Article Use with Certain Groups of Nouns Material Nouns

Exercise 1. In the following sentences insert articles where necessary and comment on their functions.

1. It is commonly accepted today that __ brown bread is good for you.

2. When they came to __ coffee he asked her whether he might offer her __ liqueur. (W.S. Maugham)

3. I drank __ brandy and put __ glass back on the silver salver. (D. du Maurier)

4. “Fetch Alphonse,” Pop said. “I daresay he wouldn’t say no to __ brandy. I want one too.” (H.E. Bates)

5. He would dearly have loved __ cheese of __ better, more imaginative kind than mouse-trap, but the budget wouldn’t run to it. “You’ll have beautiful cheeses in Brittany.” (H.E. Bates)

6. Give me __ whisky, and I mean, put some whisky in the glass. (J.H. Chase)

7. I drove fast to Slim’s bar where I could examine the papers and have __ sandwich and __ beer before deciding on __ plan of campaign. (J.H. Chase)

8. He ordered __ double whiskey on the rocks, lit a cigar and stretched out his short fat legs. (J.H. Chase)

9. After the inevitable delay __ whiskey was placed before him, and he savoured his first drink of the day. (J.H. Chase)

10. “What’ll you have?” “__ Scotch, I guess,” Jaffe said and fumbled for a cigarette. “That’s a hell of a shirt you’re wearing.” (J.H. Chase)

11. Afterward he went to the bar of the Crillon and drank __ small coffee and two fingers of gin. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

12. Many parties at long tables blurred into one great party and ate __ fondue – a peculiarly indigestible form of Welsh rarebit, mitigated by hot spiced wine. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

13. Her least favourite thing is __ sushi. (M. Gayle)

14. At the Glion funicular he checked his bicycle and took __ small beer on the terrace of the station buffet. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

15. “__ good wine is like a woman,” he said. (S. Fry)

16. He ate __ stewed bully, hunk of bread, and __ soap-like cheese with a sort of dog gratitude for __ warmth, which was humiliating. He scarcely even resented __ humiliation.

17. Elizabeth took a sip of __ hot coffee. (S. Sheldon)

18. “Could you dash down to the machine, and get me __ black coffee?” (K. Saunders)

19. “Where shall I put __ wine?” said Adrian, looking around for a free space. (S. Fry)

20. “How about __ nice veal and ham pie? Spot of Chutney?” (S. Fry)

21. She wondered whether he guesses that she was worth fifty thousand pounds and her father worth perhaps more. She was sorry when they had finished and Agnes had thanked God for __ beef.

22. All our towels are made of __ Egyptian cotton.

23. Heaven sends us __ good meat, but the Devil sends cooks. (D. Garrick)

24. Dinner at the Huntercombes’ possessed ‘only two dramatic features – __ wine was a farce and the food a tragedy’. (A. Powell)

25. The dinner was: __ cold tinned ham and cold hard mince pies. (N. Mitford)

26. [England] is the only country in the world where the food is more dangerous than sex. I mean, __ hard cheese will kill you, but __ soft cheese will kill you in seconds. (J. Mason)

27. O Lord, Sir – when a heroine goes mad she always goes into __ white satin. (R. B. Sheridan)

28. It was mimeographed in __ dark brown ink on buff-coloured foolscap. It was not merely noticeable, it was unquestionably the nastiest-looking bit of work that ever dropped on to a breakfast-table. (C. Cockburn)

29. You come downstairs in the morning and smell __ fresh coffee.

30. __ beer is, quite rightly, Britain’s favourite Friday night drink.