Nouns and Articles Test — English Grammar Exercises
Were they expensive? The news is shocking — test everything you know about nouns, articles, and demonstratives in one 30-question review.
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She gave me some good ___ about my CV.
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advice
'Advice' is uncountable — never 'advices' or 'an advice'. Say: some advice, a piece of advice.
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The news ___ shocking.
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is
'News' looks plural but is singular: 'The news is good.' Never 'the news are'.
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I like your new jeans. ___ expensive?
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Were they
'Jeans' is always plural. Use 'they/were': 'Were they expensive?' Same for trousers, glasses, scissors.
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The police ___ searching for the suspect.
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are
'Police' is always plural: 'The police are...' For one officer, say 'a police officer'.
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We need to buy new ___ for the office.
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equipment
'Equipment' is uncountable — never 'equipments'. Say: some equipment, a piece of equipment.
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Do you have ___ scissors in the kitchen?
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a pair of
'Scissors' is always plural. You can't say 'a scissors'. Use 'a pair of scissors'.
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She is ___ honest person.
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an
'Honest' starts with a vowel sound (silent h). Use 'an'. Articles depend on sound, not spelling.
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I saw ___ cat in the garden. ___ cat was black.
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a ... The
First mention: 'a cat' (new, unknown). Second mention: 'The cat' (now we know which one).
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___ water is essential for life.
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—
No article with uncountable nouns in a general sense. 'Water' here means water in general.
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It was ___ European city.
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a
'European' starts with /j/ (consonant sound). Use 'a', not 'an'. Sound matters, not spelling.
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He is ___ FBI agent.
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an
'F' is pronounced /ef/ (vowel sound). Use 'an FBI agent', 'an MP', 'an MA degree'.
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___ happiness is more important than money.
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—
Abstract concepts in general take no article: happiness, love, freedom. 'The happiness I felt' would be specific.
Nouns and Articles Test: A Mixed Review
Nouns and articles form the backbone of nearly every English sentence, and together they generate more grammar errors at B1–B2 level than any other area — research from the Cambridge Learner Corpus places article and noun errors at the top of the error frequency list for intermediate learners, ahead of verb tenses and prepositions. This 30-question test does not teach one rule in isolation; it mixes five closely related areas that learners typically study separately but must apply together in real writing: noun countability and agreement, the core a/an/the system, special article uses with superlatives and instruments, the trickier article-or-not choices (school vs the school, by train), and the this/that/these/those distinction. Because real sentences constantly combine these five systems — a countable noun needs the right article, a plural noun needs the right verb — testing them together, rather than one at a time, is the most realistic check of whether the rules have actually been internalised.
Nouns: Countability and Agreement
Some English nouns look plural but are grammatically singular, and vice versa. 'News' takes a singular verb ('The news is shocking'); 'police' and pair nouns like 'jeans' and 'scissors' are always plural ('The police are searching', 'Were they expensive?' about jeans). A separate group of nouns — advice, equipment — are uncountable and never take 'a/an' or a plural '-s'.
The news is shocking. (singular, despite the -s ending)
The police are searching for the suspect. (always plural)
Articles Basics: A, An, The, and Zero
Choosing 'a' or 'an' depends on the sound, not the spelling, of the next word ('an honest person', 'a European city'). 'The' marks second mention and shared knowledge ('I saw a cat. The cat was black.'). Zero article applies to uncountable and abstract nouns used generally ('Water is essential', 'Happiness is more important than money').
I saw a cat in the garden. The cat was black. (first vs second mention)
— Happiness is more important than money. (abstract, general — no article)
Special Article Uses: Ordinals, Superlatives, Instruments, Decades
A further set of fixed patterns always take 'the': ordinals ('the first person'), superlatives ('the tallest girl'), musical instruments after 'play' ('play the guitar'), decades ('the 1950s'), and 'the + adjective' for a group of people ('the rich', 'the poor').
He plays the guitar in a band. (instrument)
Rock and roll became popular in the 1950s. (decade)
Article or Not: The Hardest Choices
Institutional nouns drop the article for their primary purpose ('go to school' as a student) but keep it for the building ('go to the school'). Transport with 'by' takes no article ('by train'). Clock times take no article ('at three o'clock'), but parts of the day do ('in the morning'). Country names with 'Republic' or 'Kingdom' take 'the' ('the Czech Republic').
We travelled by — train from Paris to London. (no article with 'by')
Have you ever been to the Czech Republic? (political-name country)
Demonstratives: This, That, These, Those
'This/these' point to something near the speaker; 'that/those' point to something farther away. Singular nouns pair with this/that; plural nouns pair with these/those. On the phone, English uses a special fixed pattern: 'This is [name] speaking' and 'Is that [name]?'.
These shoes are too small for me. Can I try those ones on the top shelf?
Hello? This is John speaking. Is that Maria?
Common Mistakes
✗ The news are shocking. → ✓ The news is shocking. ('news' is singular)
✗ She is a honest person. → ✓ She is an honest person. (silent h — vowel sound)
✗ It was an European city. → ✓ It was a European city. (/j/ consonant sound)
✗ I go to the school every day, as a student. → ✓ I go to — school every day.
✗ We travelled by the train. → ✓ We travelled by — train.
✗ Have you ever been to — Czech Republic? → ✓ Have you ever been to the Czech Republic.
✗ That book here is mine. → ✓ This book here is mine. (near the speaker)
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between countable and uncountable nouns like 'advice' and 'equipment'?
Countable nouns can be counted individually and have a plural form: one idea, two ideas. Uncountable nouns like 'advice' and 'equipment' refer to a mass or category rather than separate units, so they have no plural form and never take 'a/an': never 'an advice' or 'equipments'. To count them, use a measure phrase instead: 'a piece of advice', 'a piece of equipment'. This mismatch causes frequent errors because many other languages treat the equivalent words as countable, so learners instinctively add a plural '-s' or an indefinite article where English forbids it.
When do I use 'a', 'an', and 'the'?
Use 'an' before a vowel sound and 'a' before a consonant sound — judge by pronunciation, not spelling ('an honest mistake', but 'a European city'). Use 'the' when the listener can identify exactly which one you mean: because you already mentioned it ('I saw a cat. The cat was black'), because the situation makes it obvious, or because the noun is inherently unique ('the sun'). Use no article at all for general statements with uncountable or abstract nouns ('Water is essential') and in a set of fixed idiomatic phrases (by train, at night, play tennis).
Why is it 'go to school' but 'go to the school'?
A small group of nouns — school, hospital, prison, church, bed, work — drop the article when used for their primary institutional purpose, and take 'the' when referring to the physical building for any other reason. 'Go to school' means attending as a student; 'go to the school' means visiting the building, for example as a parent or a visitor. The same pattern explains 'in hospital' (as a patient) versus 'at the hospital' (as a visitor), and 'go to bed' (to sleep) versus 'sit on the bed' (the piece of furniture).
What's the difference between 'this/that' and 'these/those'?
'This' and 'these' point to something near the speaker in space, time, or conversation; 'that' and 'those' point to something farther away. The second distinction is number: 'this' and 'that' go with singular nouns, while 'these' and 'those' go with plural nouns. On the telephone, English has a fixed exception: you identify yourself with 'This is [name] speaking' and ask who is calling with 'Is that [name]?' — regardless of physical distance, because the convention treats the call itself as the shared 'near' space.
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