Articles: a, an, the Group B determiners can be used

directly before nouns without of.

Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
DETERMINERS DETERMINERS
Have they got any children?
Possessives: my, our, your, their, her,
his, its, one’s, whose
Most people love children.
Two Group A determiners cannot be put
together. We can say my car, this
But if we want to put a Group B
car or the car, but not the my car, this my determiner before a noun with a Group
car or my this car. A determiner, we have to use of.

If we have to put two Group A determiners Compare:

together, we use the structure a/this + noun
+ of mine/yours. some children

this car of mine some of the children

a friend of yours neither method

neither of these methods
GROUP B
most plants
Most of them indicate something about
quantity.
most of the plants
Examples are:
some, any, no
Points to be noted
each, every, either, neither
much, many, more, most We can leave out of after all, both and
a little, less, least half when they are followed by nouns.

a few, fewer, fewest all my friends OR all of my friends

all, both, half both (of) my parents

what, whatever, which, whichever half (of) her income

one, two, three etc. But note that we cannot leave

out of when all, both and half are
We can put two Group B determiners followed by pronouns.
together, if the combination makes sense.
all of us (NOT all us)
We meet every few days.
both of them (NOT both them)
Have you got any more rice?
No and every are not used before of;
GROUP A + GROUP B
instead we use none and every one.
Certain Group B determiners can be used
after Group A determiners. They are: many no children
, most, least, little and few.
none of the children
a little time
every child
his many ideas
every one of the children
a few questions

the most money

 ARTICLES

A / an is used before a singular countable

to mean any
Example:
a hat an apple
an architect a shirt

A is used before consonant sounds (not just

consonant letters);
An is used before vowel sounds (not just
words beginning with the vowel letters – a,
e, i, o, u)

A few words beginning with h are used with

an because h is not pronounced.
Example:
an heir an honest man
an hour an honour

The is used before a singular / plural

countable and an uncountable.
Example:
The letters on the table are for you.
Pass me the salt, please.

The is used to refer to person or thing known

to the speaker or reader.
Example:
The principal of my school is a very caring
man
The bus is always full.

The is used with unique items like

organisations, the press, titles, with
superlatives.
Example:
The Boy Scout
The New Straits Times
It’s the worst film I’ve ever seen.

The zero article is used before plural

countable nouns, uncountable nouns and
proper nouns.
Example:
Cats do not like cold weather.
Smoking is bad for the health.
This book is written by Margaret Chia

Zero article is not used for times of the day,

meals, transport and nouns like school,
hospital to refer to their primary purpose
and with place names.
Example:
We will drop by before noon.
Let’s have dinner.
We go to school by bus.
He goes to church every Sunday.
I went to Japan last year.
 EXERCISES
ARTICLES

Fill in the blanks with ‘a’, ‘an’, ‘the’ or ‘-‘ in the following sentences.

1. Brazil is _________ largest producer of coffee in the world.

2. I bought _________ novel for half the price at the book fair last Saturday.

3. Yin Ping has __________ bag which is very unique.

4. She bought _________ necklace for her mother on Mother’s Day.

5. “It was __________ very difficult year,” Dr. Low recalls.

6. Pain is usually diagnosed as __________ symptom.

7. The advertisement reads “Discover _________ secret of tasty Japanese food”.

8. Only __________ female mosquitoes bite people and suck their blood.

9. Reports of _________ snatch thefts are very common nowadays.

10. __________ King of F1 Grand Prix has been Michael Schummacher for _________ last two years.

11. Victoria is ___________ girl wearing bangles on her hands.

12. We are looking for __________ girl who can dance the tango.

13. ___________ tiger is an endangered animal.

14. Intan’s mother is __________ housewife and her father is ___________ architect.

15. I bought ___________ umbrella yesterday. I will use ___________ umbrella if it rains.

16. Is that _________ python or ________ cobra?

17. She is going to visit her sister who lives at _________ Bantam Street.

18. This morning, I had _______ bread, _______ butter and _________ jam for breakfast.

19. My mother went to _______ market yesterday but did not buy anything because ________ market was

crowded.

20. Singapore is _______ island. We went to _______ island to do some shopping.

21. Research has shown that girls are _________ smarter than boys.

22. Haniff is _________ thinnest boy in the class while Rahim is __________ tallest.

23. He received _______ offer to study at ______ university in _________ Kuala Lumpur.
24. Whenever I visit _________ Penang, I will use __________ Penang Bridge.

25. He tried to put out ________ fire but there was not enough __________ water.

26. _______ apple a day keeps _________ doctor away.

27. _______ badly dressed man tried to steal _______ shirt at _________ departmental store just now.

