Bài tập Mạo từ trong tiếng Anh

 Julia Miller, Articles exercises, English for Uni, www.adelaide.edu.au/english-for-uni 1 
Articles Exercise 1 
Exercise based on the opening text in Thanks a Million 
Please complete the following exercise using a/an/the/0 (no article) in the underlined spaces 
where appropriate. Change capital letters to lower case letters at the beginning of a sentence if 
necessary. 
 Ms Parrot, (1) ___ most famous lady detective of (2) ___ twenty-first century, was born in 
(3) ___ United Kingdom in (4) ___ 1960s. Since then, she has been to many countries, including (5) 
___ Portugal, Singapore and Australia, and has lived in (6) ___ northern hemisphere and (7) ___ 
southern hemisphere, as well as on (8) ___ equator. She has never been to (9) ___ Philippines or 
(10) ___ United States, but she speaks (11) English, French and Portuguese. Like Sherlock Holmes, 
(12) ___ famous detective, she plays (13) ___ violin, and sometimes practises up to five times (14) 
___ day. She is also (15) ___ only person in (16) ___ world to have performed Tchaikovsky’s 1812 
overture [a long piece of music] in one breath on (17) ___ recorder. 
 She has been (18) ___ detective for thirty years and claims that although many people 
think that being (19) ___ detective is (20) ___ piece of cake, detectives generally work very hard 
and it’s not all fun and games. (21) ___ detective is someone who solves mysteries, and (22) ___ 
people who contact Ms Parrot have some very unusual problems. Little information is available 
about some of (23) ___ cases she has solved, but quite (24) ___ few of her most famous cases 
have attracted worldwide attention and she has been offered up to (25) ___ thousand dollars (26) 
___ hour to help solve mysteries such as (27) ___ case of (28) ___ Australian owl in (29) ___ 
uniform. (30) ___ bird laid (31) ___ egg in (32) ___ European nest in less than (33) ___ hour after 
its arrival. What (34) ___ strange problem! 
 With great (35) ___ modesty, she has either declined such (36) ___ fee or donated (37) ___ 
money to (38) ___ poor, or to (39) ___ Grammar Survival Fund, believing that (40) ___ detective 
should use their skills for (41) ___ common good. 
 Julia Miller, Articles exercises, English for Uni, www.adelaide.edu.au/english-for-uni 2 
Answers to Articles Exercise 1 – Passage with correct articles inserted 
 Ms Parrot, (1) the most famous lady detective of (2) the twenty-first century, was born in 
(3) the United Kingdom in (4) the 1960s. Since then, she has been to many countries, including (5) 
0 Portugal, Singapore and Australia, and has lived in (6) the northern hemisphere and (7) the 
southern hemisphere, as well as on (8) the equator. She has never been to (9) the Philippines or 
(10) the United States, but she speaks (11) 0 English, French and Portuguese. Like Sherlock 
Holmes, (12) the famous detective, she plays (13) the violin, and sometimes practises up to five 
times (14) a day. She is also (15) the only person in (16) the world to have performed 
Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture in one breath on (17) the recorder. 
 She has been (18) a detective for thirty years and claims that although many people think 
that being (19) a detective is (20) a piece of cake, detectives generally work very hard and it’s not 
all fun and games. (21) A detective is someone who solves mysteries, and (22) the people who 
contact Ms Parrot have some very unusual problems. Little information is available about some of 
(23) the cases she has solved, but quite (24) a few of her most famous cases have attracted 
worldwide attention and she has been offered up to (25) a thousand dollars (26) an hour to help 
solve mysteries such as (27) the case of (28) an Australian owl in (29) a uniform. (30) The bird laid 
(31) an egg in (32) a European nest in less than (33) an hour after its arrival. What (34) a strange 
problem! 
 With great (35) 0 modesty, she has either declined such (36) a fee or donated (37) the 
money to (38) the poor, or to (39) the Grammar Survival Fund, believing that (40) the detective 
should use their skills for (41) the common good. 
