
- •Essential Grammar Exercises Основные грамматические упражнения
- •Contents
- •Unit 1 The Noun Part 1 Number
- •Part 2 Possessive case
- •Unit 2 The Article
- •Unit 3 The Adjective. Degrees of comparison
- •Independent old relaxing valuable hot
- •Unit 4 The pronoun Part 1 Personal and possessive pronouns
- •Part 2 Indefinite pronouns some, any no and their derivatives
- •Part 3 Pronouns much many a lot of few a few little a little
- •Unit 5 The Numeral
- •Unit 6 The preposition Part 1 Prepositions of place and movement
- •Part 2 Prepositions of time
- •Unit 7 The Verb Part 1 Active Voice
- •Part 2 Passive voice
- •Part 3 Reported speech
- •References
Unit 2 The Article
Exercise 1. Fill in the gaps with the correct article with countable nouns where necessary.
… English book we are reading now in class will be translated into Russian …next year.
What are you reading now in class? – … interesting book by Mark Twain.
Where is … credit card? I can’t pay for … CD.
I have got … elder sister living in Canterbury.
I’m afraid I can’t answer … question.
My father is … children’s doctor.
Open … magazine at … Page 17 and look at … photo.
She is … kind and gentle woman.
… cell phone is … telephone you can take with you to any place.
Let’s go to … country and have … picnic.
Yesterday I bought oranges for 30 rubles … kilo.
… man is mortal.
… tiger belongs to … cat family.
Do you know where … oldest university in Europe is?
I am to make … speech tomorrow at … meeting.
He is not … experienced driver. He doesn’t drive faster than 90 km … hour.
Exercise 2. Fill in the gaps with the correct article with countable nouns where necessary.
Louis Braille invented … system of reading and writing for ... blind.
Paul is wearing ... green and yellow sweater we bought two weeks ago at Harrods.
I usually have … cup of coffee and a roll for breakfast.
This is … exciting story.
... new Paulo Coelho’s book was … success.
… man from Ohio was spending a month in Britain.
There are only twenty-four hours in … day.
There is … computer and … TV-set in ... living room. ... computer is old and ... TV-set is old.
Let’s have … snack.
She should buy … kilo of sausage.
Mary is such … kind girl.
Who is ... boy playing ... piano?
... last straw breaks ... camel's back.
You should go to ... dentist twice … year.
… fool and his money are soon parted.
Sam gave me … lift yesterday.
... best things in life are free.
... first step is ... hardest.
Johnny keeps … brown hamster in … box.
Where is ... DVD I gave you yesterday?
This man works in ... same shop as I do.
I’m sorry I don’t remember ... exact title of ... book.
He was much given to quoting that wonderful phrase to describe ... endless battle between man and … nature.
He promised to help me … last night but he didn’t.
Exercise 3. Fill in the gaps with the correct article with countable nouns where necessary.
As ... child I dreamt of becoming ... doctor.
100 pence make ... pound.
... palm pilot is ... very useful thing.
We had exciting adventures during ... trip.
Look! There is ... goldfish in ... aquarium. ... fish is ... present from my aunt.
She was wearing jeans, ... sweater and trainers when I saw her.
Once there lived ... lad who was always very sad for he hadn’t ... mom and he hadn’t ... dad.
... film Pirates of ... Caribbean was ... success with ... young last summer.
... man standing near ... door owns ... bookshop in ... main street, lives in ... big expensive house in ... very centre of ... town and drives ... luxurious red Porshe.
Man will do many things to get himself loved, he will do all things to get himself envied (Mark Twain).
Has your granny made ... will yet?
... diplomat is ... person who can tell you to go to hell in such ... way that you actually look forward for ... trip (Caskie Stinnet).
... dog is ... only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself (Josh Billings).
Who opened ... window?
... woman in ... next flat is British.
“Which purse is yours?” “ … green one”.
... Beggars can't be choosers.
"You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left ... little note on ... windscreen; it said 'Parking Fine.' So that was nice."
Women and cats will do as they please... men and dogs should relax and get used to ... idea.
Skip, crossing one leg in front and kicking ... other leg out to ... side.
He asked ... usual questions about her health and escaped into ... kitchen to make ... coffee.
