Question

Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate words.
Peter is on _______ night duty. When I go to _______ bed, he goes to ______ work.
A) the/no article/a
B) no article/no article/no article
C) a/a/a
D) the/the/no article
E) no article/the/a

Answer 1

Hint: Articles are words that specify whether a noun is singular or plural. There are two sorts of articles in English: definite (the) and indefinite (a, an). The word the is the definite article. It restricts the meaning of a noun to a single thing. Here we have to check whether the articles are required in the above sentence or not.

Complete answer:
There are two types of indefinite articles. It's the letter a when it comes before a consonant-based word. When it comes before a word that starts with a vowel, it's the word an. The indefinite article indicates that a noun refers to a broad concept rather than a specific item.
Definite article is “the”. In this question we have to use the suitable article.

Option A: Incorrect choice. The word the is the definite article. It restricts the meaning of a noun to a single thing. Night duty is not a definite noun. The second blank refers to bed and the third blank refers to work. Because work is an uncountable noun, it does not require the use of an article. As a result, choice A is erroneous.

Option B: Correct choice. The term ‘night duty' follows the first blank. The article is omitted because it relates to work (uncountable noun). No article will be used in the second blank because go to bed is a phrase meaning sleeping. Because 'work' is an uncountable noun, it will not be accompanied by an article.

Option C: Incorrect choice. Since, night duty is an uncountable noun no article is applied before it. Article ‘a’ is also omitted for the second and third blank as ‘go to bed’ is a sleeping phrase. Indefinite article ‘a’ is also not used with the noun ‘work’ as this too is uncountable noun.

Option D: Incorrect choice. ‘The’ is used for specific nouns and not generic or uncountable nouns. Therefore this option is ruled out.

Option E: Incorrect choice. ‘Go to bed’ interprets ‘to sleep’ which is not definite. Hence, the article is omitted. The indefinite article ‘a’ is not used with uncountable nouns such as ‘work’.

Therefore the correct answer is option ‘B’ i.e, Peter is on (no article) night duty. When I go to (no article)bed, he goes to (no article) work.

Note: The indefinite article (a or an) is never used with uncountable nouns, but singular verbs are. Uncountable nouns are occasionally used in the same manner that plural countable nouns are, that is, to refer to a specific object, group, or idea.
- Before uncountable and abstract nouns used in a generic sense, we do not utilise articles.
- When employed in a specific sense, uncountable nouns take the article the. For instance, would you mind passing the sugar? (equivalent to the sugar on the table)