Detailed Answers to Articles Exercise 1 
1 the detective – Singular countable noun; superlative (most) 
2 the century – Singular countable noun; ordinal (twenty-first) 
3 the United Kingdom – a country with ‘United’ in the name 
4 the 1960s – a decade 
5 0 Portugal – Country names don’t usually take an article, unless they are plural or 
have ‘United’ in the name 
6 the northern hemisphere – Singular countable noun; a unique place – there is only one 
northern hemisphere 
7 the southern hemisphere – Singular countable noun; a unique place – there is only one 
southern hemisphere 
8 the equator – a unique place – there is only one equator 
9 the Philippines – a country with a plural name 
10 the United States – a country with a plural name 
11 0 English – a language 
12 the detective – Singular countable noun; everyone knows about this detective, so he is 
not just ‘a famous detective’ (one of many) but ‘the famous detective’ whose name 
everyone knows 
13 the violin – Singular countable noun; playing an instrument 
14 a day – Singular countable noun; a rate 
 Julia Miller, Articles exercises, English for Uni, www.adelaide.edu.au/english-for-uni 3 
15 the only person – Singular countable noun preceded by a unique adjective (only) 
16 the world – Singular countable noun; a unique place 
17 the recorder – Singular countable noun; this is similar to ‘she plays the recorder’. It 
refers to a kind of instrument, not a particular example of that instrument. 
18 a detective – Singular countable noun; a job 
19 a detective – Singular countable noun; a job 
20 a piece – Singular countable noun; a single part of a whole. (A piece of cake is also an 
idiom meaning ‘very simple’.) 
21 a detective – Singular countable noun; definition. Definitions can take ‘a’ or ‘the’. In 
this case, it means that any detective is a person who solves mysteries. 
22 the people – Plural countable noun followed by a relative clause (who contact Ms 
Parrot) 
23 the cases – Plural countable noun followed by a relative clause (abbreviated from which 
she has solved) 
24 a few – Pronoun (a few); positive, meaning ‘some’ 
25 a thousand – A number; a is used instead of one 
26 an hour – Singular countable noun starting with a vowel sound; a rate. 
27 the case – Singular countable noun; specific (we know which case) and followed by of 
28 an owl – Singular countable noun; first mention. Australian starts with a vowel sound, 
so it takes an. In many detective novels, you will see titles such as The case of the 
city clerk (by Agatha Christie). This is a convention in detective novel titles, and 
draws the reader into the plot, as though they are already familiar with the case. 
29 a uniform – Singular, countable noun starting with a consonant sound; first mention 
30 the bird – Singular, countable noun; we know which bird – the owl that was mentioned 
previously 
31 an egg – Singular, countable noun starting with a vowel sound; first mention 
32 a European nest – Singular, countable noun preceded by an adjective starting with a 
consonant sound; first mention 
33 an hour – Singular, countable noun starting with a vowel sound; first mention 
34 a problem – Singular, countable noun; first mention. This is also an exclamation, and 
exclamations often take a 
35 0 modesty – Uncountable noun 
36 a fee – Singular, countable noun; expression such a takes a 
37 the money – Uncountable noun; money is associated with fee, so we know which 
money and it becomes definite 
38 the poor – Uncountable noun; an adjective used as a noun 
39 the Grammar Survival Fund – Singular, countable noun; names of organisations usually 
take the 
40 the detective – Singular, countable noun; a representative of a class 
41 the good – Uncountable noun; an adjective used as a noun 
 Julia Miller, Articles exercises, English for Uni, www.adelaide.edu.au/english-for-uni 4 
Articles Exercise 2 
Exercise based on the opening text in Thanks a Million 
This exercise is very difficult because no gaps are indicated. 
Can you add articles (a/an/the) where necessary in the following text? Change capital letters to 
lower case letters at the beginning of a sentence if necessary. 
Ms Parrot, most famous lady detective of twenty-first century, was born in United Kingdom in 
1960s. Since then, she has been to many countries, including Portugal, Singapore and Australia, 
and has lived in northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere, as well as on equator. She has 
never been to Philippines or United States, but she speaks English, French and Portuguese. Like 
Sherlock Holmes, famous detective, she plays violin, and sometimes practises up to five times day. 
She is also only person in world to have performed Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture in one breath on 
recorder. 
She has been detective for thirty years and claims that although many people think that being 
detective is piece of cake, detectives generally work very hard and it’s not all fun and games. 
detective is someone who solves mysteries, and people who contact Ms Parrot have some very 
unusual problems. Little information is available about some of cases she has solved, but quite few 
of her most famous cases have attracted worldwide attention and she has been offered up to 
thousand dollars hour to help solve mysteries such as case of Australian owl in uniform. bird laid 
egg in European nest in less than hour after its arrival. What strange problem! 
With great modesty, she has either declined such fee or donated money to poor, or to Grammar 
Survival Fund, believing that detective should use their skills for common good. 
