verbs + prepositions / articles

1. It’s so noisy – I can’t concentrate _____ my homework.
2. Don’t worry – I’ll pay _____ the tickets.
3. The car belongs _____ my father, so I don’t think we can use it.
4. I borrowed a pen _____ my classmate.
5. I’ve been waiting _____ the bus for more than twenty minutes!
6. Julie: “What time shall we eat dinner?” Gill: “It depends _____ John – we’ll eat when he gets home”.
7. When we arrived _____ the cinema, the film had already started.
8. Please explain this problem _____ us.
9. She was listening _____ the radio when the doorbell rang.
10. John worries _____ his exam results all the time.
11. My flatmate listens _____ a lot of jazz.
12. David paid _____ the drinks.
13. Who does that house belong _____?
14. Don’t worry _____ Gemma, she’ll be fine.
15. She borrowed a jumper _____ Julie.
16. Please be quiet – I need to concentrate _____ this book.
17. I want to go to the beach tomorrow but it depends _____ the weather.
18. Who are you waiting _____?
19. When will we arrive _____ Beijing?
20. The policeman explained _____ the children why they should never run across a road.

A) Put in A / AN or THE. Sometimes you don’t need either word – you leave it blank.

1. There was ………….. waiter standing at ………… entrance of ………… restaurant. I ordered him ……….. glass of ………. vodka with some juice in it.
2. There was ……….. question I wanted to ask ……….. biology teacher about ………. cangroo. She had said ………… cangroo carried her baby in ……….. kind of bag in ………. front part of ……….. her body. I wanted to know how many baby cangroos it could carry at ……….. time.
3. “Is that your wife?”

“No, my wife’s ………. woman in ………. red dress.”

4. I work with ………. man and two women. ………. man is quite nice, but ………. women

are not very friendly.

5. What’s in ……… newspaper?
6. Can you show me ………. that book, please?
7. What’s ………. name of ………. woman in ………. blue dress?
8. ……….. water turns into ……….. ice at 0 degree C.
9. I like ………… steak, but I don’t like ……….. eggs.
10. She lives in ………… nice flat on ………. fifth floor of ……….. old house.
11. It’s terrible - ……….. eggs are $ 2 ……….. dozen.
12. There was ………. boy and ………. girl in the room. ……….. boy was Japanese but ……….. girl looked foreign. She was wearing ………… fur coat.
13. This morning I bought …………. newspaper and ……….. magazine. ………. newspaper is in my bag but I don’t know where ………… magazine is.
14. “Have you got ………. car?”

“No, I’ve never had …………. car in my life.”

15. We don’t go to ……….. cinema very much these days. In fact, in ………. town where we

live there isn’t ………… cinema.

16. Don’t stay in that hotel. ………… beds are very uncomfortable.
17. After I leave ………… school, I want to go to ………… university.

B) Put in A / AN or THE. Sometimes you don’t need either word – you leave it blank.

1. John Colloway is …………. bank manager. He works in ………… bank in ……… center of ……… London. Every morning he gets up at seven o’clock, has ……… breakfast and ……… cup of ……….. coffee, and reads ……….”Times”. Then he goes to ………. work by …….. bus. In ………. morning, he usually makes ……….. telephone calls, sees ……….. customers and ………… dictates ………… letters. He has ………. lunch at ……….. restaurant near ……… bank. In ……….. afternoon he works until five or five-thirty, and then goes ………. home. He doesn’t work on ……….. Saturdays or Sundays; he goes to ………… cinema or reads. He likes …………. novels and ……….. history. He is not married. He has ……….. sister in ………. Oxford and ……….. brother in ……….. London.
2. Have you got ……….. camera?
3. You need ………. visa to visit ……….. foreign countries, but not all of them.
4. When we reached the city center, ………… shops were still open but most of them were already closed.
5. Jack has got ……….. very long legs, so he’s ……….. fast runner.
6. I’m looking for ………… job. And did Ann get ………. job she applied for?
7. Did ………. police find ………. person who stole your bicycle?
8. We went out for ………… meal last night. ………… restaurant we went to was excellent.
9. This morning I had ……….. boiled egg and toast for breakfast.
10. Tom always gives Ann …………. flowers on her birthday.
11. I went into the shop and asked to speak to ……….. manager.
12. There’s no need to buy any milk. …………. milkman brings it every morning.
13. It was warm and sunny, so we decided to sit in ………… garden.
14. Jane is ……….. teacher. Her parents were ……….. teachers too.
15. Bill’s got ……….. big feet.
16. Would you like to be ……….. actor?

