Articles (THE) 

Add the definite article the in the blank spaces if necessary.  Write X if no the is necessary.  Use the information in the handout Articles: “the”--Rules for using the with proper nouns.

The Traveler   -- ANSWERS

            There is no part of _the_ world which I have not visited.  I have traveled through _the_ thickest jungles of _____ Africa and _the_ upper regions of _the_ Amazon.  I have been through _the_ Taj Mahal, _the_ Vatican, and _the_ Leaning Tower of _____ Pisa.  I have even gone to _the_ Seven Wonders of _the World.  I wonder if you can tell me _the_ names of _the seven great structures in this group?

            I have been over _____ Cuba, the_ Philippine Islands, _____ England, and _____ Russia.  I have touched _the top of the_ Empire State Building, _the_ peak of _____ Mount Everest, and _the_ whole range of _the_ Alps.  I have drifted on _the_ Rhine River, _____ Lake Victoria, _the_ Atlantic Ocean, _the_ Caribbean Sea, and _the_ Gulf of _____ Mexico.  I have been through _the_ streets of _____ New York, _____ Berlin, and _____ Singapore.  I have wandered through _the__ Balkans, _the_ Near East, and _the_ Scandinavian Peninsula.  How many of these things have you done?

            I have passed through _the_ Houses of Parliament in _____ Great Britain, through _the_ White House in _____ Washington, and through _the_ Kremlin in _____ Moscow.  I have been to _the_ Coliseum in _____ Rome, _the_ Acropolis in _____ Athens, _the_ Louvre in _____ Paris, _____ Lenin’s Tomb in _____ Russia, and _the_ Statue of Liberty in _____ New York Harbor.  I have been in _____ Texas, _the_ largest state in the United States, in _____ Venezuela, _the_ northernmost state of _____ South America, and in _the Republic of _____ Panama, split by _the_ Panama Canal.  Do you think that you could locate all of these places on your map?

            I have been through _the_ Orient, over _the_ length of _____ Long Island, and down _____ Park Avenue.  I have traveled down _the_ Mississippi River, over _the_ island of Taiwan, and around _the_ entire Australian continent.  I have gone through _the_ United Nations Building and _the_ Imperial Japanese Palace.  I have been through all the_ countries in _the_ Americas, in all _the_ cities in _____ Europe, and from _____ one end of _the_ British Commonwealth to _the_ other.

            Although I have gone to _____ Columbia University and _____ MIT, _____ Saint Andrews, _____ Oxford, and _the_ Sorbonne, _the_ University of _____ California, _____ Pennsylvania State College, and _____ Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute, I did not learn geography in these schools.  Now can you guess who I am?

__________AIR_________________

Choose the, a, or an for each blank in the following selection.

My Mistake

            I live in __a___ small house in _the_ country.  There is __a___ small city _a__ few miles away.  Going to __the_ city is no problem unless you are in _a____ hurry.  There is __a___ bus which stops at __a___ little gas station opposite our house, but _the__ driver of _the_ bus never carries __a_ watch or pays any attention to __the_ printed schedule which he distributes regularly.  Therefore, when I have _an__ appointment or _an____ important engagement, I never depend on _the_ Lexington Transportation Company (_the_ name of _the_ bus line).  __A___ week ago, I wanted to go into _the_ city to buy _a_ suit.  However, I was expecting _a_ guest to come spend __the___ evening with us, so I wanted to get back to _the_ house early.  In order not to lose any time, I drove to _the_ city.  I parked in front of __a___ one-hour parking meter.  When I returned with _the_ suit, _a____ policeman was standing there.  _The____ meter indicated __a___ violation.  I had been away more than _an____ hour.  _The____ policeman was putting _a_ parking ticket on _____ car.  I tried to persuade him to tear up _the_ ticket.  I soon realized this was _a_ waste of time.  When I went to _the_ Court House __a_ week later, I found out _the__ fine for _the_ violation was five dollars.

Source: Taylor, G. (1956).  Mastering American English.  New York: McGraw-Hill, pp. 184-185.
Christine Bauer-Ramazani; last updated: July 09, 2017