Question

Fill in the blanks with the most suitable articles:
________ Shatabdi is _____ fastest train in India.
(a)No article, no article
(b)The, the
(c)A, the
(d)The, no article

Answer 1

Hint: indefinite articles are usually used before a noun that is general or when its identity is not known. Definite articles are used when the identity is certain, however not before a proper noun with some exceptions.

Complete answer: Indefinite articles are used for a thing or person when the reader doesn’t know which one we are referring to out of many nouns. It is used for denoting the random nature of an object.
‘The’ is used as a definite article for a thing or person when the reader knows which one we are exactly referring to. It states the specific nature of the subject. The word ‘Shatabdi’ is a proper noun. However, that is the name of a train. So, it is inferred that it is a common noun. Moreover, the word ‘fastest’ is a superlative adjective. There will be a definite article even before the superlative.

So, we need definite articles for both blanks.
Now, we know what we are looking for. Let’s look at the given options:
(a)No article, no article - There should be definite articles in both blanks. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
(b)the, the - The first blank should be a definite article, which is correct. The second option is also correct as there should be a definite article before ‘fastest’. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.
(c)a, the - The first blank should be a definite article, which is incorrect. However, this option is incorrect as there should be a definite article before ‘fastest’. The second blank is correct, this is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
(d)the, no article - The first blank should be a definite article, which is correct. However, this option is incorrect as there should be another definite article before ‘fastest’. The second blank is incorrect. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.

Note:To choose the correct indefinite or definite article, pronounce the word after it. If it is a vowel sound, there will be only one correct option which will be the correct answer for the given sentence.