28. _______ accident occurred along _________ highway, which injured ________ driver of _________

express bus.

29. Maiza wrote _________ letter to her mother but _________ letter got lost as she forgot to put

_________ stamp on _________ envelope.

30. _________ plants need a lot of _________ sunlight and __________ water.

31. My father gave my sisters and I ________ dozen roses, ________ box of chocolates and _________

tickets to watch _________ concert.

32. Kumar enjoys seeing __________ movie whenever he feels unhappy. ________ movies are usually

_________ comedy types. He doesn’t like ________ horror movies.

33. _________ escaped drug addicts were sent back to _________ prison as soon as they were caught.

34. My sisters bought ________ pair of plimsolls because they were on sale at _________ shoe store.

35. _________ children went sightseeing at _________ Bird Park in _________ Sarawak.

36. Mr John William comes from ________ United States of America.

37. Mina poured ________ soup into _________ pot that mother gave her.

38. The university gave _________ best offer that I have ever received from other universities.

39. He is _______ language officer from _______ District of Batang Padang.

40. Susan used ________ paper to make ________ model aeroplanes.

Circle the correct answer.

1. My father is _________ butcher. He sells meat in _________ market.

A a, - C an, a

B a, the D the, the

2. She hardly speaks _________ word of English.

A- C an

Ba D the

3. _______ pain in her leg was so bad that she couldn’t walk properly.

A- C An

BA D The

4. _______ rainforests are one of ________ world’s most valuable and endangered resources.

A -, a C A, the

B A, a D The, the

5. There are two species of _________ turtles found nestling in Penang.

A- C an

Ba D the

6. Most of ________ eggs found were collected from _______ original nesting sites.

A -, the C an, the

B a, the D the, the

7. Kok Ping had to sit for ________ exam before he can enter ________ university.

A a, an C the, an

B an, an D an, -
8. Rosita is _______ girl who won _______ singing competition.

A a, a C an, the

B a, an D the, the

9. ________ tiger escaped from ________ zoo early this morning.

A A, an C -, the

B A, the D -, -

10. _______ cup of coffee at Dome’s costs RM9.00. ________ prices of beverages there are too high.

A A, A C -, The

B A, The D The, -

Circle the correct answer.

1. How ______ money did they steal?

(A) a little
(B) few
(C) much
(D) many

2. On Sundays there is not ______ traffic along this road.

(A) many
(B) much
(C) few
(D) several

3. How ______ books did you buy ?

(A) much
(B) few
(C) many
 (D) some

4. He has spilt ______ ink on his clothes.

(A) many
(B) few
(C) any
(D) a little

5. There is too ______ sugar in that drink.

(A) much
(B) many
(C) few
(D) a little

6. It rained heavily. Only ______ children came to school.

(A) much
(B) many
(C) a few
(D) a little

Circle the correct answer.

1. There isn't ______ food in the house.

(A) any
(B) many
(C) some
(D) a few

2. How ______ boys bought tickets for the show?

(A) a few
(B) some
(C) much
(D) many
3. He spends ______ his time watching television.
(A) many of
(B) a great deal of
(C) a few of
(D) a large number of

4. Can you lend me ______ ringgit ?

(A) many
(B) any
(C) a few
(D) a great deal of

5. There was ______ rain yesterday.

(A) a few
(B) any
(C) a little
(D) many

6. The thieves stole ______ goats.

(A) a large number of
(B) a great deal of
(C) much
(D) a little

7. There is only ______ tea in the cup.

(A) several
(B) a little
(C) a few
(D) a lot of

8. We don't have ______ time to finish this work.

(A) a little
(B) some
 (C) much
(D) many

9. I'm very thirsty. Give me ______ water.

(A) a few
(B) much
(C) any
(D) some

10. I'm tired. I need ______ rest.

(A) a few
(B) plenty of
(C) many
(D) a large number of

 Complete the following passage with '   a ll   ' , '   e ach   ' , '   e very   ' , '   s everal   ' , '   a  lot of   ' , '   m any   '  or  
 ' f ew   ' . In some cases, more than one word will fit. 

Once, there was a very rich man. He was neither handsome nor clever but he worked hard and save ______
money.
Living two doors away from him was a beautiful lady. She was a widow with ______ children.
______ morning, the rich man would steal a ______ glances at the widow when she came out to do her
chores in the garden.
One evening, the man decided to pay her a visit. He brought with him ______ presents, one for
______ child. _______ the children liked him and so ______ time he visited her, he brought presents for the
children.
This went on for ______ months. Just when the man thought that he could propose to the widow,
something happened.
A handsome stranger came to town. He was not as rich as the man. But somehow, ______ eligible
lady in town fell in love with him, including the widow.

