Question

Use appropriate articles:

This morning, I bought _______ newspaper and _______ magazine. ________ newspaper is in my bag but I don't know where I put ________ magazine.

• A. a, an, the, the
• B. a, an, an, the
• C. a, a, a, a
• D. a, a, the, the

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

The nouns 'newspaper' and 'magazine' are mentioned for the first time in the first half of the sentence, they both are non specific as well as singular, hence we use the indefinite article 'a' for both. 'An' would not be used because both the nouns begin with a consonant and not a vowel. Options A and B are hence incorrect. 'The' is used in the second half of the sentence because the nouns have already been mentioned before. Now they refer to specific nouns and hence we use the definite article 'the' for both nouns, and not 'a', making Option C incorrect. The option containing 'a' for both nouns in the first half and 'the' for both nouns in the second half is option D, which is the only correct answer.