MIXED ENGLISH ARTICLES EXERCISE 3 (ESL)
level: Beginner/Intermediate (A2/B1)
✓ Useful for IELTS
✓ Useful for TOEIC
A third mixed articles exercise, focusing on commonly confused patterns at the A2/B1 level — including job descriptions, the second-mention rule, sports teams, and titles used with and without names. If you haven’t done exercises 1 and 2 yet, start there.
Grammar review
Mixed articles — common errors and tricky cases
This third exercise focuses on the article patterns that cause the most errors at A2/B1 level.
Job and role descriptions — always a/an:
“She is a doctor.” “He works as an engineer.”
Second mention — switch from a to the:
“I saw a dog. The dog was barking.”
Sports teams — always the:
“She supports the Lakers.”
Titles used with names — no article:
“President Lincoln” “Doctor Smith”
But: “The president announced…” (no name = article needed)
Times of day — mixed:
in the morning/afternoon/evening • at night (no article)
This third exercise focuses on the article patterns that cause the most errors at A2/B1 level.
Job and role descriptions — always a/an:
“She is a doctor.” “He works as an engineer.”
Second mention — switch from a to the:
“I saw a dog. The dog was barking.”
Sports teams — always the:
“She supports the Lakers.”
Titles used with names — no article:
“President Lincoln” “Doctor Smith”
But: “The president announced…” (no name = article needed)
Times of day — mixed:
in the morning/afternoon/evening • at night (no article)
Choose a, an, the, or no article to complete each sentence.
1.__________ mountains where we go camping are really high.
Correct answer: The — specific mountains (identified by the relative clause) take the.
2.His parents think he's __________ ideal husband.
Correct answer: an — singular countable noun with a vowel sound: an ideal.
3.This is __________ best restaurant in the city.
Correct answer: the — superlatives always take the.
4.He gets paid __________ $3,000 a month.
Correct answer: no article — no article before a specific dollar amount.
5.P1: Call __________ plumber! P2: Do you know of any good ones?
Correct answer: a — first mention of a non-specific person = indefinite article a.
6.They told __________ police about the incident.
Correct answer: the — the police is a fixed institutional expression.
7.He is __________ real crook.
Correct answer: a — singular countable noun, non-specific: a real crook.
8.Betty doesn't like __________ cats, but she loves her sister's cat.
Correct answer: no article — general dislike of a category (cats in general) = no article.
9.We haven't spoken to them for __________ five years.
Correct answer: no article — no article before a specific period of time with for.
10.My cousin is __________ professional basketball player.
Correct answer: a — job/role description with a singular countable noun = a.
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER ARTICLE EXERCISES:
A or the? 1 (A1/A2)
A or the? 2 (A1/A2)
Indefinite articles (a/an) 1 (A1/A2)
Indefinite articles (a/an) 2 (A1/A2)
Mixed articles 1 (A2/B1)
Mixed articles 2 (A2/B1)
Mixed articles 3 (A2/B1)
Articles with geographic names 1 (B1/B2)
Article or no article? 1 (A2/B1)
Article or no article? 2 (A2/B2)
Article or no article? 3 (A2/B2)
Articles with idioms 1 (B1/B2)
Articles with idioms 2 (B1/B2)
Articles with idioms 3 (B1/B2)
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A or the? 2 (A1/A2)
Indefinite articles (a/an) 1 (A1/A2)
Indefinite articles (a/an) 2 (A1/A2)
Mixed articles 1 (A2/B1)
Mixed articles 2 (A2/B1)
Mixed articles 3 (A2/B1)
Articles with geographic names 1 (B1/B2)
Article or no article? 1 (A2/B1)
Article or no article? 2 (A2/B2)
Article or no article? 3 (A2/B2)
Articles with idioms 1 (B1/B2)
Articles with idioms 2 (B1/B2)
Articles with idioms 3 (B1/B2)
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