Complete the sentences with much, many, a lot of, little, few, some or any.
1. ______ girls have not come for sports practices.

2. How ______ sugar did you put in my tea ?

3. I saw ______ people at the night market.

4. There's ______ bread here.

5. I've got too ______ clothes for this cupboard.

6. She's got ______ time for her friends because she thinks they're important.

7. Take as ______ stamps as you need.

8. That's too ______ coffee for me.

9. Did you buy ______ souvenirs when you went to Japan ?

10. My new car uses too ______ petrol for my liking.

11. There are ______ tigers left in Terengganu Darul Iman.

12. This car is wonderful. It uses so ______ petrol.

13. I have ______ interest in computers.

14. ______ men reach the age of one hundred years.

15. My uncle showed ______ concern fro his children.

16. There are ______ libraries in rural areas with plenty of books.

17. ______ schools in the city are without computers these days.

18. Our principal showed ______ mercy to boys caught smoking in school.

19. With three young children, she has ______ energy at the end of the day.

20. There has been _______ rain in Melaka this year.

21. She didn't bring ______ money to school.

22. I have ______ oranges in the kitchen.

23. Is there ______ milk left in the carton ?

24. I would like to buy ______ bananas and a kilo of grapes.

25. Would you like ______ coffee or tea ?

26. She doesn't have ______ patience with young children.

27. Can I have ______ cream with my apple pie ?

 28. I can't see ______ advantage of driving so early in the morning.

29. I won't buy ______ mangoes until the price drops.

30. I shall give her ______ rambutans from my garden.

31. 'Have you seen ______ good films recently ?' 'No, I haven't been to the cinema for ages

32. This evening I'm going out with ______ friends of mine.

33. We didn't buy ______ flowers.

34. I didn't have ______ money, so I had to borrow ______.

35. Can I have ______ milk in my coffee, please ?

36. I was too tired to do ______ work.

37. If there are ______ words you don't understand, use a dictionary.

38. With the special tourist train ticket, you can travel on ______ train you like.

39. Can you give me ______ information about places of interest in the town ?

40. You can cash these traveler's checks at ______ bank.

41. There are _______ goats in your garden.

42. You haven't done ______ work yet.

43. Did you see _______ birds in the park ?

44. I would like _______ more rice, please.

45. Is there ______ ink in the pen ?

46. He borrowed ______ sugar from her.

47. The fishermen didn't catch ______ fish.

48. Kim didn't borrow ______ money from me.

49. There is ______ petrol in the tank.

50. I don't want _______ more food.

Correct these sentences when necessary.

1. I'm sorry there isn't many food left but I can make some sandwiches if you like.
 2. Annie is eating fewer rice because she wants to lose weight.

3. Have you got much books ? I've only got a few.

4. You should drink more water and lesser coffee.

5. Maggie's mother died few years ago.

6. He has little friends because of his nasty temper.

7. The motor-cyclist lost many blood in the accident.

8. It was a boring talk and I paid a little attention to it.

9. She didn't bring some food for the picnic so I gave her a bun.

10. Salsa has given me much good ideas.

11. We've run out of sugar. There's only few left.

12. There're too much students in the library in the afternoons.

13. He didn't give me some good advice although he said a lot of things.

14. She has a little respect for lazy bosses who bully.

15. Can Sheila have any ice-cream, please?

 Complete the sentences with     n o, none      
,   a ny, each or every   .

1. It was a public holiday, so there were ______ shops open.

2. I haven't got ______ money. can you lend me some?

3. I couldn't make an omelette because there were _____ eggs.

4. I couldn't make an omelette because there weren't _____ eggs.

5. 'How many eggs have we got ?' '______. I'll go and buy some from the shop if you like.

6. We took a few photographs but ______ of them were very good.

7. What a stupid thing to do! ______ intelligent person would do such a thing.

8. I'll try and answer ______ questions you ask me.

9. I couldn't answer _______ of the questions they asked me.

10. We canceled the party because ______ of the people we invited were able to come.

11. There were four books on the table. ______ book was a different color.

12. The Olympic Games are held ______ four years.

13. ______ parent worries about their children.

14. In a game of tennis there are two or four players. ______ player has a racket.

15. Nicola plays volleyball ______ Thursday evening.

16. I understood most of what they said but not ______ word.

17. The book is divided into five parts and ______ of these has three sections.

18. I tried to phone her two or three times, but ______ time there was no reply.

19. We had a great weekend. I enjoyed ______ minute of it.

20. I get paid ______ four weeks.