 Julia Miller, Articles exercises, English for Uni, www.adelaide.edu.au/english-for-uni 5 
Answers to Articles Exercise 2 – Passage with correct articles inserted 
Ms Parrot, the most famous lady detective of the twenty-first century, was born in the United 
Kingdom in the 1960s. Since then, she has been to many countries, including Portugal, Singapore 
and Australia, and has lived in the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere, as well as 
on the equator. She has never been to the Philippines or the United States, but she speaks English, 
French and Portuguese. Like Sherlock Holmes, the famous detective, she plays the violin, and 
sometimes practises up to five times a day. She is also the only person in the world to have 
performed Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture in one breath on the recorder. 
 She has been a detective for thirty years and claims that although many people think that being a 
detective is a piece of cake, detectives generally work very hard and it’s not all fun and games. A 
detective is someone who solves mysteries, and the people who contact Ms Parrot have some 
very unusual problems. Little information is available about some of the cases she has solved, but 
quite a few of her most famous cases have attracted worldwide attention and she has been 
offered up to a thousand dollars an hour to help solve mysteries such as the case of an Australian 
owl in a uniform. The bird laid an egg in a European nest in less than an hour after its arrival. What 
a strange problem! 
With great modesty, she has either declined such a fee or donated the money to the poor, or to 
the Grammar Survival Fund, believing that the detective should use their skills for the common 
good. 
 Julia Miller, Articles exercises, English for Uni, www.adelaide.edu.au/english-for-uni 6 
Detailed Answers to Articles Exercise 2 
Ms Parrot, (1) the most famous lady detective of (2) the twenty-first century, was born in (3) the 
United Kingdom in (4) the 1960s. Since then, she has been to many countries, including (5) 
Portugal, Singapore and Australia, and has lived in (6) the northern hemisphere and (7) the 
southern hemisphere, as well as on (8) the equator. She has never been to (9) the Philippines or 
the United States, but she speaks (10) English, French and Portuguese. Like Sherlock Holmes, (11) 
the famous detective, she plays (12) the violin, and sometimes practises up to five times (13) a 
day. She is also (14) the only person in (15) the world to have performed Tchaikovsky’s 1812 (16) 
overture in one (17) breath on (18) the recorder. 
She has been (19) a detective for (20) thirty years and claims that although (21) many people think 
that being (22) a detective is (23) a piece of cake, (24) detectives generally work very hard and it’s 
not all (25) fun and (26) games. (27) A detective is someone who solves (28) mysteries, and (29) 
the people who contact Ms Parrot have some very unusual (30) problems. (31) Little information is 
available about some of (32) the cases she has solved, but quite (33) a few of (34) her most 
famous cases have attracted worldwide (35) attention and she has been offered up to (36) a 
thousand dollars (37) an hour to help solve (38) mysteries such as (39) the case of (40) an 
Australian owl in (41) a uniform. (42) The bird laid (43) an egg in (44) a European nest in less than 
(45) an hour after (46) its arrival. What (47) a strange problem! 
With great (48) modesty, she has either declined such (49) a fee or donated (50) the money to (51) 
the poor, or to (52) the Grammar Survival Fund, believing that (53) the detective should use (54) 
their skills for (55) the common good. 
The tips below indicate why a certain article is used or not used in the text above. This text is also 
explained in detail at the beginning of the quiz show in the video. 
1 the most famous lady detective – superlative 
2 the twenty-first century – ordinal 
3 the United Kingdom – a country with ‘United’ in the name 
4 the 1960s – a decade 
5 Portugal, Singapore, Australia – country names don’t usually take an article, unless they 
are plural or have ‘United’ in the name 
6 the northern hemisphere – a unique place – there is only one northern hemisphere 
7 the southern hemisphere – a unique place – there is only one southern hemisphere 
8 the equator – a unique place – there is only one equator 
9 the Philippines, the United States – countries with plural names (other examples are the 
Netherlands, the Maldives and the Seychelles) 
10 English, French, Portuguese – the names of languages do not take articles 
11 the famous detective – everyone knows about this detective, so he is not just ‘a famous 
detective’ (one of many) but ‘the famous detective’ whose name everyone knows 
12 plays the violin – playing an instrument 
13 five times a day – a rate 
14 the only – a unique adjective 
15 the world – a unique place 
 Julia Miller, Articles exercises, English for Uni, www.adelaide.edu.au/english-for-uni 7 
16 Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture – the noun ‘overture’ is preceded by a possessive 
(Tchaikovksky’s). This piece of music is sometimes called the 1812 overture, because there 
is only one famous piece of music with this name. 
