentic teak furniture, or we could choose (9)................set of chairs in rosewood; (10) ................idea may be to buy some cane chairs. B. I guess it would be useful to spend a ( 11) ................ more on furniture which would last for ( 12) ................years.
A. So, when can you spare a (13)................ hours to visit WOODCRAFf with me?
B. We could go ( 14) ................ Saturday or Sunday.
Choose the appropriate option from the box to complete the given sentence.
1 have been to ______ [a/ the ] doctor, whose name appeared in the New York Times.
Choose the appropriate option from the box to complete the given sentence.
l had left _____I [ the/ my] green shirt on the bed, but l can't find it now.

Given below is a picture of a beautiful scene you saw on your trip to Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Write an email to your friend Harsh, in Bangalore, describing the scene. To help you write your e-mail, firs match the determiners in the box with items from the picture. (X indicates that the word does not require a determiner.) Apart from the determiners given in the box, you can also use other suitable determiners.
two, three (etc), an, a, the, several, many, very little, every, each, X
.......... mango groves
............. ghats
............. riverganga
...............prayer flags
.............. ascetics
............ boats
............. tourists
............ temples
............. devotees
............ team of security officials
.............. sand
Choose the appropriate option from the box to complete the given sentence.
He drove with ______Care [ much / little ] care and hence was fined by the Traffic Police .
Choose the appropriate option from the box to complete the given sentence.
_______ [ little / a little ] milk is required for a cup of tea.
Choose the appropriate option from the box to complete the given sentences.
_________[ any / each ]student of this class is a scholar badge holder.
Choose the appropriate option from the box to complete the given Sentence.
My _________[another/ other ] sister is taller than me .
From the following sentence, underline the Noun and encircle their Determiners that specify the noun in a noun phrase.
(articles/possessive pronouns/demonstratives or quantifiers)
These three books articulate his search for science’s Holy Grail.
From the following sentence, underline the Noun and encircle their Determiners that specify the noun in a noun phrase.
(articles/possessive pronouns/demonstratives or quantifiers)
A few events prevented him from despondency.
From the following sentence, underline the Noun and encircle their Determiners that specify the noun in a noun phrase.
(articles/possessive pronouns/demonstratives or quantifiers)
That dream made him realize it
Underline only Determiners in the following.
- My brother bought a few magazines.
- What is your friend's name ?
- Which writer was also the President of our country?
- These are some toys.
- These toys are new.
- That doctor is an expert dentist and he has many patients.
