Question

Fill in the blank with the most suitable article:
Ravi’s father went to _____ school to meet the principal.
a. the
b. a
c. an
d. no article

Answer 1

Hint: In the given sentence, we need to find out whether the noun is being used in a general or a specific sense. This will help us to narrow down the correct answer.

Complete answer:
 Indefinite articles are only used for an object/person when one doesn’t know which noun one is referring to out of multiple nouns. It is used for conveying the random nature of an object through a sentence.
‘The’ is used as a definite article for a thing/person when the reader knows exactly which noun one is referring to. It refers to the specific nature of the subject.
In the given sentence, we know the exact school that the sentence is referring to, as it is attended by a specific person, i.e. Ravi. So, in this case, the usage of a definite article would be grammatically correct.

Now, we know what we are looking for. Let’s look at the given options-
a. the - The word ‘the’ is used as a definite article. It fits perfectly into the given sentence.
This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.
b. a - The word ‘a’ is an indefinite article and is used when the noun starts with a consonant. However, we need a definite article for the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c. an - The word ‘an’ is an indefinite article. It is used when the noun starts with a vowel.
However, we need a definite article for the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d. no article - We already know that this is an incorrect option as we have found the correct option from the above-given choices. So, this is not the required answer.

Note:
Choose the option which is used in a specific sense. To choose the correct definite article, pronounce the word after it. Even if it is a vowel sound, there will be only one correct option. That will be the correct answer for the given sentence.