17 one breath – the word ‘one’ replaces an article 
18 the recorder – this is similar to ‘she plays the recorder’. It refers to a kind of instrument, not 
a particular example of that instrument. 
19 a detective – someone’s job 
20 thirty years – no article is needed because there is a number 
21 many people – no article is needed after many 
22 a detective – someone’s job 
23 a piece of cake – a single part of a whole. (A piece of cake is also an idiom meaning ‘very 
simple’.) 
24 detectives generally – plural and not specific 
25 fun – uncountable noun and not specific 
26 games – plural noun and not specific. (Fun and games is an idiom referring to something 
enjoyable.) 
27 a detective – definition. Definitions can take ‘a’ or ‘the’. In this case, it means that any 
detective is a person who solves mysteries. 
28 mysteries – plural noun used generally 
29 the people who contact Ms Parrot – noun followed by a relative clause (‘who contact Ms 
Parrot’) 
30 some very unusual problems – no article is needed after some 
31 little information – negative – not very much. 
32 the cases she has solved – noun followed by a relative clause (abbreviated from which she 
has solved) 
33 a few – positive, meaning ‘some’ 
34 her most famous cases – possessive her, so no need for an article 
35 attention – uncountable noun used generally 
36 a thousand dollars – a is used instead of one 
37 an hour – a rate, and hour starts with a vowel sound so it takes an 
38 mysteries – not specific 
39 the case of – specific and followed by of 
40 an Australian owl – first mention of a singular countable noun; Australian starts with a 
vowel sound, so it takes an. In many detective novels, you will see titles such as The case of 
the city clerk (by Agatha Christie). This is a convention in detective novel titles, and draws 
the reader into the plot, as though they are already familiar with the case. 
41 a uniform – first mention of a singular, countable noun 
42 the bird – we know which bird – the owl that was mentioned previously 
43 an egg – first mention of a singular, countable noun starting with a vowel sound 
44 a European nest – first mention of a singular, countable noun preceded by an adjective 
starting with a consonant sound 
45 an hour – first mention of a singular, countable noun starting with a vowel sound 
46 its arrival – no need for an article because of the possessive its 
47 what a strange problem – first mention of a singular, countable noun. This is also an 
exclamation, and exclamations often take a 
48 modesty – uncountable noun 
49 such a fee – expression such a takes a 
50 the money – money is associated with fee, so we know which money and it becomes 
definite 
 Julia Miller, Articles exercises, English for Uni, www.adelaide.edu.au/english-for-uni 8 
51 the poor – an adjective used as a noun 
52 the Grammar Survival Fund – names of organisations usually take the 
53 the detective – a representative of a class 
54 their skills – no need for an article because of the possessive their 
55 the common good – an adjective used as a noun 
 Julia Miller, Articles exercises, English for Uni, www.adelaide.edu.au/english-for-uni 9 
Articles Exercise 3 
Please complete the following exercise using a/an/the/0 (no article) in the underlined spaces 
where appropriate. (Some articles have been included for you, but others are missing.) Change 
capital letters to lower case letters at the beginning of a sentence if necessary. 
There has never been (1) ___ more exciting time to produce (2) ___ new dictionary. Everything is 
changing and expanding: the English language itself, the technology that helps us to describe it, 
and (3) ___ needs and goals of those learning and teaching (4) ___ English. (5) ___ 1980s saw the 
development of (6) ___ first large corpora (special collections) of English text. 
(7) ___ Another of the Macmillan English Dictionary’s innovations is that two similar but separate 
editions have been created from (8) ___ same database: one for learners whose main target 
variety is (9) ___ American English, (10) ___ other for learners of British English. The differences 
are small but significant. 
The Macmillan English Dictionary is the product of good linguistic data and high-quality people. It 
has been (11) ___ privilege to work with such (12) ___ talented and creative team, and I would like 
to thank (13) ___ team for producing such (14) ___ excellent book. I hope you enjoy (15) ___ 
results of our hard work and find the dictionary (16) ___ pleasure to use. 
(adapted from Rundell, M 2002, ‘Introduction’, Macmillan English dictionary for advanced 
learners, Macmillan Education, Oxford, p. x.) 
 Julia Miller, Articles exercises, English for Uni, www.adelaide.edu.au/english-for-uni 10 
Answers to Articles Exercise 3