C) Put a suitable article into the blanks:

1. My neighbour is ……….. photographer; let’s ask him for ……….. advice about colour films.
2. I had ……… very bad night; I didn’t sleep ………. wink.
3. He is ………… vegeterian; you won’t get ………. meat at his house.
4. ………… youngest boy has just started going to ……….. school; ………. eldest boy is at ………… college.
5. I went to ………… school to talk to ………… headmistress. I persuaded her to let Ann give up …………. gymnastics and take ………. ballet lessons instead.
6. There was ………. knock on ………. door. I opened it and found ………… small dark man in ………. check overcoat and ……… soft hat.
7. - Are John and Mary ……….. cousins?

- No, they aren’t ………. cousins; they are ……….. brother and ……… sister.

8. ……….. postman’s little boy says that he’d rather be ………… dentist than ……….. doctor, because …………. dentists don’t get called out at ……….. night.
9. - Would you like to hear ………… story about ……….. Englishman, …………. Irishman and ………. Scotsman?

- No. I’ve heard ……….. stories about ……….. Englishmen, ………… Irishmen and ………… Scotsmen before and they are all ……….. same.

10. “………. modern burglars don’t hide under ………. beds.” said her daughter.
11. ……….. most of ………… stories that ………… people tell about ……….. Irish aren’t true.
12. Like many women, she loves ……….. tea parties and ………… gossip.
13. On ……….. Sundays my father stays in …………. bed till ten o’clock, reading ………. Sunday papers.
14. I have ……….. little money left; let’s have dinner in ……….. restaurant.
15. - I hope you have ………… lovely time and ………… good weather.

- But I’m not going for ………… holiday; I’m going on …………. business.

16. During ………. meal he gives her ………. instructions about ………. garden and she tells him ………. village gossip.
17. My mother goes to …………church in …………. morning, and in ………… afternoon goes to visit ………… friends.

D) Some of the blank spaces below need ARTICLES, others do not. Fill in the articles

where needed.

1. Tobacco is one of ………… most important products of ……….. South.
2. …………. fresh air is needed by all people.
3. …………. cotton which comes from ………… Alabama is better than ………. cotton which comes from ………… Oklahoma.
4. ………… air in this room is fresh.
5. ………. important products which we ger from ………… India are ……….. tea, ……… cotton, and ………… rice.
6. …………. telephone seldom rings in our home.
7. …………. silver is …………. conductor of …………. electricity.
8. I get on ………… train at ………… same place every day.
9. ………… rain and ………… sun are needed for …………. raising of………. vegetables.
10. Mary is waving to us from across …………. street.
11. ………… sun is shining but part of ………… sky is still covered with clouds.
12. …………. women use much make-up.
13. Sometimes everyone must take ………… medicine.
14. …………. coffee will keep you awake all night.
15. …………. medicine which ………….. doctor prescribed helped me.
16. …………. tea seems to keep some people awake.
17. He likes to study ………….. French.
18. …………. coffee is very strong.
19. In that course, we study …………. history of all ………… important countries of Asia.
20. …………. coffee which comes from Brazil is ………… best.

E) Some of the blank spaces below need ARTICLES, others do not. Fill in the articles

where needed.

1. He went to ………… Spain last month.
2. When you go to …………. Spain, be sure to see …………. Madrid.
3. He works in ………… building on ………… corner of ………. Tenth Ave. and 62^nd St.
4. ………… Tokyo is ………… largest city in ……….. World.
5. ………… traffic on ………… Jones Avenue is heavy.
6. ………… Miami is ………… center of ………… tobacco industry.
7. ……… Rio Grande River forms …………. boundary between ………. U.S. and Mexico.
8. ………… rivers of …………..eastern part of …………. United States flow toward …………. East Coast.
9. …………. largest river in …………. America is …………. Mississippi.
10. …………. New York subway trains are very comfortable.
11. …………. climate of ……….. southern Florida is very nice all year.
12. …………. capital of …………. France is ………… Paris, but ………. capital of ………. England is London.
13. ………… Tenth Street has some very nice shops.
14. Some of …………. Tenth Street shops are very inexpensive, too.
15. ………….. President will be on ……….. TV tonight.