1 Complete the groups of sentences with a different article (the, a(n) or –) in each sentence A, B and C.
1 A Have you been to ……the…… cinema recently?
B Have you heard? There’s ……a…… new cinema opening soon.
C I think ……–…… cinemas are getting more expensive.
2 A Chloe often wears …………… trousers to school.
B Chloe often wears …………… trousers you gave her to school.
C The company began life as …………… trouser manufacturer.
3 A Jess is not very interested in …………… science.
B Jess’s dad is …………… science teacher.
C Biology is …………… science of living systems.
4 A Bruno is …………… little impatient this morning.
B Sometimes Bruno has …………… very little patience.
C I’m amazed at …………… patience you have with Bruno.
5 A Jörn stupidly dropped his phone in …………… ocean.
B The Pacific isn’t a lake, it’s …………… ocean!
C …………… ocean waves can often be enormous.
6 A I want to change …………… furniture in my room.
B I’m going shopping for …………… furniture tomorrow.
C There’s …………… furniture shop at the end of my road.
Answer
2 A – B the C a
3 A – B a C the
4 A a B – C the
5 A the B an C –
6 A the B – C a
2 Read the pairs of sentences and decide if they have a similar (S) or different (D) meaning. Explain the differences.
1 A My sisters give me little help when I need it.
B My sisters give me a little help when I need it. …D…
In A they don’t give much help (the speaker has a negative view), in B they give some help (the speaker has a positive view).
2 A My friends and I use plenty of slang words.
B My friends and I use lots of slang words. ……
…………………………………………………………….
3 A There were few good places to go cycling.
B There were a few good places to go cycling. ……
…………………………………………………………….
4 A Do you want any chocolate?
B Do you want some chocolate? ……
…………………………………………………………….
5 A Several passengers were stuck overnight at the airport.
B A large number of passengers were stuck overnight at the airport. ……
…………………………………………………………….
6 A I’ve got some free time on Sunday.
B I’ve got plenty of free time on Sunday. ……
…………………………………………………………….
Answer
2 S
3 D In A, there weren’t many places (the speaker has a negative view), in B there were some places (the speaker has a positive view).
4 S
5 D In A, a few people were stuck, in B lots of people were stuck.
6 D In A, the speaker has a bit of free time, in B the speaker has lots of free time.
3 Put a tick (✓) if the sentence is correct or a cross (✗) if it is incorrect. Correct the mistakes.
1 We saw a plenty of wild animals when we went to the USA. ✗
……We saw plenty of wild animals when we went to the USA. ……
2 There were a few slang words that I didn’t understand. ……
…………………………………………………
3 I really like the animals but I can’t have pet because I’m allergic to they. ……
…………………………………………………
4 It’s a lot of hot today. ……
…………………………………………………
5 It rained all afternoon so the amusement park wasn’t much fun. ……
…………………………………………………
6 I spend many time playing video games – three hours per day. ……
…………………………………………………
Answer
2 ✓
3 ✗ I really like animals but I can’t have a pet/pets because I’m allergic to them.
4 ✗ It’s very/really hot today.
5 ✓
6 ✗ I spend lots of/a lot of time playing video games – three hours per day.
4 Choose the correct option to complete the sentences.
1 For this recipe you only need a small amount / number / piece of sugar.
2 Sadly, there are few / a few / lots of opportunities for people like me.
3 They can afford it! They’ve got plenty of / a few / little money.
4 A large number / lots / amount of people watched my presentation.
5 I had a little / little / few to lose, so I just tried my best, and I won!
6 In the end I didn’t have some / any / a bit of problems translating it.
Answer
2 few
3 plenty of
4 number
5 little
6 any
5a Cross out the incorrect determiners. Sometimes both options are correct.
Recently, (1) the / a few people have told me that they have (2) a few / little problems understanding me when I speak. That’s because, a couple of weeks ago I started wearing (3) a / the brace on my teeth. It’s not (4) the / – most comfortable thing in (5) the / a world, I admit, but (6) a large number of / plenty of teenagers, like myself, have to wear one to straighten their teeth. It took (7) a little / a few time to get used to. At the beginning it was (8) a lot of / a bit painful, but now, after two weeks, it’s causing me very (9) little / many discomfort. 10 The / a only problem is that my ‘s’s sound 11 a bit / a little funny!
5b For the text in 5a, where possible, write another determiner that could be used.
1 = plenty of …………………………………………..
Answer
1 the / a few (plenty of / lots of / a lot of / many)
2 a few / little (some / plenty of / lots of / a lot of / many)
3 a / the
4 the / (zero article is incorrect)
5 the / a
6 a large number of / plenty of (lots of)
7 a little / a few (a bit of / some)
8 a lot of / a bit (a little)
9 little / many
10 The / a
11 a bit / a little
(Other possible determiners are in brackets.)
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