Question

If you live in _____ foreign country you should try and learn ______ language. (Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate words).
a) a/the
b) no article/no article
c) no article/a
d) the/the
e) the/a

Answer 1

Hint: Indefinite articles are usually used before a noun that is general or when its identity is not known and definite articles are used for specific things/objects, however not before a proper noun.

Complete answer:
 Indefinite articles are used only for an object/person when the person has no idea which noun we are referring to out of multiple nouns. It is used for conveying the random nature of an object. ‘The’ is used as a definite article for a thing/person when the person knows exactly which noun is being referred to. It refers to the specific nature of the subject.
In the given sentence, the phrase ‘foreign country’ is a common noun as it is a general noun. The word ‘language’ is used as a specific noun as it refers to the foreign country that is applicable.

Now, we know what we are looking for. Let’s look at the given options-
a) a/the - These articles fit into the given sentence and are grammatically correct. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.
b) no article/no article - This option does not complete the given sentence at all. This is grammatically incorrect. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c) no article/a - This option does not complete the given sentence at all. This is grammatically incorrect. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d) the/the - This option does not complete the given sentence at all. This is grammatically incorrect. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
e) the/a - This option does not complete the given sentence at all. This is grammatically incorrect. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.

Note:
 Choose the option which is used in the given context. 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.