Would you like another cup of coffee?
... principal speech was delivered by Lord Roskill.
... officials said that ... central element of ... plan, approved by ... President last week is ... use of ... army to intercept drug transactions abroad.
After ... terrible air crash last week ... government promised to help ... injured and ... families of ... deceased.
I think that’s an awful thing to say.
You are ... last person I’m going to discuss ... matter with.
There are two bathrooms in ... house. One is downstairs, ... other is upstairs.
... longest day is in June.
Open Page 41, look at Exercise 8 and read ... seventh sentence.
“What’s ... way to ... station?” “Take ... second turning on ... right.”
These are happy years, ... years of your youth.
... cat was first domesticated by ancient Egyptians.
... Malays are shy and very sensitive.
Humanity lives on ... beautiful planet.
This is such ... simple rule: go to ... dentist twice ... year.
Dmitry Mendeleev was ... genius to classify all chemical elements in ... Periodic Table.
Give him an inch and he’ll take ... yard.
Exercise 4. Fill in the gaps with the correct article with uncountable nouns where necessary.
Freeing herself, Luce responded quietly, “I'm very sorry, Paul, but it isn't ... nonsense, and I do mean it”.
We were not allowed to get up early without ... permission.
What would you do differently in ... future?
In ... past we have had talks, films, refreshments.
Several people complimented her on ... beauty of ... surroundings, because it was her picnic and so for ... while Wales was her dining-room.
It is important to accustom ... child to being rewarded for good behavior.
“A wise decision, my boy”, ... old man said.
Discussion will bring ... subject matter to life.
... government has learnt ... foolishness of meddling with local taxation.
... Duke of Marlborough wielded enormous power in ... county.
He favored ... freedom, and he knew what it meant.
He reflected with sadness on ... unhappiness of his marriage.
... Happiness is not something that can be chased and captured.
I'm very much interested in ... arts, in ... literature, in ... music.
Most of Ayer's life has been spent teaching philosophy at London and Oxford.
“It's just ... beautiful philosophy”, says Kier.
... Duke of Marlborough wielded enormous power in ... county.
He criticized ... Republicans for refusing to harness ... power of government to cure ... nation's domestic ills.
Most of today's chips are cooled by ... air.
Then Bobbie fetched ... coal and ... wood, and lit ... fire.
In America, we've spent years developing better cotton. Shelves over ... top of radiators push warm air down into ... room. Angalo swished ... axe through ... air once or twice.
... few who did get through mostly mature if determined ladies carrying packets of ... tea, ... butter and ... biscuits, did not create any serious inconvenience.
Make sure you melt ... chocolate slowly, especially white chocolate.
... Salt was once used instead of ... money.
Kersey sprinkled ... sugar on his apple pie.
So why did you bring three tubes of ... toothpaste with you?
But ... wine's not bad.’
Tasting wine is ... deadly serious business.
He recalled: During ... war years in ... orphanage our staple diet was ... bread and dripping supplemented with ... cocoa and ... porridge.
Caboc is ... cows' milk cheese made in small cylindrical shapes and rolled in toasted oatmeal to give it ... more distinctive flavor.
To emphasize his concern for his constituents he once appeared in ... House of Commons dressed like ... Cumberland labourer and carrying ... loaf and ... cheese under his arms.
What did they put in ... coffee?
It was so clever, his way of catching fish!
Violet sipped her bloody Mary: ... vodka and ... tomato juice.
Exercise 5. Fill in the gaps with the correct article with nouns denoting unique objects where necessary.
When … moon passes between … sun and … earth, it is called … eclipse.
Every solar system has … sun.
… equator runs round … middle of … earth.
Scientists can’t say for sure how old … universe is.
Can you imagine … world with no wars?
… galaxy we live in is called … Milky Way.
… Zenith is … part of … sky directly overhead.
… North Star is … guiding star.
When it doesn’t rain for a long time … ground gets very hard.
The lighted area of … full moon is twice as large as that of … first-quarter or … third quarter moon.
He was on expedition to … North Pole.
Look! There is … amazing sky, full of different colors.
Do you know what … oldest university in … world is?
Where on … earth have you been?
