Question

Use an Appropriate article:
Mary and I arrived at_________ same time.
(A) a
(B) an
(C) the
(D) no article

Answer 1

Hint: Articles are words that define a noun as specific or unspecific. There are two types of article one is definite and the other is indefinite. The definite article is the word a. It restricts a noun’s meaning to one specific item. The indefinite article takes two forms. It’s the word a when it precedes a word that begins with a consonant. It’s the word an when it precedes a word that begins with a vowel.

Complete step by step answer:
Prior to particular items, the definite article 'the' is used. Here, we refer to the exact time when the speaker and Mary both arrived. The correct alternative, therefore, is: the. Hence the option C is correct.
Mary and I arrived at THE same time. (since the time is specific)

So, the correct answer is “Option C”.

Additional Information:
It has two articles in English: the and a / an. Unique or particular nouns are referred to the; a / an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns. We call the definitive article and the indefinite article a / an. For instance, if I say, "Let's read that book," I mean a particular book.
A/an before a noun shows that what is referred to is not already known to the speaker, listener, writer and/or reader (it is the indefinite article)
The before a noun shows that what is referred to is already known to the speaker, listener, writer and/or reader (it is the definite article)

Note:
Rules for using a, an and the and their usage in the sentence varies according to the situation, so to answer these types of questions it is necessary that we study all the rules in full form and only then answer these type of questions