Question

Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate words.
__________ great improvement in _______ patients condition was brought about by ________ use of ___________ newly developed antibiotic.
(a)No article / the / no article / a
(b)A / the / no article / no article
(c)The / the / no article / no article
(d)A / the / the / a

Answer 1

Hint: An article is a determiner that may indicate the specificity of reference of a noun phrase. We need to determine whether the article needed is a definite or an indefinite article or if the article is needed at all.

Complete answer: A definite article is a determiner (as `the' in English) that indicates the specificity of reference. An indefinite article is a determiner (as `a' or `some' in English) that indicates nonspecific reference. In the given question, we have to find out which of the options include -
(i)An indefinite article for words starting with consonant sounds (as great improvement is a non-specific reference and starts with the consonant g) for the first blank.
(ii)A definite article for the second blank as ‘patient's condition’ is a specific reference.
(iii)A definite article for the third blank as use of antibiotic is a specific reference.
(iv)An indefinite article for words starting with consonant sounds (as a newly developed antibiotic is a non-specific reference and starts with the consonant g) for the fourth blank.
Let us thus analyze the options given to us in this question:
(a)'No article / the / no article / a'- this option suggests ‘no article’ for the first blank while we need an indefinite article there as mentioned in point (i), so this option is incorrect.
(b)‘A / the / no article / no article’- this option follows points (i) and (ii) but suggests ‘no article’ for third blank whereas we need a definite article there as mentioned in point (iii), so this option is incorrect.
(c)‘The / the / no article / no article'- this option is not in agreement with points (i), (iii) and (iv), so this is also incorrect.
(d)‘A / the / the / a'-this option agrees with all the four points mentioned above and hence is correct.

Note: In this question, it will be helpful for the student to recall the concept of a definite and indefinite article.