It was given to Spain by … Pope in the Middle Ages.
… bright round moon showed them … way.
… king exacted huge sums from … barons and they in turn taxed people.
… Earth has … power known as gravity.
Exercise 6. Fill in the gaps with the correct article with names of seasons where necessary.
Its large, pale green leaves are heart-shaped, its bell-like white flowers touched with yellow and purple are out in … summer, and these are followed by dangling long brown seed pods which hang until … early autumn.
Many immigrant starlings pass through Shetland, particularly during ... autumn.
... group fell apart in ... spring of 1990.
In … late spring there is more natural warmth during ... day.
Mr. White has agreed to continue ... 2007 accommodation fees over ... following summer.
You can't do much in ... fall, I was saying to George.
It was … cold fall and ... wind came down from ... mountains.
It’s … spring, don’t forget. It often rains here in … spring.
Exercise 7. Fill in the gaps with the correct article with names of parts of the day where necessary.
No one had seen Sam since … late afternoon.
After the euphoria of … day when the Berlin wall came tumbling down, comes the hangover as the Bush Administration tries to work out what to do next in Eastern Europe.
I'm sure he'll try to say it's just about going to get a result, but it will be … emotional day for him.
He learned to sit after … day of clinic treatment.
Drinking alcohol during … daytime and over-eating can lead to an over-powering desire to nod off.
… dusk came quickly and they decided to stay where they were and camp for … night.
There’re a lot of us working and slaving from … dawn till … dusk.
It is … dusk on a small cay in the Bahamas.
… night was one to bear in mind.
He was messing about … yesterday morning!
We decided to discuss it … other day.
On … day the King died, just before dusk, an unknown messenger had delivered a letter at the gate.
Exercise 8. Fill in the gaps with the correct article with names of meals where necessary.
That’s the way, … good breakfast.
I'm phoning about … dinner on the twelfth of November; I want to discuss the seating arrangements.
… dinner is served between 7 and 7.30pm.
Her Royal Highness subsequently had luncheon at Red Oaks, the home for retired gardeners at Henfield.
Next morning at … breakfast she told Conradin that she had sold the chicken.
Once again, he left the pupils to superintend … luncheon and departed into the small parlor to hear their story.
Their two boys of three and five would be eating cakes for … breakfast, … lunch and … supper if their parents didn't insist that they eat up most of what is put in front of them.
Exercise 9. Fill in the gaps with the correct article with geographic names where necessary.
… United Kingdom of Great Britain includes four countries: … England, … Wales, … Scotland and … Northern Ireland.
… Atlantic Ocean washes … British Isles in … west. In … east you can see … North Sea; and … southern coast is washed by … English Channel. … Irish Sea lies between … England and … Ireland.
The narrowest part of … English Channel is called … Strait of Dover.
… North Sea and … English Channel separate … Great Britain from … European continent.
In … west of Wales we can see … Cambrian Mountains.
… Cheviot Hills separate … England from … Scotland.
… principal rivers in Britain are … Severn, … Trent and … Thames.
There are many industrial cities and towns in … Great Britain, such as …Manchester, … Birmingham, … Glasgow, … Sheffield and many others.
On the map you can see numerous harbours which serve as ports among which are … London, … Liverpool, … Glasgow, … Portsmouth and others.
The main river of the country is … Mississippi. But there are many other great rivers there: … Colorado in the south and … Columbia in the north-west.
… Severn is the longest river but the most important river is … Thames.
Scotland is notable for the lakes, which are especially numerous in the central and northern regions; they are … Loch Lomond (the largest., … Loch Ness, … Loch Tay, and … Loch Katrine. The longest river is … Tay; … Clyde, however, is the principal navigational stream, site of the port of … Glasgow. Other chief rivers include … Forth, … Tweed, … Dee, and … Spay.
… Blue Mountains which rise from the coastal plains about 65 kilometres west of … Sydney, are covered with eucalyptus trees which constantly release very fine droplets of oil into the atmosphere.
… Westgate Bridge soars over … Yarra River and the harbour. It offers a panoramic view of the harbour and the city.
The oldest city in … United States is … St. Augustine, … Florida
Offshore oil deposits in … North Sea became an important part of … Scottish economy.